Re: The Official "The Hobbit" movie thread
Just saw it today and I thought it was solid.
I loved the LOTR movies, but went into this one trying not to compare it to LOTR. They are vastly different books written by Tolkein at different times in his life - they're bound to have a different look and feel. The same is very true for PJ - he made LOTR over ten years ago, how could the Hobbit ever be the same as that?
About the only thing I didn't like was the CG - there was too much of it. Azog would have been much better had he been done like Lurtz. The expressions were flat or looked too fake, the skin tone (granted he is the Pale Orc) just came out wrong in CG and looked washed-out. I would have been much happier if Azog was designed like Bolg. My other gripe would be the lack of dialog with the other Dwarves. Now granted it's not like each Dwarf got a whole chapter to themselves in the book or anything and there's still two more movies yet to come, but I do want to see more out of the supporting Dwarf cast before the Battle of Five Armies where a good number of them die.
Things I did like was Radagast. Not only is it great seeing a Doctor in the Hobbit franchise, but I think he pulled if off really well being quirky and likeable. I'll also add in the Troll scene - I thought it was really well done. Being a favorite scene from the book, I was worried it wouldn't caome across well on screen, but it was comical and just dangerous enough. The second big scene for me was the game of riddles - that was spot-on perfect. As someone who has read that scene in the Hobbit book more times than I can count, I can't tell you just how amazing it was to see on screen. Freeman was perfect, Serkis is masterful at Gollum (and CG acting in general), so the two of them together nailed it. Sure, it wasn't super-charged dramatic scene that made everyone in the theater cry, but it was great for those that know it.
I plan on seeing the Hobbit many more times over the holidays and I can't wait for the next two. Even though this movie was pretty long, I really didn't want it to be over and could spend hours more time in Middle Earth.
