Saw The Hobbit - and came away more impressed with Thranduil than the rest of 'em...
Yes, yes, I know. Lee Pace has eyebrows that one could stand on and not fall. They're a dark color when the rest of his Thranduil was a beautiful blonde. But you know what? He's a good enough actor that he completely sold PJ's version of Thranduil and made me forget the caterpillar eyebrows. And in The Battle of the Five Armies, he was so very much a wild, wily, sly, conniving Elvenking - not necessarily an evil one (which would have pissed me off royally) but rather just a very unpredictable, changeable and self-assured one that believed absolutely in his royal privilege. In this version of the character, I could definitely see an Elf who defended his kingdom without the assistance of a magic Ring of Power - an Elvenking who deserved the respect he expected.
He also wielded a very mean sword.
And that war-moose. Gotta love the war-moose. :-D
But if there was any doubt that this was anything but a work of fan fiction gone very, VERY large, Battle of the Five Armies does a good job of destroying that doubt. I mean...
1. Galadriel is not this wierded-out Elf-witch strong enough to send Sauron packing. That was SO wrong... Nor did I appreciate the mild nuance of "something" between her and Gandalf again.
2. Elrond is a healer. Yes, he used to fight, but doesn't anymore. Not sure if that's canon or fanon, but even tho' seeing him use his sword effectively was stirring (Elrond ties Thranduil for being my favorite Tolkien character, fwiw, as if you guys didn't know...) it just felt wrong.
3. One word: Tauriel. That whole love triangle thing with the Dwarf and Legolas was SOOOOOOO lame. Mind you, the actress sold it, and sold it well. But you know, I don't need my Tolkien romantic'ed up. I can handle it being a "boy's club" story. I bet most folks could.
4. Another one word: Legolas. He didn't belong - at least, not in the way he was included. I could see him taking part in the Battle of the Five Armies as part of Thranduil's army. But... just... No. And that set-up thing at the end between him and Thranduil that sends him north to the Dunedain... also lame. There was no sign in the LOTR movie that Legolas knew Aragorn from before. So more lame. The only good thing accomplished there was it set up a rift between father and son that would result in Legolas going on the Quest in defiance of his father's wishes.
5. The fighting. Too much fighting. Too much long, drawn-out fighting. Yes, I know the movie had fighting in the title, and that it would include some. But too much is too much. This wasn't the battle for Minas Tirith, altho PJ almost made it feel that big. Enough already.
6. The 3D didn't add anything truly spectacular to the movie itself. Yes there were a couple of moments when it was striking, but nothing that made one catch one's breath. All in all, it felt more like the 3D was there to make a serious boost in ticket prices, which will in turn boost the profit the movie makes.
Now for the good things:
1. Thranduil - all the stuff mentioned above.
2. One word: Smaug. It doesn't hurt that I *LOVE* dragons in all their forms. Benedict Cumberbatch voiced that worm SOOO well. He was so completely evil, and yet I almost felt bad when Bard killed him.
3. The gradual madness of Thorin. Armitage is one helluvan actor, because that madness was as much in the expression in his eye as it was in any dialogue or delivery thereof. When he spoke to Bilbo after being shown the acorn, his vision was clear - you could see it in his face. And you could see it clouding in on him shortly thereafter.
4. Martin Freeman's Bilbo - so much like what I would have expected a Bilbo to be like.
5. The tie-in with the LOTR movie trilogy at the very end, seeing the hobbit side of Gandalf knocking on Bilbo's door. Lovely touch there.
6. No more video-game feel. No more crazy rides down visual rollercoasters. No place where the CGI stood out so very much that it became almost a joke. And even at the high frame rate (the version I saw) it didn't make me sick to my stomach this time. A definite improvement there... (Goblin Town made me almost lose my popcorn and drink.)
All that to say that seeing the movie yesterday gave my Muse a punch in the arm, and so she sat me down and helped me finish one of my WIPs that has been languishing for quite a long time. I'll post the first chapter of it when I finish with this.
But I also just wanted to say that, despite the flaws I listed under the cut, it was still a VERY good movie. I'm glad I went to see it, and I want to see it again - as much to drool over Lee Pace's Thranduil as anything else.
He also wielded a very mean sword.
And that war-moose. Gotta love the war-moose. :-D
But if there was any doubt that this was anything but a work of fan fiction gone very, VERY large, Battle of the Five Armies does a good job of destroying that doubt. I mean...
1. Galadriel is not this wierded-out Elf-witch strong enough to send Sauron packing. That was SO wrong... Nor did I appreciate the mild nuance of "something" between her and Gandalf again.
2. Elrond is a healer. Yes, he used to fight, but doesn't anymore. Not sure if that's canon or fanon, but even tho' seeing him use his sword effectively was stirring (Elrond ties Thranduil for being my favorite Tolkien character, fwiw, as if you guys didn't know...) it just felt wrong.
3. One word: Tauriel. That whole love triangle thing with the Dwarf and Legolas was SOOOOOOO lame. Mind you, the actress sold it, and sold it well. But you know, I don't need my Tolkien romantic'ed up. I can handle it being a "boy's club" story. I bet most folks could.
4. Another one word: Legolas. He didn't belong - at least, not in the way he was included. I could see him taking part in the Battle of the Five Armies as part of Thranduil's army. But... just... No. And that set-up thing at the end between him and Thranduil that sends him north to the Dunedain... also lame. There was no sign in the LOTR movie that Legolas knew Aragorn from before. So more lame. The only good thing accomplished there was it set up a rift between father and son that would result in Legolas going on the Quest in defiance of his father's wishes.
5. The fighting. Too much fighting. Too much long, drawn-out fighting. Yes, I know the movie had fighting in the title, and that it would include some. But too much is too much. This wasn't the battle for Minas Tirith, altho PJ almost made it feel that big. Enough already.
6. The 3D didn't add anything truly spectacular to the movie itself. Yes there were a couple of moments when it was striking, but nothing that made one catch one's breath. All in all, it felt more like the 3D was there to make a serious boost in ticket prices, which will in turn boost the profit the movie makes.
Now for the good things:
1. Thranduil - all the stuff mentioned above.
2. One word: Smaug. It doesn't hurt that I *LOVE* dragons in all their forms. Benedict Cumberbatch voiced that worm SOOO well. He was so completely evil, and yet I almost felt bad when Bard killed him.
3. The gradual madness of Thorin. Armitage is one helluvan actor, because that madness was as much in the expression in his eye as it was in any dialogue or delivery thereof. When he spoke to Bilbo after being shown the acorn, his vision was clear - you could see it in his face. And you could see it clouding in on him shortly thereafter.
4. Martin Freeman's Bilbo - so much like what I would have expected a Bilbo to be like.
5. The tie-in with the LOTR movie trilogy at the very end, seeing the hobbit side of Gandalf knocking on Bilbo's door. Lovely touch there.
6. No more video-game feel. No more crazy rides down visual rollercoasters. No place where the CGI stood out so very much that it became almost a joke. And even at the high frame rate (the version I saw) it didn't make me sick to my stomach this time. A definite improvement there... (Goblin Town made me almost lose my popcorn and drink.)
All that to say that seeing the movie yesterday gave my Muse a punch in the arm, and so she sat me down and helped me finish one of my WIPs that has been languishing for quite a long time. I'll post the first chapter of it when I finish with this.
But I also just wanted to say that, despite the flaws I listed under the cut, it was still a VERY good movie. I'm glad I went to see it, and I want to see it again - as much to drool over Lee Pace's Thranduil as anything else.