"The Hobbit", at last!

[wiseheart]

Finally, after 7 weeks of anguish, Mum and I managed to go to the cinema and see "The Hobbit". In 3D and with Hungarian dubbing because that was the only time slot we could squeeze it in. Well... my thoughts are behind the tag.

I was prepared to hate it. I didn't. Actually, with all expectations of canon accuracy firmly banned from my mind, I even enjoyed it. It would have been a lovely fairy tale, if not for the gratutious battle scenes and the constant fighting.

What I liked:

1)MARTIN FREEMAN as Bilbo!!! The guy was beyond amazing. I already admired him as Dr. Watson, but I'm completely smitten with him now.

2) The melancholy singing of the Dwarves at Bilbo's (the second song, I mean, not the plate-breaking insanity, although that was fun, too).

3) Radagast. He was the character I was prepared to hate the most, but guess what? I loved him and his rabbit-sleigh, despite the horrid costume and make-up. He was absolutely loveable. Go figure.

4) Richard Armitage as Thorin. Again, despite my previous expectations. I still think he's too young for the role; they should have put more grey in his hair and given him a bigger beard. But I understand that they needed someone sexy to attract young female viewers. So be it.

5) Balin and Bofur, the only other Dwarves with an actual personality.

4) Dol Guldur. It was suitably creepy.

5) The Wargs. They actually looked like wolves this time, instead of like prehistoric hyaenas as in LOTR.

6) GOLLUM! 'Nuff said.

Things I found okay:

1) Azog. He wasn't really necessary, IMO, but I understand that non-Tolkienite viewers need a main adversary. And they did him well.

2) Elrond. He looked a lot better than in LOTR, wasn't suffering from depressions and even kicked Orc ass. That I still think he was miscast is another matter entirely.

3) Galadriel. Again, she looked better and came over as less as an idiot than in LOTR. Again, she was fairly unnecessary, but they needed at least one female character in the film. And her dresses were stunning.

Things I didn't like:

1) Thrainduil and his stupid Elk. Sorry, it just looked silly.

2) The rest of the Dwarves as poor caricatures.

3) Goblin Town. Too many hanging bridges, too big the whole thing, too long and too ridiculous fight scenes.

4) Rivendell. It's too artificial, too decadent and not really captivating. I didn't like it in LOTR, either, so it's not truly surprising.



All in all, it was an enjoyable film, save the gratutious fighting. Even Mum enjoyed it. The 3D effects didn't do much for us, aside from making us dizzy whenever something appeared to drop off the screen and right onto our heads, but it's a matter of taste, I guess.

I'll be definitely in for the next part.

Comments

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

We´re mostly in agreement, I see, though I´m still wondering how Radagast and his Rhosgobel rabbits managed to cross the Misty Mountains with a sled. I liked Thranduil, but not his moose. But I hated the Goblin Town & Burning Tree scenes so much that they almost killed the second half for me. Fortunately there was the riddle game, which was perfect.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

The whole interpretation of Radagast was a bit off, IMO. I liked his tree house, but the rest of him was fairly ridiculous. Including the rabbit sled. At least that was hilarious. As for crossing the Misty Mountains - PJ showed ignorance for actual distances in M-e in LOTR already. Not to mention the laws of physics. If Éomer and the Rohirrim could ride down the mountanside vertically, why couldn't a few rabbits cross the Misty Mountains in ten minutes? They were enchanted rabbits, right? [/sarcasm]

Thranduil looked like a corpse, IMO. I wonder how will they make up Orlando to look young enough to be his son. The giant elk was an impressive sight, but I was wondering how it was supposed to race with Thrandy after the Giant Spiders? It would get trapped in the first spider web with its antlers and get eaten.

Goblin Town was ridiculous. Plus, it had very strong reminsicences of Saruman's underground facilities. Mum and I were laughing our heads off over all those stupid bridges. I mean, when you dig bloody tunnels under the mountains, you don't make them so huge that you'd need highly impractical and potentially dangerous hanging bridges, right?

Yeah, I know. Coming with logic again. How stupid of me!

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

Of course! If you are willing to believe in nonsense like dwarves, elves, goblins and trolls, etc., why not suspend belief in the laws of nature and logic as well?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

As I said: my fault. ;)