The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Well, that was a bit better, mainly because there was no singing and no fart jokes, and even Radagast seemed a bit less stupid - though not by much. The dwarves, save for Thorin (brooding), Kili (pretty) and Balin (sensible) -- not to forget Bombur (fat) - remain pretty much indistinguishable.
Bloom's Legolas seemed to have lost all his personality from LotR (maybe he had a transplant between these movies and FotR) though an occasional Leggy-moment (TM) enlivened some of the fight sequences. But everyone seemed very one-note and Bilbo's transformation from tongue-tied klutz (particularly in the scenes at Bag End, where he should have been most confident) to silver-tongued burglar seemed just a bit sudden, and most of it seemed to take place between movies. Thranduil is just plain nasty, with not a hint of any redeeming feature, Beorn isn't in it enough to make any impression, Bard is, again, fairly one-note (though very pretty) and Fry is dreadful as the Master of Laketown.
I can see why they added Tauriel, but female Captains of the Guard (or even female guards) are not very Tolkien, even in LotR, let alone The Hobbit and I just cannot buy the 'romance' with Kili or even Legolas. I get the impression that Jackson and the writers didn't quite know how to deal with the elves in 'The Hobbit' who have no connection with the elves in LotR save the name.
Many of the other problems with An Unexpected Journey are still here. The tone is all over the place. For pity's sake, Mr Jackson, make up your mind whether you are making funny kid's movie or a prequel to an epic!
The CGI (and the make-up!) is occasionally very, very obvious (I think because this is the highest of high definitions) and there are occasional moments (and not just Leggy moments) where the movement is sick making (God knows what it was like in 3D). I really think this must be an occasional result of the transfer from the higher frame-rate. And the action sequences went on and on and on until it became almost impossible to suspend disbelief. (Ina, interjecting, "Almost????") The 'barrel' sequence, in particular, had exactly the same problems as the fight in the goblin caves in that it was video-gamish, with no sense of peril. (One began to wonder if the dwarves were prototype Ultrons.)
Which is not true of the Bilbo's encounter with Smaug (though it is exceedingly true the moment the dwarves enter the halls.) The conversation between the pair of them and the FX that accompanies it are, to put it simply, brilliant - clever, funny and exciting, with a real sense of peril. (None of this is true of Smaug's pursuit of the dwarves which is so OTT that even Legolas might boggle.) Cumberbatch is plainly enjoying his voice over, and does a splendid job, and this time Bilbo is note-perfect. Of course, a lot of this sequence is mainly Tolkien, which helps. And it has been pointed out that there isn't as much gold in the world (even adding that in the Earth's crust) as Smaug has collected.
I am trying not to speak of Gandalf's trip to Dol Guldur. There is so much in this movie that looks like a cheap version of something in LotR, and this is one of those scenes. All the magic of places and people in LotR is missing - there is nothing, nothing to compare with the first sights of Rivendell, Moria, Lorien, Edoras or Minas Tirith. Dol Guldur has nothing of the menace of either Mordor or Isengard. The complexity of a Boromir, a Theoden or Denethor is totally missing.
Glad I've seen this, because of that scene with Smaug. Other than that, a pleasant enough time filler, but the lack of imagination on the part of the writers and director is all too apparent.
Bloom's Legolas seemed to have lost all his personality from LotR (maybe he had a transplant between these movies and FotR) though an occasional Leggy-moment (TM) enlivened some of the fight sequences. But everyone seemed very one-note and Bilbo's transformation from tongue-tied klutz (particularly in the scenes at Bag End, where he should have been most confident) to silver-tongued burglar seemed just a bit sudden, and most of it seemed to take place between movies. Thranduil is just plain nasty, with not a hint of any redeeming feature, Beorn isn't in it enough to make any impression, Bard is, again, fairly one-note (though very pretty) and Fry is dreadful as the Master of Laketown.
I can see why they added Tauriel, but female Captains of the Guard (or even female guards) are not very Tolkien, even in LotR, let alone The Hobbit and I just cannot buy the 'romance' with Kili or even Legolas. I get the impression that Jackson and the writers didn't quite know how to deal with the elves in 'The Hobbit' who have no connection with the elves in LotR save the name.
Many of the other problems with An Unexpected Journey are still here. The tone is all over the place. For pity's sake, Mr Jackson, make up your mind whether you are making funny kid's movie or a prequel to an epic!
The CGI (and the make-up!) is occasionally very, very obvious (I think because this is the highest of high definitions) and there are occasional moments (and not just Leggy moments) where the movement is sick making (God knows what it was like in 3D). I really think this must be an occasional result of the transfer from the higher frame-rate. And the action sequences went on and on and on until it became almost impossible to suspend disbelief. (Ina, interjecting, "Almost????") The 'barrel' sequence, in particular, had exactly the same problems as the fight in the goblin caves in that it was video-gamish, with no sense of peril. (One began to wonder if the dwarves were prototype Ultrons.)
Which is not true of the Bilbo's encounter with Smaug (though it is exceedingly true the moment the dwarves enter the halls.) The conversation between the pair of them and the FX that accompanies it are, to put it simply, brilliant - clever, funny and exciting, with a real sense of peril. (None of this is true of Smaug's pursuit of the dwarves which is so OTT that even Legolas might boggle.) Cumberbatch is plainly enjoying his voice over, and does a splendid job, and this time Bilbo is note-perfect. Of course, a lot of this sequence is mainly Tolkien, which helps. And it has been pointed out that there isn't as much gold in the world (even adding that in the Earth's crust) as Smaug has collected.
I am trying not to speak of Gandalf's trip to Dol Guldur. There is so much in this movie that looks like a cheap version of something in LotR, and this is one of those scenes. All the magic of places and people in LotR is missing - there is nothing, nothing to compare with the first sights of Rivendell, Moria, Lorien, Edoras or Minas Tirith. Dol Guldur has nothing of the menace of either Mordor or Isengard. The complexity of a Boromir, a Theoden or Denethor is totally missing.
Glad I've seen this, because of that scene with Smaug. Other than that, a pleasant enough time filler, but the lack of imagination on the part of the writers and director is all too apparent.