Critics review 'Desolation of Smaug' | POSSIBLE SPOILERS

More Mind Boggling reveals from TORn

'Thorin by the Arkenstone and Bilbo by the Ring. As the Company gets closer and closer to the Lonely Mountain, we see Thorin’s growing desperation to claim the Arkenstone. We also see Bilbo starting to slowly lose control of himself as he uses the Ring more and more. Both of them portray their individual slides with exceptional subtlety''.

this deserves a -  

''I can see, however, many fans walking away from this movie feeling that this franchise has gone off the rails and into the world of self-indulgence. We all have our opinions and expectations, but I personally do not hold to the idea that Jackson, Walsh and Boyens have gone too far. One thing that must be remembered overall is that this is just one interpretation of a 75-year-old story. Do I think it is a good interpretation? Absolutely!''

this deserves a -  

''Whatever else may be said about the cast and crew of these movies, their love for Tolkien and this world cannot be denied''

this deserves a -  

''And to those who will ultimately take to the internet decrying that this movie has ruined the book, I say this: Nobody is going to the publisher and forcing them to pulp all existing copies of The Hobbit and replace them with a new version based on these movies. The book is still there, and will always be there.''

and this deserves a big fat

Mrs Figg wrote:''And to those who will ultimately take to the internet decrying that this movie has ruined the book, I say this: Nobody is going to the publisher and forcing them to pulp all existing copies of The Hobbit and replace them with a new version based on these movies. The book is still there, and will always be there.''

and this deserves a big fat

While that statement does have a point, but I don't object to your giving it the bird

Though the statements preceding it deserve it more, especially the one that ends with "Absolutely!" Feh!

Rodrigo Perez wrote: ‘Smaug’ is about almost absolutely nothing. “The Further Adventures Of Chasing Gemstones That Mean Something Or Other To The Dwarves” might be a better suited subtitle as it is simply designed to keep this behemoth franchise moving forward and nothing more.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-peter-jacksons-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-starring-martin-freeman-ian-mckellen-more-20131206

http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a536437/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-review-digital-spy-verdict.html

But there's no getting around the fact that this story has been mercilessly padded. Evangeline Lilly, who famously spent six years at the center of an interminable love triangle on Lost, is introduced as the newly conceived Tauriel, a theoretically fierce warrior elf whose main function is to be caught between two suitors. Will she choose the species-appropriate Legolas or the besotted dwarf Killi, whose ethereal good looks make him indistinguishable from an elf in any case? The more compelling question is: exactly what audience is this storyline meant to be serving?

Feminine energy.

Feminergy!

Here's a curious sort-of-review:

http://mancunion.com/2013/10/14/contrary-corner-the-desolation-of-smaug-more-like-the-desolation-of-tolkien/

The author hasn't seen DoS, but has seen AUJ twice, though he considers it the start of a "nine hour annihilation of [his] childhood." He also says he doesn't think DoS will be an improvement but will watch it "five times anyway."

The article also includes the obligatory praises for the LotR trilogy:

The script wasn’t perfect, nor the casting, but Jackson managed to capture the scale and wonder of Middle Earth and transfer it to the big screen with masterful confidence.  Sure, the story underwent some serious refurbishment but the magic of the books remained. People said that it could not be done, but eleven Oscars and billions of dollars beg to differ.

Sorry, but billions of dollars don't mean anything (Twilight series anyone?) and Oscars probably not either.

bungobaggins wrote:http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a536437/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-review-digital-spy-verdict.html

But there's no getting around the fact that this story has been mercilessly padded. Evangeline Lilly, who famously spent six years at the center of an interminable love triangle on Lost, is introduced as the newly conceived Tauriel, a theoretically fierce warrior elf whose main function is to be caught between two suitors. Will she choose the species-appropriate Legolas or the besotted dwarf Killi, whose ethereal good looks make him indistinguishable from an elf in any case? The more compelling question is: exactly what audience is this storyline meant to be serving?

Feminine energy.

                

WHYYYY!!!!!!! Boyens needs to not reflect her lack of love life into a story that has no want or need of a sick fictionalized romance  

It reminds me of GB's story about Bilbo and Itaril (When we thought that was her name). How sad to think that THAT is actually kind of happening, only its with an unnaturally hunky man-dwarf.

Has Petty noticed the Heroic Wheelbarrowing yet? He's awfully quiet. - Mrs Figg

That was real!!   I thought I had imagined that in a drunken hallucination! NOOO!!  

bungobaggins wrote:http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a536437/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-review-digital-spy-verdict.html

Feminine energy.

I've got to be honest, of all the things I thought DOS would mess up, turning Tauriel into a stereotypical love interest role was not one of them. I really thought Philippa Boyens actually had something more than "character with breasts" when she talked about "feminine energy".

What amazes me is for ages she has been hinting and winking at the idea that Tauriel in some way represented a love story Tolkien told elsewhere but would otherwise never been seen.
I was at least genuinely curious to find out what it was she was basing this on as I could not think what it might be- and it turns out from interviews it was inspired by Gimli and Galadriel!- which was in a film they made and then cut that bit out of, and ignored completely when it should have come back up- such as confronting Eomer- where in stead in Pj's Aragorn and co are just aggressive arses towards him for no apparent reason at all.

Boyens is so full of shit Dave could fertilise his farm with her indefinitely.

Another part of the Digital Spy review that jumped out at me:

But as became the case for Elijah Wood's Frodo, it's the internal conflict that cuts deepest, with the ring beginning to take a psychological toll on Bilbo and Thorin (Richard Armitage) increasingly ruthless in his determination to safeguard his long-lost homeland. Both characters – whose relationship was the cornerstone of An Unexpected Journey – being separately undone by gold offers a sturdy emotional footing on which to build the rollicking action.

How was Bilbo and Throin's relationship the "cornerstone" of AUJ?  Thorin was a huge asshole to Bilbo for most of the movie and only does a complete 180 in his opinion after Bilbo proves himself a capable warrior after all.  So not only is the emotional climax of the two characters' arc moved from the end of the book to a third of the way through the film trilogy, but the actual meaning of the reconciliation is completely undermined.  Thorin doesn't see the error of his ways and realize that there's more to life than fighting or trying to reclaim Erebor.  Bilbo just proves himself capable of furthering Thorin's interests towards that end (and he's probably a better fighter than the idiot with the slingshot).

We all knew that Bilbo and Thorin's relationship would be undermined in DOS, and it was confirmed in the trailer, but it just retroactively cheapens the very, very sparse characterization of AUJ.  This would be just as bad as Frodo sending Sam away, or it should be to anyone who actually gives a shit about Bilbo and Thorin's relationship in the movies.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Has Petty noticed the Heroic Wheelbarrowing yet? He's awfully quiet. - Mrs Figg

That was real!!   I thought I had imagined that in a drunken hallucination! NOOO!!  

It seems almost like a Monty Python sketch by the description: Thorin running to and fro with his wheelbarrow to fetch enough molten gold to fully gild Smaug.

"Thorin Obvious: the first dwarf to successfully gild an entire red-gold dragon."

Radaghast wrote::

The script wasn’t perfect, nor the casting, but Jackson managed to capture the scale and wonder of Middle Earth and transfer it to the big screen with masterful confidence.  Sure, the story underwent some serious refurbishment but the magic of the books remained. People said that it could not be done, but eleven Oscars and billions of dollars beg to differ.

Sorry, but billions of dollars don't mean anything (Twilight series anyone?) and Oscars probably not either.

But in this case the Oscars were well deserved inmho.

I think the fact he got all the oscars for the worst film of the three says a lot about the value of them.

Mrs Figg wrote:

Radaghast wrote::

The script wasn’t perfect, nor the casting, but Jackson managed to capture the scale and wonder of Middle Earth and transfer it to the big screen with masterful confidence.  Sure, the story underwent some serious refurbishment but the magic of the books remained. People said that it could not be done, but eleven Oscars and billions of dollars beg to differ.

Sorry, but billions of dollars don't mean anything (Twilight series anyone?) and Oscars probably not either.

But in this case the Oscars were well deserved inmho.

Fair enough; arguing otherwise would just be disputing taste. I just don't think anyone should mention Oscars to prove anything. At the end of the day, a film's worth is determined by personal preference.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I think the fact he got all the oscars for the worst film of the three says a lot about the value of them.

That was also the film that earned the highest total, though I don't know if I'd consider it the worst. Maybe I should

Radaghast wrote:

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Has Petty noticed the Heroic Wheelbarrowing yet? He's awfully quiet. - Mrs Figg

That was real!!   I thought I had imagined that in a drunken hallucination! NOOO!!  

It seems almost like a Monty Python sketch by the description: Thorin running to and fro with his wheelbarrow to fetch enough molten gold to fully gild Smaug.

"Thorin Obvious: the first dwarf to successfully gild an entire red-gold dragon."

can we have that emoticon its cool??

I don't know if I'd consider it the worst. Maybe I should - Rhaddy

Its got the most Pj- it has Legolas surfing Mumakil, it has Denethors fiery 400 metre dash and death leap, it has Frodo sending Sam away in favour of Gollum, it turns Denethor into a pantomime villain whose motives and actions make no sense at all, it reduces the realm of Gondor to one city with no food and a people so stupid that even when the first circle of their city is on fire they still havent evacuated the women and children, and it completely makes a total and utter arse of both the Paths of the Dead- turning them into a comedy ghost house at a funfair- and the Battle of the Pelannor by removing all threat and jeopardy with the arrival of an invincible army of green cgi, it fumbles the books main theme about death by changing Frodo's actions in Mt Doom, and then it arses up the ending as there is no longer a reason for Frodo to go anywhere and without Scouring there is completion of their character development.

And I left out a lot of other stuff.  

Yeah it should be your worst.

Radio Times review.
The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug review - "a film of great moments rather than a great film"

''Bilbo’s back, but he’s still got a long, long (long…) way to go in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Director Peter Jackson  
continues to drag out a great story to the point of being quite good with Martin Freeman getting nudged ever further into a supporting role, despite having the title role. And more’s the pity because this part fits him like a glove.
Richard Armitage muscled in on the action in the first instalment as Thorin Oakenshield, the kickass dwarf   who seeks to reclaim his homeland from a certain Necromancer, but even his boundless passion gets glossed over. For the first hour or so, there’s so much going on it’s difficult for any of the characters to find their footing and Freeman’s boggled expression would seem to reflect that.
Lost star Evangeline Lilly comes to the franchise bringing a little more heart and courage as the elvish warrior Tauriel with Orlando Bloom at her side, reprising his role as Legolas. It’s a gift for Bloom, not only because it’s the part that made him a star, but because his scenes with Lilly add another dimension to the steely-eyed hero – a softer side, though he’s loathe to show it. He throws wistful glances her way and a few warning ones in the direction of Aidan Turner (of Being Human fame) as the cheeky dwarf Kili who threatens to steal her heart. Legolas sets his jaw just that little bit firmer when Tauriel muses, “He’s quite tall, for a dwarf, don’t you think?”

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I don't know if I'd consider it the worst. Maybe I should - Rhaddy

Its got the most Pj- it has Legolas surfing Mumakil, it has Denethors fiery 400 metre dash and death leap, it has Frodo sending Sam away in favour of Gollum, it turns Denethor into a pantomime villain whose motives and actions make no sense at all, it reduces the realm of Gondor to one city with no food and a people so stupid that even when the first circle of their city is on fire they still havent evacuated the women and children, and it completely makes a total and utter arse of both the Paths of the Dead- turning them into a comedy ghost house at a funfair- and the Battle of the Pelannor by removing all threat and jeopardy with the arrival of an invincible army of green cgi, it fumbles the books main theme about death by changing Frodo's actions in Mt Doom, and then it arses up the ending as there is no longer a reason for Frodo to go anywhere and without Scouring there is completion of their character development.

And I left out a lot of other stuff.  

Yeah it should be your worst.

All very good points. It's the only one of the films I've seen less than twice, so maybe that's why I've been (relatively) easy on it. But, yeah, you've convinced me.

Mrs Figg wrote:

Radaghast wrote:

can we have that emoticon its cool??

I agree. And I sure get dizzy from reading some of the 1RDN comments.

I just assumed the Oscars were a kind of culmulative thing. He didnt get any for the first two and then he gets them all on the third rather than spread them out. I thought thats how they worked it. Seems logical to me.

Mrs Figg wrote:I just assumed the Oscars were a kind of culmulative thing. He didnt get any for the first two and then he gets them all on the third rather than spread them out. I thought thats how they worked it. Seems logical to me.

That's part of what makes the whole thing suspect to me. It seemed to me like a "Trilogy Achievement Award".

I suppose it was to give others a chance of winning.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:And I left out a lot of other stuff.  

Yeah it should be your worst.

It's also got a lot of the best stuff in the trilogy, though.  There's a bunch of crap mixed into the second half of the film, but the first half of ROTK is probably the best and longest sustained section of any of the films.  We get a ton of characters, including returned Gandalf, healed Theoden, good guy Faramir, and a great building of tension and mixed in with exploring the settings of both Gondor and Rohan in greater detail.  There are deviations from the book in the first half, too, but it's IMO really fantastic.

And the second half of the film also has the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and the destruction of the Ring.  While the former is tarred by trunk surfing and undead scrubbing bubbles, it also has the charge of the Rohirrim (probably the best single scene in the trilogy) and Theoden's death scene/Eowyn vs. the Witch-king.