Comments on: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’: What Worked & What Didn’t

By: BEF

BEF — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:31 +0000

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. Only other thing I'd add to the "didn't work" column the troll/cooking scene, which added absolutely nothing other than the first of many, Gandolf steps in at the last moment to save them scenes (and mostly sparing us from the silly humor of the scene)…. Also, why is Bilbo so dear to Gandolf? Dude doesn't even remember him.

By: DeftLip

DeftLip — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:31 +0000

"– a complete invention, found nowhere in the book –" The Stone Giants are in the book, right before they enter the goblin's cave. The movie just makes an action sequence out of it as opposed to something mentioned in the distance.

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:31 +0000

Shows what poor readers you are… the stone giants are in the book:

Quote:
When he peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang.
Quote:
They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountainsides.
Quote:
"If we don't get blown off or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football."
Quote:
"I must see if I can't find a more or less decent giant to block it up again," said Gandalf

By: kitcon

kitcon — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:31 +0000

It also felt like Jackson took what he thought people liked in the original trilogy and gave heaping servings of it — panoramic shots, vertiginous camera work, lots of views of multi-level subterranean lairs. Not new, just more.

By: celeste

celeste — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

Hmm, I basically disagree with many of the points made in this. The hobbit was book intended for 12 year olds and although it appeals to adults this is due to not only the action, but the subtle social commentary and the characterisation. These elements are underplayed in this film because basically it was decided, riding on the success of the Lord of the Rings saga that the fans would like more of the same. Hence the elements added to the story to ramp up the action. Comic elements in the book are poorly interpreted and underplayed, essentially this is Bildungsroman story where bourgeois middle class Bilbo is entrapped into having an adventure by Gandalf who perceives him as having more in his character than his life as a rural squire reflects. The opening scene with the dwarves is ten times funnier in the book because it is based on an English comedy of manners. Bilbo is incensed but can't show it because it violates his social code. Ultimately his adventure transformed him into someone altogether broader and the tragedy is that Bilbo is never quite as comfortable again in the shire, nor are the people quite as easy with him, he no longer fits in. Aspects of Tolkien war experiences come through here as in The return of the King. I don't get a feeling these will be films about character and they will be poorer for it although I enjoyed this first offering.

By: Montrepido

Montrepido — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

This guys reasoning was ignorant. First off, The Hobbit was written as a kids book, that's why its lighter than LOTR. Secondly just read the damn book and stop complaining.

By: Sir

Sir — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

THANK YOU for writing this review. I agreed with just about every point you mentioned here. This film is doing well in the box-office, yes, but that doesn't necessarily make it a well-made movie. Just to prove my point to any glazed-eye fans out there, look at the Twilight movies, Phantom Menace, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Indiana Jones Crystal Skull, etc etc etc.

By: LinenWeaver

LinenWeaver — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

The movie was an awesome experience!

By: Alan

Alan — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

"Like Paul Greengrass' "Watchmen" or Lynne Ramsay's "The Lovely Bones," the concept of Guillermo Del Toro's "The Hobbit" will end up as one of the great 'what ifs' in cinema history." Err, what? Ramsay was sent the opening, liked it, started working on it, and then was sent the later half … and didn't like it, so much. She was kicked off the project, and wasn't all that depressed that she didn't get to film a book she had problems with. The tragedy!

By: Giovanni

Giovanni — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

"Remake of 'The Fellowship of the Ring"? Seriously?! The guy did not think that the Shire to Rivendell the path traced in two books, "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" is the same? Ah … Critics thought just before utter their criticism.

The dwarves are not well defined even in the books. Are THIRTEEN characters! Peter did a good job in differentiating them at least in appearance. Tolkien was never good at delving into characters, considering that Middle-earth is the main character.

Since this is the first film and has a character introductory, much had to be created out of nothing – and another major reason for this was the Appendices of "The Return of the King" added.

About the Eagles. They do not like to help. Never liked help unless to they benefit. That matter has not said about them … search.

Honestly? Critics of the film said something: contextualization. And as this story is divided into three and the other movies only come in the next two years, the way would be to check the writings, but not in Wikipedia were to take a look.

A shame.

By: Ragnar

Ragnar — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

Basically you should read this http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/12/14/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-review-the-best-middle-earth-movie-since-fellowship-of-the-ring/
because some of your "what didn`t" points are just nonsense, because they were in the books and besides as a book The Hobbit and Fellowship are indeed very similar, hence the films are also similar.

By: LennyG

LennyG — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

I'm not that much of a LOTR expert but The Hobbit is structurally written episodically! Why would the film be different? And the eagles…They are key figures throughout the books (in fact, they are given short shrift in LOTR). They represent a different take on good/evil – Nature vs. environmental destruction and they at times have to be convinced to help the West side (good guys) because the bad guys are worse.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:32:30 +0000

Did this writer even read the book?! Articles like this make me so mad at people!!!