TH:TBO5A
Finally a chance to put down a few of my thoughts about the movie. I really hope to get a chance to see it again soon!
SPOILERS behind the cut:
I like that the movie jumps right into the action; no recaps, no prologues--we get right into the terror of trying to evacuate a town as it's being flamed by the dragon.
I was glad that the Dwarves who'd stayed behind were able to rejoin the others quickly and with a minimum of fuss. I didn't care for that sub-plot in DOS, I was afraid they'd draw that all out with more drama. I'm glad they didn't--I still don't know what the point of splitting up the Company was.
The evacuation was really suspenseful; I liked that the addition of Bard's children made the whole thing more personal.
In the book, the Dwarves did not even know that Smaug was dead, which made for some suspense. But here, they actually see the dragon fall--something that makes sense in this version.
Thorin falling to the dragon-sickness made me cringe, in a good way! Like the Dwarves and Bilbo, I winced every time he talked about the Arkenstone, every time he said that he would not share the treasure. And the part when he began to rant and his voice morphed into Smaug's voice gave me chills! His hallucination with drowning in the gold was also very effective.
Meanwhile, Bilbo was perfect, as he worried about what to do with the Arkenstone. I swear, Martin Freeman was amazing; not a word, not an expression, that wasn't Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, and the descendant of Tooks. I cannot say enough how much I admired his performance.
I have been saying for months that for me personally my opinion on the last movie would be based on three key scenes: Bilbo turning over the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil, Bilbo's leave-taking of Thorin, and finally, his return to the Shire. While not identical to the book all three scenes were handled very well, especially the death scene. But I found many other great scenes that I did not expect and I really liked.
Every scene with Bilbo and Gandalf made me both smile and tear up. The chemistry between them has been good all through the series, but in this last one the friendship seemed so real and so deep. Ian McKellan made Gandalf his own in a way no one else ever could.
Speaking of Gandalf, I have to say I didn't expect the situation at Dol Goldur to be resolved so quickly. I had imagined PJ would have made much more of that battle than he did. I was pleasantly surprised that he followed canon, and let it be the White Council be the ones to evict Sauron. (And even the relative "ease" of that eviction follows canon, in that Sauron let them chase him out.) I still dislike the whole Angmar sub-plot, but it was really awesome to watch Elrond, Galadriel, and Saruman throw down! I have to admit it was great to see Galadriel use her full power! And Elrond with a sword was impressive! The foreshadowing with Saruman saying leave Sauron to him was clever. None of the others would understand that he was simply putting them off the trail, but the audience would.
Other things I liked:
-Dwarves riding pigs and mountain goats into battle.
-Thranduil thawing out a little. He was still arrogant and haughty, but he wasn't
quite as despicable and cruel as in DOS. I especially liked the scenes in which he showed respect for Bard.
-Radagast rescuing Gandalf with the rabbit sled. I confess to a great fondness for that thing!
-Beorn changing to bear form mid-air! Totally implausible, but very cool!
-Young Bain getting his chance to fight, and also I know it was corny, but I did like bit when his father aimed the arrow over his shoulder. Not the same thing at all, but it sort of reminded me of William Tell.
-There were several overhead shots of the battle that were breathtaking.
-Loved the little nod to Aragorn in the leave taking between Thranduil and Legolas, partly because that bit of dialogue felt VERY fanficcish.
-Bilbo's total failure to slip away without a farewell. Beautifully handled. BTW, have I mentioned yet the terrific friendship chemistry between Bilbo and Balin?
-The Shire. The auction. Bilbo'expressions. And using the Contract as his proof of identity! What a perfect touch! Lobelia and the spoons! :D !
-Ending with "old" Bilbo and with Gandalf at the door!
Now, there were some things I didn't care for at all:
-I thought there was too much Alfrid. The character really wasn't funny enough to warrant that much screen time. I kept hoping he'd fall in the lake and drown.
-I completely lost interest in Tauriel and even Legolas. I know they did their part in the battle and all, but mostly it seemed like a desperate effort to make their characters seem relevant to the story. It's a shame, because I liked Tauriel's character as warrior, but the whole romance thing just dragged and never really felt real.
-The battle went on and on and on and on and...I was SO glad when the Eagles made their appearance; I was really tiring of the fighting by then.
Finally, the thing that capped the entire experience: "The Last Goodbye". Billy Boyd's song was so haunting and ethereal, I felt like he was back in character as Pippin, singing to honor his own lost kin and friends as well as to honor Bilbo's story. My only regret was that I couldn't properly appreciate Alan Lee's beautiful portraits, since everyone decided to get up and walk in front of me! You'd think the movie was over or something.
SPOILERS behind the cut:
I like that the movie jumps right into the action; no recaps, no prologues--we get right into the terror of trying to evacuate a town as it's being flamed by the dragon.
I was glad that the Dwarves who'd stayed behind were able to rejoin the others quickly and with a minimum of fuss. I didn't care for that sub-plot in DOS, I was afraid they'd draw that all out with more drama. I'm glad they didn't--I still don't know what the point of splitting up the Company was.
The evacuation was really suspenseful; I liked that the addition of Bard's children made the whole thing more personal.
In the book, the Dwarves did not even know that Smaug was dead, which made for some suspense. But here, they actually see the dragon fall--something that makes sense in this version.
Thorin falling to the dragon-sickness made me cringe, in a good way! Like the Dwarves and Bilbo, I winced every time he talked about the Arkenstone, every time he said that he would not share the treasure. And the part when he began to rant and his voice morphed into Smaug's voice gave me chills! His hallucination with drowning in the gold was also very effective.
Meanwhile, Bilbo was perfect, as he worried about what to do with the Arkenstone. I swear, Martin Freeman was amazing; not a word, not an expression, that wasn't Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, and the descendant of Tooks. I cannot say enough how much I admired his performance.
I have been saying for months that for me personally my opinion on the last movie would be based on three key scenes: Bilbo turning over the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil, Bilbo's leave-taking of Thorin, and finally, his return to the Shire. While not identical to the book all three scenes were handled very well, especially the death scene. But I found many other great scenes that I did not expect and I really liked.
Every scene with Bilbo and Gandalf made me both smile and tear up. The chemistry between them has been good all through the series, but in this last one the friendship seemed so real and so deep. Ian McKellan made Gandalf his own in a way no one else ever could.
Speaking of Gandalf, I have to say I didn't expect the situation at Dol Goldur to be resolved so quickly. I had imagined PJ would have made much more of that battle than he did. I was pleasantly surprised that he followed canon, and let it be the White Council be the ones to evict Sauron. (And even the relative "ease" of that eviction follows canon, in that Sauron let them chase him out.) I still dislike the whole Angmar sub-plot, but it was really awesome to watch Elrond, Galadriel, and Saruman throw down! I have to admit it was great to see Galadriel use her full power! And Elrond with a sword was impressive! The foreshadowing with Saruman saying leave Sauron to him was clever. None of the others would understand that he was simply putting them off the trail, but the audience would.
Other things I liked:
-Dwarves riding pigs and mountain goats into battle.
-Thranduil thawing out a little. He was still arrogant and haughty, but he wasn't
quite as despicable and cruel as in DOS. I especially liked the scenes in which he showed respect for Bard.
-Radagast rescuing Gandalf with the rabbit sled. I confess to a great fondness for that thing!
-Beorn changing to bear form mid-air! Totally implausible, but very cool!
-Young Bain getting his chance to fight, and also I know it was corny, but I did like bit when his father aimed the arrow over his shoulder. Not the same thing at all, but it sort of reminded me of William Tell.
-There were several overhead shots of the battle that were breathtaking.
-Loved the little nod to Aragorn in the leave taking between Thranduil and Legolas, partly because that bit of dialogue felt VERY fanficcish.
-Bilbo's total failure to slip away without a farewell. Beautifully handled. BTW, have I mentioned yet the terrific friendship chemistry between Bilbo and Balin?
-The Shire. The auction. Bilbo'expressions. And using the Contract as his proof of identity! What a perfect touch! Lobelia and the spoons! :D !
-Ending with "old" Bilbo and with Gandalf at the door!
Now, there were some things I didn't care for at all:
-I thought there was too much Alfrid. The character really wasn't funny enough to warrant that much screen time. I kept hoping he'd fall in the lake and drown.
-I completely lost interest in Tauriel and even Legolas. I know they did their part in the battle and all, but mostly it seemed like a desperate effort to make their characters seem relevant to the story. It's a shame, because I liked Tauriel's character as warrior, but the whole romance thing just dragged and never really felt real.
-The battle went on and on and on and on and...I was SO glad when the Eagles made their appearance; I was really tiring of the fighting by then.
Finally, the thing that capped the entire experience: "The Last Goodbye". Billy Boyd's song was so haunting and ethereal, I felt like he was back in character as Pippin, singing to honor his own lost kin and friends as well as to honor Bilbo's story. My only regret was that I couldn't properly appreciate Alan Lee's beautiful portraits, since everyone decided to get up and walk in front of me! You'd think the movie was over or something.