Saw it yesterday. My thoughts...
I watched in 3D due to the lack of 2D showings at the moment. Still don't like 3D. Everything in the foreground is ever so slightly blurred, but it's noticeable. 3D just doesn't add anything.
As an experience, I really enjoyed it. The film didn't feel overly long, yet was packed with content. Lots of what you expect from Jackson's Middle-earth. The camera work was less nauseous than the previous films!
If I was being critical, without putting my geek hat on, the Smaug and Dol Goldor scenes seemed to finish quickly. Areas of the Battle seemed a bit drawn out. The "hero" fights, whilst entertaining, felt a bit like a video game in that they just kept on going. The Legolas matrix effect stunt was stupid. There is no Saruman vs Sauron encounter - whilst this in itself isn't necessarily disappointing, I felt the trailer was misleading as it suggested there would be. I enjoyed the comic relief of Alfred, though he could have done with someone else to share the load.
Geek hat on...
Dain - was excited to see him, as he wasn't shown at all prior to the release. Although the design was great, it was very CGI-y. Also, rather than be voiced by Billy Connelly, he simply was Billy Connelly. A dwarf shouting "bastard" and "bugger" just didn't fit. And after the battle he is nowhere to be seen.
Beorn - blink and you miss him. Again. Could have been a great character.
Dol Goldor - Galadriel, although she does drive out Sauron, and Gandalf are almost weak in their portrayal. Little aftermath.
Gundabad - the addition of them made it confusing to follow the battle. Battle of the 6 Armies? And was there even a goblin army?
Kili/Fili/Thorin deaths - not as written, though I'm not fussed really. Though it did feel a bit isolated from the rest of battle. The Kili/Tauriel thing was over played again, though I don't have a problem with the general concept of them.
Aftermath - there are loose ends. No burials. What happens to the Arkenstone (see previous sentence!). No new king. What of Bard? And Thranduil?
Aragorn mention - whilst I liked how they mentioned it at the time, looking back it did feel a bit out of place and forced (though not as forced as other LOTR references). It highlights a recurring issue of the films that they sometimes try too hard to look back/forward to the LOTR, yet at other times it is inconsistent - for instance all of the Black speech when it was rarely used in LOTR.
Sometimes it felt like a sequel rather a prequel. By this I mean that the enemies are bigger and badder (Azog, Bolg and the Trollaputs in this versus orc rabble throughout LOTR), the effects bigger, the heroes more invincible. The Star Wars films suffered in the same way, albeit to a much, much greater/worse extent!
~
When I saw LOTR, I was 12, I think, and had no idea what it was beforehand - it was only later that I really got into everything else (primarily through BFME and the T3A/RA/TDH involvement), and therefore I'm seeing the Hobbit films from a very different perspective. I didn't know what would happen inside of Mount Doom (I was hoping Sauron would return and be killed again!). I knew Thorin dies. I didn't know elves didn't actually go to Helm's Deep. I knew Tauriel was made up. So I don't want to jump over the details over what is still a very enjoyable trilogy, it was never going to match LOTR for many reasons so it feels unnecessary to say that it falls short of the original trilogy. Also, in a weird way I feel like I need to be extra critical to prove my geekiness on these forums - not sure why I'd need to, I only seem to post a few times a year now.
Like the first two Hobbit films. I felt that a few tweaks here and a little bit of reigning in there could have made all the difference. It has the potential of an excellent set of films. It's just that in various places it feels rushed, drawn out, messy, over the top.
In short, if you want to enjoy it - then you'll love it, despite some things which will nag at you. If you want to pick hole rather than enjoy it, there are plenty!
Edited by m@tt, 15 December 2014 - 07:50 PM.
