The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

[Psychotic]

No thread? People who are not me are slacking! Oh well, time for a thought dump.

Just got back from it and I rather enjoyed it! I had a huge raging manlove for the LotR trilogy and combined with my other huge raging manlove for Dwarves, it was only going to end one way

Little bit of a nostalgia trip with some of the sets and musical themes which I quite liked.

Thorin is a god among me...Dwarves. What a raw smurfing presence. I loved it. I also loved the Dwarves' song which was also the main theme. Sylvester McCoy (aka the 7th Doctor!) as Radagast was also a nutty and much-loved addition. And Gandalf and Gollum were back to their best.

What a smurfing opening too, the fall of Erebor, god damn. The battle outside of Moria (How Thorin got his Oakenshield back) was immense too.

Perhaps the only negative was Azog. I don't like that they went for pure CGI with him, he looks out of place. He looks like Voldemort, truth be told.

[Fuzakeru]

That song. Oh, man. That song. Something about it just chills you to the bone and makes your heart (and pants) swell with emotion!

So much swoon! Who knew
Dwarves were so good at singing?

I wasn't disappointed by the movie in the least and I was terrified I would be so given that I was confused how they'd make The Hobbit lives up to the expectations the LoTR brought on. It really did an amazing job!

A surprising point to me was that the 3D didn't feel corny and gimmick-y to me either. I typically dislike 3D unless it's something like Coraline but I was a fan.

One thing... Maybe spoiler? Meh. Putting it behind a tag anyway.I was never unhappy to see him but Gandalf being the deus ex machina three times made me go, "Sheesh....again?" slightly. It is only one slightly tiny twinge of 'ugh' I felt the entire time but I was also so wrapped up in the scene that I was never totally turned off by it.

Gollum's cat eyes haunted me last night after I got back from the theaters too!

[Psychotic]

It bloody did made something stir inside me too, it was a great song. I actually saw the movie in 2D!

Also (SPOILER)I had the thought of "Man, Eagles are the Deux Ex Machina of Middle-Earth" myself The moth was a nice callback. As was Gandalf hitting his head on the chanderlier!

[Chris]

I was literally shaking at the end. I thought it was truly, truly, a masterpiece.

[Fuzakeru]

SPOILAGE'R I'd totally own a pet eagle. I wouldn't even mind the giant eagle poop.

Gandalf was kinda a giant jerk though - either that or the most clever troll ever. I mean, I was a little pissed myself when the dwarves messed with his doiley! D:

Yes, Chris. That was the after glow this movie causes.

I walked out the theater, looked my boyfriend, and we both stood in strict silence for a few moments before just exploding in the typical, "_____ WAS THE BEST PART AND DID YOU SEE ____!?"

Who was your favorite dwarf?

[Faris]

Arrrggghhh I can't wait to see this

[charliepanayi]

I felt it was too long and a bit too weighed down by exposition, but I did really enjoy the final third (everything from the stone giants through to the end anyway). The Bilbo/Gollum stuff was easily the highlight of the film, just reminded me what a great character Gollum is. So not Lord of the Rings, but definitely not The Phantom Menace either.

[Chris]

Who was your favorite dwarf?

Never thought a dwarf could make me tingle so much.

[Psychotic]

Can't go wrong with Bofur tbh.

[Cuchulainn]

I loved it. Truely epic film. If I had one slight it would be another case of an adaptations unneeded change to source material. Azog died at the battle azanulbizar at the hands of Dain Ironfoot and it's his son Bolg that goes after the dwarves and fights at the battle of 5 armies.

but that's a tiny anal wonderment more than a complaint. ive not problem with it happening but just no idea why it happened.

[Miriel]

I really enjoyed it, but I didn't LOVE it which was a bit disappointing. But only a bit. I knew going in that the chances of me falling head over heels in love with it like I did the LotR trilogy wasn't very likely. I knew that, but I still couldn't help but feel a tiny bit sad when that turned out to be true. Especially since The Hobbit was my first love. My first introduction to Tolkien and fantasy and one of the books that made me fall in love with reading.

I thought Richard Armitage as Thorin was SO amazing. I mean, I seriously think his performance was extraordinary. His eyes when he saw Erebor. Oh my god. Plus, so hot. Only minor criticism is that I wish they had added in some of Thorin's more lighthearted moments. I felt like he was really really grim the whole time. Which is badass and everything, but I liked it in the book when he was teased or knocked down a peg or two for his demeanor.

Martin Freeman was perfect as Bilbo. So SO good. Riddles in the Dark was absolutely my favorite part in the whole movie.

I loved everything about the first hour of the movie. Everything at Bag End and the Shire. Bilbo's Took side coming out. And seeing Frodo again. Jesus christ, I started crying. The EMOTIONS. Nostalgia to the max. And they did a great job with all the dwarves, which had to have been the hardest thing. To get 13 dwarves on screen and make us care.

I thought the movie worked best when it lifted straight from the books. I was beaming like an idiot for large chunks of the movie. Out of the frying pan and into the fire! Ha! Loved it. And the buttons! They showed the buttons! The parts that were the worst were when they diverged from the books. Why did they change the troll scene? I also didn't like the portrayal of the Dwarves and Rivendell. I understand they were trying to focus on the antagonistic nature of Dwarves vs. Elves but it went completely against the book. Rivendell was supposed to be a place where they found peace and rest and good food. They were supposed to love their time there and then move on packed to the brim with supplies and well wishes for their journey.

I agree that Azog was probably the worst part of the movie. Just did not work very well. Which is weird considering how effective the orcs and Uruk-hai were in LotR.

Overall, very enjoyable. And so amazing to return to Middle Earth.

[fire_of_avalon]

I saw it in 2D as well, because for something as lovely and important I refuse to sully it with cheap 3D. I hate 3D except in cases like Dredd where it works very well the the super duper duper slow-mo and the water droplets are glorious.

I didn't really think I would like the historical expositionbeing included in the movie, but the fall of Erebor was beautiful and tragic. I also thought all of the battle scenes were executed well, except for maybe the goblin Zerg rush thing. Overall I felt the worst thing was overuse of CGI. I will forever love prostheses and puppets over CG animation in live action film anyday. The CG used on the ponies was pretty distracting during the scene with the trolls.

Was also a bit disappointed that they didn't feature Bilbo the trickster throwing his voice. They really didn't demonstrate that Bilbo was a very clever hobbit and that is typically what saved his skin.

I thought Richard Armitage as Thorin was SO amazing. I mean, I seriously think his performance was extraordinary. His eyes when he saw Erebor. Oh my god. Plus, so hot.

So so so so hot. I would grow a beard to be his dwarven ladyfriend.

[Psychotic]

The CG used on the ponies was pretty distracting during the scene with the trolls.

Oh yeah, I noticed that. And the thrush too.

[Bolivar]

Man I was confused as to why they were making multiple movies out of the one book but as soon as this got underway I realized I had no standing to question the brilliance of it all. What an amazing flick.

I agree about the deus ex machination... that was one thing that turned me off when I read the book... but later I read how this was a coming of age story for the child-height hobbit who goes out to see the world. So right now he's dependent on the more worldly characters to save him but later on in the next movie you'll see him start solving problems that no one else can solve all by himself.

I'm totally down with Avalon when it comes to cg. Give me one of the great puppet studios and some miniatures anyday. But the Peter Jackson movies are to cg what dragon quest Viii was for me when it came to to shading: that one project that really changes my mind on the technique and stands as the exception that I can rock with.

I even liked the expanded role of the orcs. It'll really help build up to that climax. The whole thing made me think of Game of Thrones. They totally screwed up on A Clash of Kings, they better not fail with A Storm of Swords. The fans really only get one opportunity of this and its such a relief that they got The Hobbit so right.

[Del Murder]

It was really good. I liked the exposition at the beginning as well as when they lifted dialogue and scenes directly from the book. I agree that's when the movie worked the best. Riddles in the Dark was really good as well as the 'that's what Bilbo Baggins hates' singing because all that was almost copied word for word from the source material.

The thing that bugged me is that the movie didn't have a self-contained plot. I know it's three movies but even a trilogy generally has plotlines that are self-contained in the film. Fellowship of the Ring had the forming and breaking up of the Fellowship as its plot, Two Towers had the Rohan storyline as well as the defeat of Saruman. This movie just moved the adventure along until they ran out of film. I would have liked some more resolution than Thorin telling Bilbo that he's not worthless.