Movie: The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey
We went to see The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey the other day this week. It was the 2D non-HFR version, but on a large screen. Overall it is enjoyable, but it is a long movie, with slow passages at times - during the viewing I fantasized about the inevitable extended cut on BD... perhaps this time there will be a bonus compact cut version? The movie plays a lot with references to the LOTR trilogy: appearances of Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Hugo Wavering, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, and of course Andy Serkis came up as cornerstones. Most of them are assembled in the poster below.
The second poster below shows one of the issues: too many of these folks - well, it's in the story, and perhaps impossible to make it work well.
The main complain from my side is that the overall narration despite spectacular chases and uneven fights never reached the determination or relevance of the LOTR trilogy. Impossible situations are somewhat not taken seriously, and a quick shout of "run" by Gandalf resolved the dilemma a few times. However, LOTR grew darker over the course of the movies, so there is some hope of improvements. The big highlight of the movie is unquestionable Gollum, who came really alive, even more than before.
Should you see the movie? If you saw and enjoyed the other three movies, and keep expectations reasonable, yes. Overall, I liked it, and I am looking forward to the next two installments.
The second poster below shows one of the issues: too many of these folks - well, it's in the story, and perhaps impossible to make it work well.
The main complain from my side is that the overall narration despite spectacular chases and uneven fights never reached the determination or relevance of the LOTR trilogy. Impossible situations are somewhat not taken seriously, and a quick shout of "run" by Gandalf resolved the dilemma a few times. However, LOTR grew darker over the course of the movies, so there is some hope of improvements. The big highlight of the movie is unquestionable Gollum, who came really alive, even more than before.
Should you see the movie? If you saw and enjoyed the other three movies, and keep expectations reasonable, yes. Overall, I liked it, and I am looking forward to the next two installments.
