Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Yes Bilbo, we know the feeling!

I was wondering why they saved the final Smaug scene until this film. It was just loose ends. And for those who hadn't seen #2, they were all "WTF, who is that guy, etc."

Too much the film seemed CGI, even cartoonish, even the GOLD. Come on Jackson, you can afford that much real gold at this point... Yes, I loved the live action Uruk Hai.

I haven't read the Hobbit for many years, so I don't recall enough to be disappointed. No brain, no pain, I guess.

Ringulf wrote:
Yes Bilbo, we know the feeling!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This just needed to be repeated. It's too good. Too, too good.

Manveruon wrote:

Ringulf wrote:
Yes Bilbo, we know the feeling!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This just needed to be repeated. It's too good. Too, too good.

Hear, hear!

Udwin wrote:Nonononononono. Goblins do Not ride bats!

Actually, they do. Goblins ride bats in the first invasion of Fr. Christmas' house. Right author, wrong universe.

I concur! Got it out the other day with the Christmas decorations. I always read "The Letters" to my children during the Holidays, now all the little neices and nephews too.

I just updated (majorly) my video editing software. I may try tackling a fan edit myself.

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm not at all disappointed to have read spoilers, because I had little hope for the film anyway. I can see the complaints, and can see why they're being complained about...but I could survive ALL of them until I read "No funerals shown."

WHAT THE WHAT?!

We don't see Thorin, with the Arkenstone and Orcrist, buried under the mountain.

Then what's the freaking point?

*sigh* That'd BETTER be in the extended edition.

I had a second viewing this past weekend and I still like watching it, though again not as much as LOTR but if I were a child I think I would find them more fun to watch where as LOTR a child may find them a tad too long....perhaps it was just marketed to kids more. Worth seeing

To Jackson's defense (somewhat), Tolkien did not stick to a three-act dramatic structure. After the dragon is finally killed, now let's have a big battle. And the Scouring of the Shire as well, after the Ring is dealt with several chapters previously.

Greg wrote:I just updated (majorly) my video editing software. I may try tackling a fan edit myself.

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm not at all disappointed to have read spoilers, because I had little hope for the film anyway. I can see the complaints, and can see why they're being complained about...but I could survive ALL of them until I read "No funerals shown."

WHAT THE WHAT?!

We don't see Thorin, with the Arkenstone and Orcrist, buried under the mountain.

Then what's the freaking point?

*sigh* That'd BETTER be in the extended edition.

This was my fiance's biggest problem with this last movie. It also bothered me quite a bit, but not as much as some other details. I'll lay you money it will be in the extended cut, however.

The thing is, as I've said before, there really was some wonderful material in all 3 of these films. Great, top-notch stuff. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of other not-so-great stuff, and with all 3 extended editions probably clocking in at just over 9-hours in total, I would posit that the MAJORITY of the trilogy was comprised of not-so-great stuff (and that's why it never should have been a trilogy in the first place). Which is funny, because P.J. & Co. clearly saved a lot of the really good scenes for the extended editions, in favor of filling the theatrical cuts with hours of pointless filler. I haven't actually seen the Desolation of Smaug extended cut, but I know there was more Mirkwood and more of Beorn's house - which were two scenes I seriously felt cheated by in the theatrical version.

In any case, I feel like Jackson caught "George Lucas Sickness" (which is kind of like "Dragon Sickness," only exclusive to filmmakers). In other words, he made one awesome movie (Fellowship / A New Hope) and totally blew everyone away, so for the next two movies in the trilogy he gained more and more personal freedom to do whatever he wanted with them. This worked well in the action-packed second installment (Two Towers / Empire), but by the third installment the lack of restraint really began to show (excessive running time, copious use of CGI, bastardization of the source-material on an unprecedented level, etc. / Harrison Ford's "performance," Ewoks, etc). However, because of the amazing work the guy did with the first two films in the franchise, everyone was willing to overlook the imperfections of the third installment and view the trilogy as a whole - and a pretty damn good whole at that.

Unfortunately, when it came to making a new set of prequels, the filmmaker in question had had his ego pumped up by so many people for so long, he began to think "Wow, I really AM an amazing, visionary, master-of-visual-storytelling, and I did it ALL BY MYSELF," ignoring the fact that a HUGE part of the reason his movies were so good in the first place was because there were a whole bunch of people saying "Hey Pete/George... uuuuuuuuummmmm.... maybe don't put that in the movie" along the way. In the end, what we got were two very lackluster prequel trilogies - but trilogies that could have been saved by ultimately just tweaking a few minor things.

That being said, I still think the Hobbit movies are LEAGUES better than the Star Wars prequels, but the parallels are really astounding when you compare the two franchises.

But as we already learned with King Kong, Peter Jackson's real sin is editing (or rather, the lack thereof). Just because it took hours/days/weeks, etc. to film doesn't mean it needs to be in the final cut of the movie. Good God man.

Manveruon wrote:
In any case, I feel like Jackson caught "George Lucas Sickness" (which is kind of like "Dragon Sickness," only exclusive to filmmakers). In other words, he made one awesome movie (Fellowship / A New Hope) and totally blew everyone away, so for the next two movies in the trilogy he gained more and more personal freedom to do whatever he wanted with them. This worked well in the action-packed second installment (Two Towers / Empire), but by the third installment the lack of restraint really began to show (excessive running time, copious use of CGI, bastardization of the source-material on an unprecedented level, etc. / Harrison Ford's "performance," Ewoks, etc). However, because of the amazing work the guy did with the first two films in the franchise, everyone was willing to overlook the imperfections of the third installment and view the trilogy as a whole - and a pretty damn good whole at that.

Unfortunately, when it came to making a new set of prequels, the filmmaker in question had had his ego pumped up by so many people for so long, he began to think "Wow, I really AM an amazing, visionary, master-of-visual-storytelling, and I did it ALL BY MYSELF," ignoring the fact that a HUGE part of the reason his movies were so good in the first place was because there were a whole bunch of people saying "Hey Pete/George... uuuuuuuuummmmm.... maybe don't put that in the movie" along the way. In the end, what we got were two very lackluster prequel trilogies - but trilogies that could have been saved by ultimately just tweaking a few minor things.

That being said, I still think the Hobbit movies are LEAGUES better than the Star Wars prequels, but the parallels are really astounding when you compare the two franchises.

Agreed.

And this: http://www.wired.com/2014/12/hobbit-pet ... e-stopped/

Most of what I have to say has already been said. I will add to the bat discussion that their purpose of shielding the orcs from the sun was completely lost as PJ seems to have completely forgotten about their inability to be out in the daylight.

Yeah... it's funny, he was super detail-oriented about certain things, but others he just sort of conveniently forgot about. Like the fact that orcs and goblins are technically the same thing, and that yes, they're not supposed to be able to travel in daylight, and also that ALL of the swords found in the troll horde were supposed to glow blue when in the vicinity of orcs/goblins, not just Sting. And yet he remembered Bilbo's frickin' brass buttons.

I just updated (majorly) my video editing software. I may try tackling a fan edit myself.

Now THAT would be awesome.

I found a video on Youtube that made me a bit more... "right with the world", though it didn't fix all my angst concerning PJ's changes to the story. I did feel a bit better about Beorn's part in the first meeting with Thorin and Company, and the events at bridge over the Gulduin which if left in would have made the trek through Mirkwood a bit longer (as I feel it should have been) But if you have not seen these out takes, you may see what I mean. I hope there are similar plot saving edits in the last movie we just have not seen yet but I won't be holding my breath.
Perhaps PJ's editor should be the individual into which we pour our malice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebkMipSG4KY