The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - some impressions
So as mentioned previously, we went to the midnight screening of The Hobbit last night - the IMAX HFR 3D version, to be precise. We arrived at the cinema shortly after 9:30pm already, to make sure we could still get decent seats, and a good thing too - there was already a queue. We got our copies of the lovely posters that were being handed out - for some reason you had to go to the Services counter to get them - and didn't have to stand in line long before they let us into the theater. We got some decent seats and settled in for the long wait, mostly reading to pass the time.
We were lucky in that our IMAX was one of those showing the 9-minute preview of Star Trek Into Darkness, which looked pretty damn good. There's a synposys here, if you're interested. Only a short glimpse of Benedict Cumberbatch, but the whole thing was fun, and it was received well by the audience, from what I could tell.
And then it was time for The Hobbit. We both loved it. I've seen some reviews mentioning that the pacing was a bit too slow at the start, but I didn't think so at all - it certainly wasn't slower than Fellowship, and it needed that amount of setup. The acting was superb throughout, starting with Martin Freeman, of course, who makes a wonderful young Bilbo! I also liked this younger version of Gandalf - he's less self-assured here than in LotR. The dwarves were thankfully not just comic relief, though some hardly got a line of dialogue. I hope we'll get to know them all better over films 2 and 3. Radagast was just on the right side of silly, and I love his rabbit-drawn sled. It was wonderful to see some familiar faces - Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, Lindir (a.k.a. Figwit) - and of course Gollum, who looks even better and more realistic than the did in LotR!
Favourite scenes:
- Dale and Erebor, with tiny glimpses of Smaug
- Old Bilbo and Frodo
- Bilbo's indignation at the dwarves' arrival
- Gandalf talking to Bilbo in Bag End
- Song of the Lonely Mountain
- Rivendell - especially the scenes between Galadriel and Gandalf
- The moment between Bilbo and Bofur, before they fall into the hands of the goblins
- Riddles in the Dark
- Bilbo showing mercy for Gollum when he could have killed him
- Bilbo to the rescue of Thorin
- "I believe the worst is behind us" - followed by a glimpse of one of Smaug's nostrils peeking out from under his hoard and his eye opening! :D
As for the 48 fps, it didn't take me any time at all to get used to it, and I loved how crystal clear everything looked. I didn't notice it making some of the CGI creatures look fake, like some reviewers did. I also felt the pacing was appropriate and nothing dragged, so the almost 3 hours went by quickly. I was totally immersed in the world of The Hobbit - the only thing that took me out of it momentarily a few times was the lovely New Zealand scenery. :)
But yes, I utterly loved the whole experience (as did hubbie), and I'm so happy we went to the midnight screening. Now to wait a year until the next one... when will the theatrical DVD come out, I wonder?! ;D
We were lucky in that our IMAX was one of those showing the 9-minute preview of Star Trek Into Darkness, which looked pretty damn good. There's a synposys here, if you're interested. Only a short glimpse of Benedict Cumberbatch, but the whole thing was fun, and it was received well by the audience, from what I could tell.
And then it was time for The Hobbit. We both loved it. I've seen some reviews mentioning that the pacing was a bit too slow at the start, but I didn't think so at all - it certainly wasn't slower than Fellowship, and it needed that amount of setup. The acting was superb throughout, starting with Martin Freeman, of course, who makes a wonderful young Bilbo! I also liked this younger version of Gandalf - he's less self-assured here than in LotR. The dwarves were thankfully not just comic relief, though some hardly got a line of dialogue. I hope we'll get to know them all better over films 2 and 3. Radagast was just on the right side of silly, and I love his rabbit-drawn sled. It was wonderful to see some familiar faces - Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, Lindir (a.k.a. Figwit) - and of course Gollum, who looks even better and more realistic than the did in LotR!
Favourite scenes:
- Dale and Erebor, with tiny glimpses of Smaug
- Old Bilbo and Frodo
- Bilbo's indignation at the dwarves' arrival
- Gandalf talking to Bilbo in Bag End
- Song of the Lonely Mountain
- Rivendell - especially the scenes between Galadriel and Gandalf
- The moment between Bilbo and Bofur, before they fall into the hands of the goblins
- Riddles in the Dark
- Bilbo showing mercy for Gollum when he could have killed him
- Bilbo to the rescue of Thorin
- "I believe the worst is behind us" - followed by a glimpse of one of Smaug's nostrils peeking out from under his hoard and his eye opening! :D
As for the 48 fps, it didn't take me any time at all to get used to it, and I loved how crystal clear everything looked. I didn't notice it making some of the CGI creatures look fake, like some reviewers did. I also felt the pacing was appropriate and nothing dragged, so the almost 3 hours went by quickly. I was totally immersed in the world of The Hobbit - the only thing that took me out of it momentarily a few times was the lovely New Zealand scenery. :)
But yes, I utterly loved the whole experience (as did hubbie), and I'm so happy we went to the midnight screening. Now to wait a year until the next one... when will the theatrical DVD come out, I wonder?! ;D