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[Scoops Novel]

Having to hide in the mountain because of them was.

[Bauglir]

I more meant the depiction of them, not their existence. A bit too literal, if you ask me. I could be wrong about whether or not they're canonically giants made of stone that blend into the mountainside, but if they are then I think that's a bit of canon that should've been changed. Personal opinion, though, and it's a very minor thing, lasting maybe 3 minutes out of a 3 hour movie.

[fqllve]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The biggest problem to me was the way they did the Elves. They're far too somber and subdued, very much equivalent to LotR tone. The tone of the story would work better with some jolly Elves, and doing it that way would be a great way of showcasing what Sauron's rise by the time of LotR has done to Middle Earth's people. The contrast, I think would've been a great thing.

I liked the original resolution to the trolls better, but they needed to give Bilbo more to do since they're breaking up the book into multiple films, so I understand why they did it. I just kind of wish they could've kept the original trick of getting the trolls to bicker.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Yeah it was really weird. I was expecting even just a little bit of jolliness, and I guess there was a bit in Elrond but that was the exception. Other than that the elves were weirdly placid in a way that I didn't even think fit with the elves of Lothlorien in the Fellowship movie, although I could be misremembering how that was I don't remember them seeming so alien and cold. It bothered me.

I agree about the resolution, but I'm just happy Jackson didn't have the dwarves get captured one by one like in the book because that would have thrown the whole movie off for me. Of course there's no way he could have gone with that, but I think he did a really good job of keeping the intent of the scene the same while still changing almost everything about it. In fact, he did such a good job I'm gonna give the credit to del Toro, from when he was still actually involved in the production. :p

It could have been better, but I was happy it was as well done as it was.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I particularly loved (and almost immediately noticed) how they don't show you Smaug. The most we get are glimpses of his tail, the shadow of his wings, and his eye in a mountain of gold at the end. It really builds up his presence as the true antagonist of the films, even though he has almost no role yet. The only thing I disliked is that they call him Smaug the Terrible instead of Smaug the Golden, but that title was used during the fall of Dale and Erebor, so hopefully he'll have his better title later.

Unlike almost everyone else, I don't mind Azog. He's a necessity. The bands of orks, wargs, and goblins work in the book, but for the film it would have been boring and generic to have them unfocused like that. Azog gives them a memorable leadership and a narrative justification for all the trouble the band gets into. He's also interesting because he's probably really, really, really old. Why else would he look so much like an elf?

Riddles in the Dark was portrayed amazingly, particularly compared to the animated film's failings with it. With the animated film you don't really get the sense of Gollum/Smeagol's madness and the legitimacy of his threat to eat Bilbo. Here, Gollum and Smeagol can barely stop arguing enough to even talk to Bilbo. It's a three-character scene with two people in it. It is also not insignificant that Smeagol refers to Gollum as Precious when he still thinks he has the Ring. He's a split-personality lunatic living in a deep, dark cave, and even with Bilbo having Sting you get the impression that he could break his skull with a rock and eat him if he loses the game. Despite that, he is still really pathetic and they did a good job at making sure the intent of Bilbo sparing him is conveyed without any dialogue at all.

[Darvi]

That, and a complete shot of him would be a massive spoiler for the five people who hadn't read the book yet.

[alway]

Just saw it today. Radagast is the best kind of badass.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The biggest problem to me was the way they did the Elves. They're far too somber and subdued, very much equivalent to LotR tone. The tone of the story would work better with some jolly Elves, and doing it that way would be a great way of showcasing what Sauron's rise by the time of LotR has done to Middle Earth's people. The contrast, I think would've been a great thing.

I liked the original resolution to the trolls better, but they needed to give Bilbo more to do since they're breaking up the book into multiple films, so I understand why they did it. I just kind of wish they could've kept the original trick of getting the trolls to bicker.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Yeah it was really weird. I was expecting even just a little bit of jolliness, and I guess there was a bit in Elrond but that was the exception. Other than that the elves were weirdly placid in a way that I didn't even think fit with the elves of Lothlorien in the Fellowship movie, although I could be misremembering how that was I don't remember them seeming so alien and cold. It bothered me.

It could have been better, but I was happy it was as well done as it was.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The elves are each like 1000+ years old; Elrond is over 6000 years old. Many of them saw the rise and fall of Sauron the first time. Some as old as Elrond even saw Sauron's first big action, the destruction of Numenor. They're pretty much all older than the oldest living human; it's no wonder they're not excitable, nothing surprises them anymore. Not to mention that they are immortal to all but violent death. To live for 4000+ years, you would need a somewhat strong discipline simply to avoid dying of stupid decisions.

[LordBucket]

truestory.gif

Paraphrased conversation I just had with my niece:


Niece: "Hey! Can I tell you a riddle?"

Me: "Sure."

Niece: "What is it that devours everything? Like bees and flowers. And cows. Umm...what else...

Me: "Does it devour humans?"

Niece: "Yes."

Me: "Death."

Niece: "No! Time!"

Me: "Hmm. Well time would have been my second guess, but all your examples were living things. Death was a valid answer for all the examples you gave. If you'd wanted it to be time, mountains would have been a good example."

Niece: "...mountains, yeah. Trying to remember the whole thing."

*Thinks briefly*

Me: "This thing...all things, devours! Birds, bees, trees, flowers! Gnaws iron, bites steel...grinds hard stones to meal. Slays kings, ruins towns, and beats high mountains (dramatic pause) DOWN!"

Niece: (Gaping in shock) "Uhh, yeah. That's it."

Me: "I saw that movie too. Well, the 70s version anyway."

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I thought the answer was fire during the film. Once again, not including mountains throws it off.

But then, Bilbo's idea of a great riddle is "What do I have in my pocket?", so it isn't a fair competition by any means.

[RedWarrior0]

No, that's his idea of a desperate attempt to throw something vaguely tangentially related to a riddle at Gollum.

[PanH]

Well, it's because Gollum thought that it was Bilbo's riddle than it actually become it. Bilbo didn't really intended to use it as a riddle (at start).

[Bauglir]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The elves are each like 1000+ years old; Elrond is over 6000 years old. Many of them saw the rise and fall of Sauron the first time. Some as old as Elrond even saw Sauron's first big action, the destruction of Numenor. They're pretty much all older than the oldest living human; it's no wonder they're not excitable, nothing surprises them anymore. Not to mention that they are immortal to all but violent death. To live for 4000+ years, you would need a somewhat strong discipline simply to avoid dying of stupid decisions.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

None of those things mean they can't be cheerful and upbeat, rather than having emotions ranging entirely from grim to serene. They're psychologically adapted to lifespans like that in ways other races can't be, so it's not really necessary that they react to endlessness like you'd expect a human to. I'm not saying the choice is at odds with the surrounding canon of the films, or that they should always go with the canon of the novels whenever possible, but rather that I think they could have made a better choice for thematic reasons. Neither way strains verisimilitude.

[mcclay]

I just saw the movie today. It was pretty fricken amazing.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I liked Azog a lot, he was a pretty cool villian. With the spike thro,ugh the stump that exits out higher on the arm. Radadash was also a cool guyl, just flying around on those rabbits like it ain't no thing. Lonely Mountain was pretty much DF and Gobling Town was cool looking. Also the Elf at the beginning was riding a fucking moose, holy fucking shit. I saw the cartoon version when I was younger and it quickly became the thing I would get over and over again at the library so this moive had expectations to meet. I think it surpassed them.

[Lectorog]

I didn't like this movie because I wanted a direct adaptation of The Hobbit how I read it. But apparently even everyone thinks the dwarves were rude in the books too, so that couldn't happen. Anyway, good movie, I guess. No real complaints on any objective note.

[Bauglir]

But apparently even everyone thinks the dwarves were rude in the books too, so that couldn't happen.

They improvised a song solely to terrify a homeowner about the fate of his dishware. That it was in jest doesn't make it any less rude, or impressive

[Lectorog]

I found that to be good humor.