The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

[Margalis]

Look, at some point, either you like the baseline source material or you don't.

No such point exists.

It's not about source material, it's about Peter Jackson being a bad director who fell in love with lame CGI shit and is too big to be contained by any producer or editor. Regardless of the strength of the source material (or lack thereof) Peter Jackson just makes bad movies.

All his movies from the past decade or so suffer from the same set of problems. This is easiest to see with King Kong since people don't have the same emotional attachment to the source that they do to LOTR and can see the movie for what it is, but all the problems in King Kong also exist in the Tolkien stuff. Same lack of genuine character emotion, same inappropriate jokey shit at odd times, same reliance on CGI beasties hitting each other as if that's exciting, same "how do you follow a CGI battle scene? Another CGI battle scene!" philosophy, same interminable padding of absolutely everything.

I'm sure if you measure out King Kong it has a great deal of stuff that isn't CGI fighting, probably more than the running time of many movies, but that stuff feels like boring filler to get to the CGI stuff - which is also boring. (In part because the story as a whole has no weight) It's like watching a super expensive Syfy movie of the week.

[eldaec]

I agree the battle scenes were overpadded, though at the same time they gave the film a slightly cartoony slightly folk tale air which isn't really wrong for the hobbit. The bit in the goblin mines felt like watching the Ant Hill mob.

The gandalf scenes, rivendell scenes, and everything involving the necromancer felt forced and besides the point.


But I had no issue at all with the endless dwarf chatting scenes.

[Khaldun]

I agree that Jackson's handling of The Hobbit is bad. But it's not because there's not enough downtime or not because there's not enough character development. I think Ratman is right in his most recent post: it's all there, just not delivered *correctly* or *well*.

[schpain]

No, my complaint is that Blibo didn't get enough character building.

The most bravest of all hobbits, Blibo!  I want to hear more about Blibo!

[Sir T]

It's not about source material, it's about Peter Jackson being a bad director who fell in love with lame CGI shit and is too big to be contained by any producer or editor. Regardless of the strength of the source material (or lack thereof) Peter Jackson just makes bad movies.

All his movies from the past decade or so suffer from the same set of problems. This is easiest to see with King Kong since people don't have the same emotional attachment to the source that they do to LOTR and can see the movie for what it is, but all the problems in King Kong also exist in the Tolkien stuff. Same lack of genuine character emotion, same inappropriate jokey shit at odd times, same reliance on CGI beasties hitting each other as if that's exciting, same "how do you follow a CGI battle scene? Another CGI battle scene!" philosophy, same interminable padding of absolutely everything.

Like I have said for years, the Fellowship of the Ring was a great movie. But after that Jackson got carte blance and ultimate power to do what he wants, and so the rest of them were utter crap. Hell, the 2 Guys following Gollum were the most interesting parts of the second movie.

What else were you looking for with Bilbo in the first film? That he have an adulterous affair along the way with Galadriel? (Not that he's married--say Gandalf if you prefer). 

Galadriel was married. 

But seriously if you are saying that Dwarf 5 got some actual personality as a plus point, well gee even Jackson has to feel out 2 hours of cinema with SOMETHING between the CGI.

[Setanta]

Finally got around to watching this (borrowed the DVD from a friend).

It stank.

Not a little bit, this was the smell you get when someone up-chucks their own shit style of stink.

It was boring and insipid and there was a total lack of depth. I couldn't even enjoy the CGI, there was no feeling of being transported into another world.

I feel ripped off even though I didn't pay to watch it. How the hell they can justify this crap over 3 movies I do not know.

They should have sold it as the book told it - instead they got arty/greedy and made it mindless.

[shiznitz]

My son (11) is already asking me to go to this.  He loved the first installment.  He has yet to read any Tolkien.

[Nebu]

My son (11) is already asking me to go to this.  He loved the first installment.  He has yet to read any Tolkien.

Here's your chance to introduce him to books.  Tell him you will, complete with popcorn, if he reads the book!

[Typhon]

And tell him if he doesn't read it, you will beat him with it.  Tell him the books get heavier as time goes on.  Mention that you have him on a loose schedule to be reading Joyce's Ulysses before year end.  Then laugh without smiling and walk away.

[Nebu]

And tell him if he doesn't read it, you will beat him with it.  Tell him the books get heavier as time goes on.  Mention that you have him on a loose schedule to be reading Joyce's Ulysses before year end.  Then laugh without smiling and walk away.

 

[shiznitz]

My son (11) is already asking me to go to this.  He loved the first installment.  He has yet to read any Tolkien.

Here's your chance to introduce him to books.  Tell him you will, complete with popcorn, if he reads the book!

That is not a bad idea.  He is a reader, though.  Just not Tolkien...yet.

[Trippy]

We read The Hobbit when I was in 6th grade.

[Typhon]

How many times did they beat you with The Two Towers before you got all the way through?

[Paelos]

Of all the books, the Two Towers is the one I had to slog through the most.

[Khaldun]

I basically find Frodo and Sam's storyline pretty boring until they get to Cirith Ungol--that was always my struggle reading the books. (And actually in the movie too, though I appreciate how Jackson tries to make some more tension around the relationship between Frodo, Sam and Gollum before Shelob.)

[Ratman_tf]

I basically find Frodo and Sam's storyline pretty boring until they get to Cirith Ungol--that was always my struggle reading the books. (And actually in the movie too, though I appreciate how Jackson tries to make some more tension around the relationship between Frodo, Sam and Gollum before Shelob.)

I'd rather he didn't than watch the terrible end-results. Shit made no sense.

[Sir T]

I basically find Frodo and Sam's storyline pretty boring until they get to Cirith Ungol--that was always my struggle reading the books. (And actually in the movie too, though I appreciate how Jackson tries to make some more tension around the relationship between Frodo, Sam and Gollum before Shelob.)

That's most peoples reaction I think. The sad thing is that an oft heard comment after the seeing the movie was that the bits with Sam and Frodo walking in fields were the most interesting parts.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I still haven't seen this and I liked the LOTR movies but....I'm just too weary of it all and 3hrs? no thanks.

[Khaldun]

Yeah, I really wouldn't. It was a frustrating experience because there was a decent enough flick trying to struggle out from underneath the bloat.

[pxib]

I'll just leave this here.

[Tannhauser]

OK that was good!

[Trippy]

UK Trailer

[HaemishM]

That was equal parts      and

[Arinon]

Smaug's voice reminds me very much of Tim Curry in Legend.

[angry.bob]

It's been a while since I read The Hobbit, but I don't recall Legolas being in it. Let alone being in it enough to occupy a solid 20% of the preview clip. Added for tween girls?

[Khaldun]

There some elves but almost none of them are named. Plausibly one of them could have been Legolas--he's a prince of Mirkwood. But he's not named and none of the elves really get anything like dialog or characterization.

[Trippy]

It's been a while since I read The Hobbit, but I don't recall Legolas being in it. Let alone being in it enough to occupy a solid 20% of the preview clip. Added for tween girls?

His dad is in the book so by Jackson's logic Legolas would've been in those scenes too even though he wasn't mentioned in the book:

He's Thranduil's son, and Thranduil is one of the characters in The Hobbit, and because elves are immortal it makes sense Legolas would be part of the sequence in the Woodland Realm.

[Venkman]

Smaug's voice reminds me very much of Tim Curry in Legend.

Sounded like Bane to me. Except I could decipher it.

[01101010]

Smaug's voice reminds me very much of Tim Curry in Legend.

Sounded like Bane to me. Except I could decipher it.

I dunno... I got a Tim Curry feel as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3J91bPrW9A

[Ghambit]

You guys are close; I got a very eerie, evil brit. vibe as well but not quite Tim Curry.  Close to as awesome though imo.  Here is the voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixaxZcB-4MA

[Riggswolfe]

I think Benedict Cumberbatch is doing Smaug. I'll never know because I have no desire to see these films. I quite liked the Lord of the Rings films but turning the Hobbit into 3 films just smells of bloat and out of control ego. No thank you.

Oh, and to the guy upthread who said PJ is a bad director, I disagree but like many, he needs a good editor to pull him back and say "No, that's too much". I get the sense he had that in LoTR but not in the Hobbit.

[Sir T]

He had that in the first movie but they just turned him loose in the other 2 lotr films.

[eldaec]

LotR was fine with the exception of RotKs endings. If anything the theatrical cuts were too short, the DVD versions are much better. King Kong OTOH....

 

[Tannhauser]

I think Benedict Cumberbatch is doing Smaug. I'll never know because I have no desire to see these films. I quite liked the Lord of the Rings films but turning the Hobbit into 3 films just smells of bloat and out of control ego. No thank you.

Oh, and to the guy upthread who said PJ is a bad director, I disagree but like many, he needs a good editor to pull him back and say "No, that's too much". I get the sense he had that in LoTR but not in the Hobbit.

Agreed.  Keep the movies tight and save that extra for the blu-ray.  I'll eat that shit up.

[Ghambit]

Is it me or does it seem like there's just not the "momentum" there used to be with this franchise (or any 'geek' franchise lately)?  I got VIP tix for the midnite museum IMAX show no problem; there was a time that'd be impossible unless you showed up the moment they went on sale.  Same thing happened with the last trek and the last Iron Man.

Have the hipsters moved on or something?