The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

[JAWS]

Sometimes, I wonder why I bother.

I still maintain that it has not translated well to screen and ruins the flow/story a bit for Fellowship. Like I said I should have to research the books to help make more sense of the films.... I have and it did but I shouldn't have to.

And who knows this is PJ middle earth.. Things happen all the time that didn't in the books so perhaps all that history and explanation isn't there in his world and he means for Gandalf to be a dolt

 

[SixthScaleEdward]

Are you talking about a Bombut bit at the end??? I can't think of anything that happened there.

Or was there something you did not like in the end on top of the Barrel Bombur bit.

Going to go again on Tuesday.

I think he didn't like the Legolas + Bombur overload.
Although, he admits that each was good on its own.

 

[george]

Just seen the film and thought it was awesome, but one thing bugged me.

I apologize if this has been brought up but how did Smaug know that Thorin was called Oakenshield?

 

[Matt S]

Honestly thought the cgi/fx work in this one is pretty high quality; that said, there are some 'wonky' shots that I noticed, but for me: mostly a shot in the distance with the horses or something like that, or a landscape shot that seemed heavily composited

 

[nemenforcer]

Just got back from the movie and loved it. Nothing else for me to say. Definitely going to see this once more at least

Saw it last night and loved it. It was so much better than the first one. My wife stayed awake the whole time

The tempo was great, I really enjoyed Tauriel as a new character to the franchise. Seeing the scene with Gandalf and the spirit was Amazing! I really enjoyed the banter with Smaug and the suspense before the end sequence. Most of all, I really like how the dark side of Thorin was fleshed out more! Smashing success for me.

 

[jye4ever]

The melting gold statue looked exactly like a videogame.

Thankfully nothing like that was in the LOTR.

The other thing, the outside landscape shots were as stunning as ever but whenever they were in the studio stages the 48 showing made it look really fake.

 

[The Chev]

Just seen the film and thought it was awesome, but one thing bugged me.

I apologize if this has been brought up but how did Smaug know that Thorin was called Oakenshield?

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[jye4ever]

Smaug is clairvoyant, he is an extension of the Necromancer.

Or maybe not.

 

[Biojex]

The melting gold statue looked exactly like a videogame.

Thankfully nothing like that was in the LOTR.

The other thing, the outside landscape shots were as stunning as ever but whenever they were in the studio stages the 48 showing made it look really fake.

I agree. They looked very stagey. The funny thing is, when I went I didn't realize I had bought 48 FPS tickets. So it was an interesting surprise

Jarring at first but it became unnoticeable about an hour in.

 

[jye4ever]

I agree. They looked very stagey. The funny thing is, when I went I didn't realize I had bought 48 FPS tickets. So it was an interesting surprise

Jarring at first but it became unnoticeable about an hour in.

If you're a tech junkie, like I am, then no doubt that 48/3D is the sharpest 3D in existence. Not talking about pop out, I'm talking about clarity.

But i'm able to place my tech craving aside when I want something to be epic.

No doubt that LOTR, shot at 24 with no 3D, makes those movies epic in scale.

Watching the Hobbit in 48/3D is a novelty.

PJ says 48/3D brings you into the movie more.

Technically, he's right.

Emotionally, the way LOTR were made brings me in more.

 

[The Josh]

Jaws we will just have to agree to disagree on how all the Sauron and Gandalf reactions work between all the movies.

I think he didn't like the Legolas + Bombur overload.
Although, he admits that each was good on its own.

Yeah, each was good on their own but together are probably a little overkill.

 

[Biojex]

If you're a tech junkie, like I am, then no doubt that 48/3D is the sharpest 3D in existence. Not talking about pop out, I'm talking about clarity.

But i'm able to place my tech craving aside when I want something to be epic.

No doubt that LOTR, shot at 24 with no 3D, makes those movies epic in scale.

Watching the Hobbit in 48/3D is a novelty.

PJ says 48/3D brings you into the movie more.

Technically, he's right.

Emotionally, the way LOTR were made brings me in more.

The action scenes with Smaug and the barrels, for example, were amazing in 48. Breathtaking clarity. It's the close quarters exposition scenes on the sets that suffer. They come off as very hokey. If I could have all the action/scenic scenes in 48 and the talky scenes in 24, I'd be right as rain.

Emotionally, I do prefer the 24.

 

[JAWS]

Jaws we will just have to agree to disagree on how all the Sauron and Gandalf reactions work between all the movies.

No Never!!! You need to see things my way

After all PJ likes to dumb down his middle earth characters (see Mary, Pippin, and Gimli)

 

[pixletwin]

Saw it last night. Loved it. Loved the sequence with Sauron. The two things I thought would bug me the most (Tauriel and the barrel ride) were great. The only things I felt it lacked was the Beorn scene. I wished it followed the book more closely.... or at all, really.

 

[jye4ever]

The action scenes with Smaug and the barrels, for example, were amazing in 48. Breathtaking clarity. It's the close quarters exposition scenes on the sets that suffer. They come off as very hokey. If I could have all the action/scenic scenes in 48 and the talky scenes in 24, I'd be right as rain.

Emotionally, I do prefer the 24.

That would be an insane mix of 24/48 back and forth in one movie.



But yeah, 24fps with real film just makes me take the movie alot more seriously.

Just call me a snob I guess.

 

[Khev]

I don't have any real complaints about Smaug or the scene, but it's been 20 years since I read the book, and I could have sworn

Spoiler:

Bilbo and Smaug played another game of riddles. While I enjoyed the movie, I thought I remembered them trying to outwit each other.

Yeah, based on my hazy memory of the book Bilbo tricked Smaug into

Spoiler:

revealing that he had a missing scale over his heart.

 

[pixletwin]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I saw it in 3D hfr. It was fun, but I prefer traditional 2D at 24 fps.

 

[Khev]

At the end of the day, I am more invested in the LOTR journey of destroying the ring than I am with killing Smaug.

Going back to this post for a second as far as "missions" go I think I've always preferred "kill the dragon" over "drop the ring in lava." Taking out a dragon is just so climactic. Both adventures feature strange road encounters and big army battles but I guess I just prefer evil being embodied in a gargantuan beast a little more than a piece of jewelry.

I still think FOTR and ROTK are superior films to AUJ and DOS (for now,) but I'm eating up every second of this Hobbit trilogy.

 

[NAZGUL-KING]

Ten minutes until start.

 

[RyanGabriel]

Movie is awesome, can't wait for my second viewing on Tuesday.

Just to drop in regarding the Gandalf and Sauron reaction. Maybe there is something happen in the 3rd part that makes Gandalf think that Sauron is defeated. Which is the reason for the surprise reaction on FotR? Just my opinion guys.