Thoughts on the final Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by AVTechMan, Dec 17, 2014.

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  1. AVTechMan

    AVTechMan Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Texas, USA
    Today obviously is the opening day for the last Hobbit movie. Just wanted to get the thoughts from those who got to see it today on how it was, if it was any better. Unfortunately I won't have a chance to see it until this weekend so please no spoilers. My brother and I both agreed that this trilogy could have been finished in two movies.
     
  2. LA2019

    LA2019 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USofA
    Agreed. The movies are bloated and overly too long for what is ''technically'' a childrens book.

    I'm going to see it tomorrow but curiously I'm not terribly looking forward to it.....
     
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  3. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I'll see it this weekend, but it's more of a duty than a joy.

    Might as well see it though to the end.
     
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  4. ruben lopez

    ruben lopez Nunc Est Bibendum

    Location:
    Barcelona Spain
    I'm going tomorrow with my 10 year old daughter.
     
  5. Alan G.

    Alan G. Forum Resident

    Location:
    NW Montana
    Agreed, two movies would have covered it, but I went today and enjoyed it. Familiar faces seem like old friends. Oh, I could easily quibble about certain things (something anticlimactic, something goes on too long). Many will. I saw it as an Epic, the end of the Jackson/Tolkien era.

    I asked when buying a ticket whether the 3D version would be shown in HFR at some point. I was told it IS in HFR. That's all they sent.
     
  6. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    Yeah, the film was shot in HFR 3D from day one...

    ...somebody doesn't like special features. :p
     
  7. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    If they had made The Hobbit as a pure children's movie, it would have been a jarring contrast with The Lord of the Rings. I've read the latter several times, but never bothered to go back and re-read The Hobbit, as it struck me at the time as a bit silly and simplistic. Peter Jackson and his team went through the appendices of The Lord of the Rings and inserted all the material that Tolkien wrote to expand the original story - it's not as if they invented much new material. I haven't seen the third film yet, but it is obvious they wanted to create a trilogy that would seamlessly flow into The Fellowship of the Ring.
     
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  8. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    I'll see it sometime this weekend.
     
  9. Erik Tracy

    Erik Tracy Meet me at the Green Dragon for an ale

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    What was invented by PJ & Co was more than a bit silly, so there is symmetry and karmic balance. :laugh:
     
  10. sgtmono

    sgtmono Seasoned Member

    That sounds good in theory, but I would have much preferred a film version of The Hobbit that conveyed more of the self-contained spirit of the original book, and which would stand in contrast to the epic LOTR trilogy. All the epic-ness is just fatiguing at this point. They brickwalled the story.
     
  11. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    There's lots of stuff they invented, particularly in the second movie. The character of Tauriel, the romance between her and Kili, anything that happens with Legolas, the fight with the orcs as the dwarves are escaping in the barrels, the interaction with Bard in Laketown, Kili's injury that forces some of the dwarves to stay behind, the orcs attacking Laketown, the entire fight with the dragon inside the mountain... none of that happened in the book. The subplot with Gandalf confronting Sauron in Dol Guldur is essentially invented too -- yes, the appendices say he did that, but Tolkien never described what happened there in any detail.

    Only the broad strokes of the plot come from the book -- in just about every sequence, the details of what happens and the dialogue are very different from what's in the novel. For example, the Mirkwood sequence seems pretty faithful if you only half remember the book, but reading it again I realized they actually changed it considerably.
     
  12. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I will be interested to see the fan edits. The way some of it was done, it will be difficult (impossible) to remove everything Jackson added.

    This would have been great as 1 long movie, or two, two hour movies.
     
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  13. ruben lopez

    ruben lopez Nunc Est Bibendum

    Location:
    Barcelona Spain
    Just got back from the cinema,the movie is a bit boring...too long,i agree that the 3 parts could be distilled into something shorter.

    Edit: Only 8 people in the cinema:eek:(3D version)
     
  14. four sticks

    four sticks Senior Member

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    I'm off next week so I will probably see it Monday or Tuesday afternoon.

    I did break down and pick up the extended blu rays for the first two movies. I will watch them in February when the weather is dreary and the NFL season is over.
     
  15. FACE OF BOE

    FACE OF BOE Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I'm bored of the rings.
     
  16. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    Ironically, it is the shortest of the 6 movies.

    It is also my least favorite of the 6 movies, but still very enjoyable. Hopefully the Extended Edition will be better.
     
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  17. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    The extended versions are much better, I think, especially the first one. They didn't add much, but it really helped the movie.
     
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  18. Yovra

    Yovra Collector of Beatles Threads

    Saw it yesterday and was more entertained than I expected to be! I think the story (in the movies at least, it's been ages since I read the book) is more tragic than I expected. The battle-scenes and the majestic sweeps across the landscape looked fantastic!
    I found one thing strange:
    when Bilbo returned to his beloved hometown no-one recognized him, no-one greeted him and he was just able to stop an action of all his belongings. Hobbits must be heartless bastards!
    and why they chose to make a totally Digital Version of Billy Connolly is beyond me!
    All in all it's waiting for a fan-made thee- or four-hour edit of these movies. I found the pace un-even and some side-stories amusing but nothing really striking or moving.
    My two cents about the rating:
    Fellowship of the Ring *****
    The Two Towers ****
    Return of the King *****
    An Unexpected journey ****
    The Desolation of Smaug ***
    The Battle of the Five Armies ****
     
  19. daglesj

    daglesj Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    My dad asked me if I wanted to go see it with him. I usually jump at such chances.

    I said no.
     
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  20. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    Just curious if your ratings are for the theatrical or extended versions?
     
  21. Yovra

    Yovra Collector of Beatles Threads

    For the Rings- and Hobbit-movies (apart from the Five-Armies-one of course) the extended versions.
     
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  22. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    I told my 12-year-old son that the "Five Armies" had opened and we could go see it. He looked pretty unsure and lukewarm to the idea. If kids that age are indifferent to Jackson's creation....
     
  23. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Ironic when everybody keeps saying it should only have been one or two movies.
     
  24. rmath84

    rmath84 Forum Resident

    This is how I feel about The Hobbit movies. I loved the Rings movies so it's nice to spend a couple more hours in Middle Earth. On the biggest screen with all the bells and whistles.
     
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  25. fuzzface

    fuzzface Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lebanon, MO
    I liked the 5 armies (and the other 2 as well, though the first Hobbit was waaaaaaaaay to long), but unlike LOTR trilogy, I have no desire to ever see any of the 3 again.
     
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