AnimeSuki Forums

james0246 · 2012-12-26, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kokukirin

I watched the movie last night on imax 3d.

If you just saw it in IMAX 3D then you did not see it in 48fps. Regular and 3D IMAX is only 24fps. You need to see IMAX HFR (high frame rate) to see the film in 48fps.

I would recommend for first time viewers to see the film in regular IMAX first (or IMAX 3D if they are up for it), and only if they like the film should they see it in IMAX HFR.

GDB · 2012-12-26, 19:02

I know my theatre only had Digital (regular) and XD 3D (which is pretty much the same as IMAX), and the latter was HFR. No other options.

james0246 · 2012-12-26, 19:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by GDB

I know my theatre only had Digital (regular) and XD 3D (which is pretty much the same as IMAX), and the latter was HFR. No other options.

I should note, the IMAX (and XD) you find in theatres is a rip-off. True IMAX is far far larger than what you see in movie theatres (and shaped somewhat like a dome). That being said, the size of an IMAX theatre and an XD theatre are approximately the same. And even the basic digital picture is the same. So, you shouldn't notice any real difference between the two.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ithekro

panoramic views of New Zealand that seem like they were added for the National Tourism Bureau.

I refuse to watch any Tolkien adaptation without panoramic views of New Zealand.

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ithekro

It was altered from the novel, but so were Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, and I didn't mind that either since it made them look really cool and kept the "flavor" of Middle Earth, so to speak.

It's not so much the fact that the tale was altered that bothered me (the various side-quests mentioned all sound interesting, and the background of the characters are fun). Rather it was the insignificance of the overall story of Part I. In the end, An Unexpected Journey is, more or less, the story of Bilbo getting a little excitement and slowly becoming friends with his traveling companions. While this isn't necessarily a bad story arc, it is relatively insignificant when compared with the side quests (freaking necromancy and giant spiders in some weird dudes forest), and even with the other characters back stories. Additionally, as Kafriel mentioned, Bilbo's eventual acceptance feels very hackneyed and too forceful.

Truthfully, I do not know of anyway to rectify this problem. There was simply too little story for such an epic-seeming film.

That being said, upon seeing the film a second time (with different and nerdier friends), I do like the film a bit more than my initial viewing. 67/100. (I still hate the brief scene with Ian Holm & Elijah Wood near the beginning, and I dislike how Jackson is trying to shoehorn together this new trilogy with the old (say what you will about Lucas' newer Star Wars trilogy, but the films can act completely independent of the original trilogy, representing a solid storyline all their own without need of constantly referencing the original trilogy).)

Ithekro · 2012-12-26, 19:41

I actually liked the method of getting us into the story via Bilbo and Frodo, as the story was always told as if it was being written down in the Red Book of Westmarch. I actually almost expect the end to be either Frodo and Sam putting the last touches in, or Sam finishing the book after Frodo and Bilbo leave Middle Earth.

Bilbo, in most respects, is written to be like an English gentlemen (perhaps even a 20th century noble) that goes off to fight in World War I (an adventure they though...before the trenches). Or perhaps that is more Frodo with Bilbo being the late 19th's era colonial adventurer heading off into India, Kenya, or South Africa (Boer Wars). He is scoffed by the professional soldiers (Thorin), but once he proves he's got the will and courage to stick it out, he is accepted (also after he proves useful, though he'll actually be more useful later in the series than he was in this film).

Though the actual important things from the book have already appended for the most part. The Ring is more of less the only important thing that happens in respect for the later novels. The rest of the important stuff happened behind he scenes (which I hope to see since the White Council taking on the Necromancer should be interesting).

GDB · 2012-12-26, 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ithekro

I actually liked the method of getting us into the story via Bilbo and Frodo, as the story was always told as if it was being written down in the Red Book of Westmarch. I actually almost expect the end to be either Frodo and Sam putting the last touches in, or Sam finishing the book after Frodo and Bilbo leave Middle Earth.

But that would imply that one of them finished Bilbo's story. To me, it makes more sense for it to end with old Bilbo during Return of the King/Two Towers (not sure exactly when he finished), maybe wondering where Frodo is.

FlareKnight · 2012-12-26, 20:01

Honestly I just enjoyed the movie. Only after it was done and I read some opinions did I even notice some complaints. I thought the length was fine. At this point I expect a Tolkien adaptation to take hours of my life

. Thought the early portion was easier to take in than Fellowship.

Sure, easily could have cut some things to shorten it up, but figure it's fine to see the whole thing in theaters rather than a later extended edition.

Does make me think how much luckier Bilbo was though compared to Frodo. "Hey, found a cool ring that makes me invisible!" So much more convenient than "if I wear it all evil will find me!"

Thought that meeting of the minds portion was interesting. Trying to read just where Saruman is at this point. You know where he'll end up and are left trying to read his motives. Is he trying to make things difficult, or is he just a jerk normally? Either way if that is his normal personality not surprising how things end up for him.

Ithekro · 2012-12-26, 20:25

Spoiler for potential spoilers for future films...:

ChainLegacy · 2012-12-26, 20:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by james0246

(I still hate the brief scene with Ian Holm & Elijah Wood near the beginning, and I dislike how Jackson is trying to shoehorn together this new trilogy with the old.

It was super bizarre and unnecessary. If someone is in the theater watching the movie, they know it is a prequel to Lord of the Rings. If they really wanted to have that framing device they could have quickly shown old Bilbo writing in his book. I'm pretty sure he repeated the phrase "my dear Frodo" like 4-5 times during that brief scene too, which made it seem so poorly written. I really feel like the weakest parts of this movie were the parts that strayed the furthest from the original work. I especially despised the fact that they tried to turn Thorin into Dwarven Aragorn... really not his character at all in the book (and I wonder how they'll rectify this with his later selfish/petty behavior upon Smaug's defeat).

Ithekro · 2012-12-26, 20:54

Dwarven gold madness. (Dwarven Ring of Power)

He also comes across as the "We did this and this is ours" type. Not very trusting, and not very keen on elves and likely humans either. Plus the other dwarves said "no" to helping. Bascially they might have him be more the "Screw you guys, we finished our quest and got ours...go aways!"

The Aragon like bit is probably their so he can have an epic fight with Azog (and probably death) at the Battle of Five Armies. Tolkien sort of glasses over battles and Peter Jackson likes doing those things. Thus leaving Bolg (son of Azog) to fall to Beorn as written while giving Thorin a heroic fight in the big battle. (Recall that much of the climax of the battle was told to Biblo afterwards as Tolkien had him knocked out by a rock just as the Eagles arrived).

james0246 · 2012-12-26, 21:33

There is a lot of references being made here to stories that will probably be included in future Hobbit films. Since we do discourage spoiling future events, so for the future please contain such discussions of source materials behind spoiler tags.

ChainLegacy · 2012-12-26, 21:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by james0246

There is a lot of references being made here to stories that will probably be included in future Hobbit films. Since we do discourage spoiling future events, so for the future please contain such discussions of source materials behind spoiler tags.

As an addendum to this message, if you are at risk of being spoiled, please do yourself a favor and read the superior source material

. Though I am holding out some hope for the next two films, as there is more action (apparently Jackson's strong suit) to come. I do wonder how they will handle the

Spoiler for later materialz:

Vallen Chaos Valiant · 2012-12-26, 23:35

Just watched the film.

Just one thing; if this was a D&D campaign it would be a shitty one. Stumble into a Troll den and finding all these endgame swords? Imba.

I liked how the different wizards are compared to one another. I still think the Goblin King's voice doesn't quite match his size.

Chiibi · 2012-12-28, 00:10

So for everyone who DID enjoy the movie, do you have favorite scenes?

Mine:

Spoiler:

Marulash · 2012-12-28, 00:39

It was pretty nice. Didn't really liked the Goblin King scene though. Didn't really feel that there was a real sense of danger/death.
Can't wait for the later scenes though, especially the

Spoiler:

Vallen Chaos Valiant · 2012-12-28, 01:29

Yeah, Overall I enjoyed it. I barely remembered the book that I read years ago; it doesn't help that my English was horrible back then.

I want someone to make a comparison image of the stone troll positions in LotR and this film.

Gollum was definitely the highlight. Perfectly done IMHO. Radagast's role might not be canon, but he does the job of making the wizards more varied. That they are more than a bundle of mystery.

Cosmic Eagle · 2012-12-28, 03:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Just watched the film.

Just one thing; if this was a D&D campaign it would be a shitty one. Stumble into a Troll den and finding all these endgame swords? Imba.

Especially when you consider what Glamdring is...

risingstar3110 · 2012-12-28, 10:40

Didn't expect anything when i entered the cinema, but wow that was freaking epic... I can't remember when did i stepped out of the cinema feeling so excited. Probably Inception but in a total different genre. For this genre, could be since The Two Towers (the third has fairly slow ending to catch up)

I means, before watching it, how do I expect to take a bunch of dwarfs serious, right? But boys they were so freaking awesome, especially that theme song.

NorthernFallout · 2012-12-28, 17:59

Saw it tonight. Now, I haven't read The Hobbit, and not even LOTR as I'm not a Tolkien fan (though I've seen the movies), but I really liked this movie. As for why, other than being absolutely gorgeous, it probably boils down to the characters and these evil cliffhangers. I need more dwarfs, I need more Bilbo and I need "more walking through fire to epic music".

I basically walked in expecting not LOTR, but a generally good movie. Got even more than that so I'm in for the next ones.

Though, honestly, I think the movie works best if one HASN'T read the actual book. Seems like quite a lot was changed and cut to even make it feasible, or so I heard.

james0246 · 2012-12-28, 21:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

I means, before watching it, how do I expect to take a bunch of dwarfs serious, right? But boys they were so freaking awesome, especially that theme song.

You're not supposed to. Within the stories dwarfs are the lesser beings on the "good" side. And I mean that literally. Elves and Man are considered to be the superior races (chosen by God) and dwarfs are just afterthoughts. That is part of the reason why dwarfs are often treated as silly or worse in the books (in the actual story of The Hobbit, Tolkien treats the dwarfs as avarice fools that constantly get into trouble requiring Bilbo to help them escape.)

---
That being said, Gandalf mentions a great Enemy during the super serious scene with Saruman and the Elves. Which Enemy is he referring to? I assumed Sauron, but could this be a reference to an older enemy?

risingstar3110 · 2012-12-28, 21:46

One of the main reason that i may end up liking the Hobbit more at this rate, could be because of how main character is portrayed. I means Frodo got it hard too, but without clear exploring background on the ring corruption, still feel like he is a sissy, and whiner, and damsel-in-distress all at one.

Bilbo on another hand, seems to be as normal as you can get, with good heart, courage (sometime), and honesty. Probably is easier for us to relate to and to inspire us.

Then the Fellowship of the Ring were so much more powerful in term of strength, that we really failed to appreciate their task and courage. Here these dwarfs barely can fight off 4-5 orcs on hyena-backs and spend more time lurking, sneaking, running through enemies than actually fighting. Once again, make this world seems more dangerous, unpredictable than was in loTR

2012-12-26, 19:41	Link #304
Ithekro Gamilas Falls Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Republic of California Age: 46	I actually liked the method of getting us into the story via Bilbo and Frodo, as the story was always told as if it was being written down in the Red Book of Westmarch. I actually almost expect the end to be either Frodo and Sam putting the last touches in, or Sam finishing the book after Frodo and Bilbo leave Middle Earth. Bilbo, in most respects, is written to be like an English gentlemen (perhaps even a 20th century noble) that goes off to fight in World War I (an adventure they though...before the trenches). Or perhaps that is more Frodo with Bilbo being the late 19th's era colonial adventurer heading off into India, Kenya, or South Africa (Boer Wars). He is scoffed by the professional soldiers (Thorin), but once he proves he's got the will and courage to stick it out, he is accepted (also after he proves useful, though he'll actually be more useful later in the series than he was in this film). Though the actual important things from the book have already appended for the most part. The Ring is more of less the only important thing that happens in respect for the later novels. The rest of the important stuff happened behind he scenes (which I hope to see since the White Council taking on the Necromancer should be interesting). __________________

2012-12-26, 20:01	Link #306
FlareKnight User of the "Fast Draw" Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canada	Honestly I just enjoyed the movie. Only after it was done and I read some opinions did I even notice some complaints. I thought the length was fine. At this point I expect a Tolkien adaptation to take hours of my life . Thought the early portion was easier to take in than Fellowship. Sure, easily could have cut some things to shorten it up, but figure it's fine to see the whole thing in theaters rather than a later extended edition. Does make me think how much luckier Bilbo was though compared to Frodo. "Hey, found a cool ring that makes me invisible!" So much more convenient than "if I wear it all evil will find me!" Thought that meeting of the minds portion was interesting. Trying to read just where Saruman is at this point. You know where he'll end up and are left trying to read his motives. Is he trying to make things difficult, or is he just a jerk normally? Either way if that is his normal personality not surprising how things end up for him. __________________ Anime-Evo

2012-12-26, 20:25	Link #307
Ithekro Gamilas Falls Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Republic of California Age: 46	Spoiler for potential spoilers for future films...: If I recall, at this point Saruman is looking for the One Ring for himself. He knows were it was lost, and is privately searching that area. He doesn't want the White Council and its allies wondering towards Dol Guldur since that is the direction towards the river the Ring was lost. Once he figures out the Necromancer is also looking for the Ring in that River, than he comes down on that ruined fortress. So that he might search for the Ring without interruption nor rivalry. (Niether he, nor the enemy knows that is was found, though the Necromancer did originally arrive when it was found...they did not know it was found until they found Gollum, much later). I don't believe he's looked into the Palantir yet, nor is he allied with Sauron or the orcs yet. But he is close to that point. His arrogance and desire for the One Ring is turning him to the side of the Enemy. He believed he could control the Ring and be its master since he was technically on the same level as Sauron. It seems he was always arrogant, and was forced to have Radegast as his traveling companion when they arrived (hence his displeasure with the Brown Wizard). Galadrial wanted Galdalf the Grey as the head of the council but it went to Saruman the White instead. __________________ Last edited by james0246; 2012-12-26 at 21:26.

2012-12-26, 20:54	Link #309
Ithekro Gamilas Falls Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Republic of California Age: 46	Dwarven gold madness. (Dwarven Ring of Power) He also comes across as the "We did this and this is ours" type. Not very trusting, and not very keen on elves and likely humans either. Plus the other dwarves said "no" to helping. Bascially they might have him be more the "Screw you guys, we finished our quest and got ours...go aways!" The Aragon like bit is probably their so he can have an epic fight with Azog (and probably death) at the Battle of Five Armies. Tolkien sort of glasses over battles and Peter Jackson likes doing those things. Thus leaving Bolg (son of Azog) to fall to Beorn as written while giving Thorin a heroic fight in the big battle. (Recall that much of the climax of the battle was told to Biblo afterwards as Tolkien had him knocked out by a rock just as the Eagles arrived). __________________ Last edited by Ithekro; 2012-12-26 at 21:15.

2012-12-26, 23:35	Link #312
Vallen Chaos Valiant Logician and Romantic Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Within my mind Age: 43	Just watched the film. Just one thing; if this was a D&D campaign it would be a shitty one. Stumble into a Troll den and finding all these endgame swords? Imba. I liked how the different wizards are compared to one another. I still think the Goblin King's voice doesn't quite match his size. __________________

2012-12-26, 19:02	Link #302
GDB Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Age: 38	I know my theatre only had Digital (regular) and XD 3D (which is pretty much the same as IMAX), and the latter was HFR. No other options.

2012-12-26, 21:33	Link #310
james0246 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: East Cupcake	There is a lot of references being made here to stories that will probably be included in future Hobbit films. Since we do discourage spoiling future events, so for the future please contain such discussions of source materials behind spoiler tags.

2012-12-28, 00:10	Link #313
Chiibi Vanitas owns you >:3 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: in a boring place you will not want to go to	So for everyone who DID enjoy the movie, do you have favorite scenes? Mine: Spoiler: Bilbo trying not to pass out after hearing details about the adventure, including that he might end up as a pile of ashes. "Deep breaths!" breathes pauses "Nope!" THUD yup....sometimes that just doesn't work! I also really liked the Brown Wizard and how he saved his little hedgehog friend. CGI hedgehogs are still cute hedgehogs. :3 and Gollum/Smeagol was one of my favorite characters...and he still remains. I loved how creepily they made his eyes glitter in the dark! "....we're not talking to you. glare __________________

2012-12-28, 00:39	Link #314
Marulash Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008	It was pretty nice. Didn't really liked the Goblin King scene though. Didn't really feel that there was a real sense of danger/death. Can't wait for the later scenes though, especially the Spoiler: Battle of Five Armies. Can't wait to see it.

2012-12-28, 01:29	Link #315
Vallen Chaos Valiant Logician and Romantic Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Within my mind Age: 43	Yeah, Overall I enjoyed it. I barely remembered the book that I read years ago; it doesn't help that my English was horrible back then. I want someone to make a comparison image of the stone troll positions in LotR and this film. Gollum was definitely the highlight. Perfectly done IMHO. Radagast's role might not be canon, but he does the job of making the wizards more varied. That they are more than a bundle of mystery. __________________

2012-12-28, 10:40	Link #317
risingstar3110 ✘˵╹◡╹˶✘ Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Australia	Didn't expect anything when i entered the cinema, but wow that was freaking epic... I can't remember when did i stepped out of the cinema feeling so excited. Probably Inception but in a total different genre. For this genre, could be since The Two Towers (the third has fairly slow ending to catch up) I means, before watching it, how do I expect to take a bunch of dwarfs serious, right? But boys they were so freaking awesome, especially that theme song. __________________

2012-12-28, 17:59	Link #318
NorthernFallout The Interstellar Medium Author Join Date: May 2008 Location: [SWE] Age: 34	Saw it tonight. Now, I haven't read The Hobbit, and not even LOTR as I'm not a Tolkien fan (though I've seen the movies), but I really liked this movie. As for why, other than being absolutely gorgeous, it probably boils down to the characters and these evil cliffhangers. I need more dwarfs, I need more Bilbo and I need "more walking through fire to epic music". I basically walked in expecting not LOTR, but a generally good movie. Got even more than that so I'm in for the next ones. Though, honestly, I think the movie works best if one HASN'T read the actual book. Seems like quite a lot was changed and cut to even make it feasible, or so I heard. __________________

2012-12-28, 21:46	Link #320
risingstar3110 ✘˵╹◡╹˶✘ Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Australia	One of the main reason that i may end up liking the Hobbit more at this rate, could be because of how main character is portrayed. I means Frodo got it hard too, but without clear exploring background on the ring corruption, still feel like he is a sissy, and whiner, and damsel-in-distress all at one. Bilbo on another hand, seems to be as normal as you can get, with good heart, courage (sometime), and honesty. Probably is easier for us to relate to and to inspire us. Then the Fellowship of the Ring were so much more powerful in term of strength, that we really failed to appreciate their task and courage. Here these dwarfs barely can fight off 4-5 orcs on hyena-backs and spend more time lurking, sneaking, running through enemies than actually fighting. Once again, make this world seems more dangerous, unpredictable than was in loTR __________________