The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I finally got the chance to see the movie.  I definitely liked it better than An Unexpected Journey.  The biggest complaint I had though was that it was a bit too long.  They keep adding in stuff to make this into three films, yet they had to cut stuff out of LOTR to keep them under four hours each.  Kind of funny.  As with before, you get my likes/dislikes in bullet form.

-Hey look, it’s the Prancing Pony!  That is where Gandalf met Thorin, and it was the place where Aragorn met Frodo…again, this scene could have been cut out.  It was cool, especially if you have read the The Unfinished Tales, but completely unnecessary.

-It was cool seeing Beorn, especially since they eliminated the Tom Bombadil stuff from LOTR.  This is something Peter Jackson does well, with all the great CGI out there, many film makers would have wanted to show Beorn transforming from bear to human.  Jackson does it in silhouette, giving it an almost nonchalance.  If that makes sense.

-Spiders!  Why are spiders always in these movies/books?  Are there no other creepy insects out there?  Yes, I am aware that spiders are arachnids.  Get off my back.  I am already cringing thinking about the spiders.

The spider battle was pretty awesome though.  It was cool that Bilbo could hear them talking when he put on the ring (or am I the only one who got that impression?).  Fortunately, Bilbo and the Dwarves did not have to kill all the spiders because Legolas shows up to save the day.  Then we learn that he is a complete dick and captures everyone.

-Kate (I mean Evangeline Lilly) as an elf named Tauriel.  She is the captain of the elven guard.  I liked this addition.  Especially her little romance with Kili.  I enjoyed his line about her searching his trousers.  Also thought it was cool when she says that he is kind of tall, for a dwarf.  Whatever, judge me all you want.

-The escape from the dungeons started out cool, but then it went into ridiculous mode.  The barrel bouncing out of the river and taking out a bunch of Orcs was so idiotic that it made me wish I could fast-forward.  If I had known how silly that scene was going to be, I would have went out for a piss.  Seriously, the dwarves are tossing one weapon back and forth to each while floating down a raging river.

– Legolas is able to take out all the Orcs himself.  I guess from by the time LOTR happens he has lost the ability to fight.  He could have won the Battle for Helm’s Deep with only a few assists from Gimli.

-I still hate the way they portray Radagast.  The bird poop on his head makes me want to vomit.  I get that he is a little bit out there, but that is too much.

-I loved the battle between Gandalf and the Necromancer.  Gandalf the Grey is not a very good wizard.  Every time we see him go to battle against another sorcerer he loses.  Nothing personal against the guy, just maybe being a wizard is not his best ability.

In the book, they never say that the Necromancer is Sauron (at least I think I am right), and it is not until Fellowship of the Ring that the reader is told this information (again, I believe this to be so), however, the way Jackson did it in the film was very cool and very satisfying.  Especially with the earlier scene of Radagast and Gandalf going to the tomb of the Nazgul and finding it empty and Gandalf saying that they only have one master.

-Stephen Fry was pretty cool as the Master of Lake-town.  I always find him very funny, so he was a pleasant surprise.

-I thought that the guy who played Bard, Luke Evans, was pretty good.  It is weird, I kept trying to figure out who he was or what I had seen him in, but could not place him.  Then it finally occurred to me:  he looks like Orlando Bloom (picture him from Pirates of the Caribbean).

-SMAUG!  Everything about the dragon was awesome.  Benedict Cumberbatch does a fantastic job voicing the beast.  I could listen to him and Bilbo converse for hours.  The molten gold scene was so great.  Only complaint though, they should have gotten to Smaug earlier.

Okay, so those are my thoughts on the movie.  What did everyone else think of it?

Author: Ngewo