Lord of The Rings - New Amazon Series

[eversonpoe]

my fiancee and all of my friends who have seen it all agree (as do i) that they should have ended it sooner. they ramped up ALL of this stuff, and then it just...ended... it was really frustrating.

[[parasite]]

oh we see the HFR 3D version, oh fuck me it was awful! it looked completely fake, I was so uninterested in it soon after it started, it felt very unnatural, very disappointed in it over all!

[slave2thewage]

Watching it now. It's a lot better than that mess they released last year.

[thelastdisciple]

Watching it now. It's a lot better than that mess they released last year.

Haha i JUST finished watching it not even a minute ago.

EDIT:My thoughts... i enjoyed it, I'm not a purist nor a devoted Tolkien fan... i just like the movies.

Could have done without the spider scenes though, just like Shelob in Return of the King.... *shudders*, i have some bad arachnophobia so i just closed my eyes, the sound effects were even creepy enough, i should have muted it.. now I've got anxiety and the hairs on my legs are buggin' out.

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

I really don't understand the hate for these movies. I find it quite enjoyable to see this world come back to life and from a whole different perspective and seeing different parts of Middle Earth. It is even more fun when you revisit the LOTR trilogy like I did last week and notice the references from The Hobbit story. I enjoyed both films very much, "There and Back Again" should be a treat to watch with the final battle at the end.

[Jinsai]

I really don't understand the hate for these movies. I find it quite enjoyable to see this world come back to life and from a whole different perspective and seeing different parts of Middle Earth. It is even more fun when you revisit the LOTR trilogy like I did last week and notice the references from The Hobbit story. I enjoyed both films very much, "There and Back Again" should be a treat to watch with the final battle at the end.

The problem for me is that it feels about as genuine of a "revisit to Middle Earth" as a video game adaptation would be. The completely unnecessary inclusion of Legolas as some sort of pandering fan service was just lame... as was that ridiculously forced dwarf/elf love story. But really, it's the absurd extended action sequences that really drag it down.

Also, that whole battle with Smaug felt like an old Lucasarts point/click adventure game. Oh, we need to heat the boilers, maybe we can get smaug's attention and get him to breathe fire on them... cool, ok, now, let's body surf down this river of molten gold blaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

The problem for me is that it feels about as genuine of a "revisit to Middle Earth" as a video game adaptation would be. The completely unnecessary inclusion of Legolas as some sort of pandering fan service was just lame... as was that ridiculously forced dwarf/elf love story. But really, it's the absurd extended action sequences that really drag it down.

Also, that whole battle with Smaug felt like an old Lucasarts point/click adventure game. Oh, we need to heat the boilers, maybe we can get smaug's attention and get him to breathe fire on them... cool, ok, now, let's body surf down this river of molten gold blaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

I get what you're saying. These movies are no "LOTR", but I guess the charm that these movies still hold is something I always enjoyed from both series. Yea, the addition of Legolas was a bit gimmicky, but I happen to love the character and he happens to share my favorite scene in the movie with the barrels in slow-motion so I didn't mind it that much.. made me roll my eyes a bit though. That love story with Tauriel and Kili was a huge snore fest, I hate it.

The battle with Smaug was pretty fun to watch, but it was very meandering. I enjoyed this leg of the movie more when Bilbo was just chatting with him trying to get the Arkenstone. I was expecting a bit more after waiting almost the whole film just to see Smaug in action.. but I guess we will get more of that hopefully in the third film. Funny you pointed out the heating of the boilers.. I totally see what you mean.

You are right as far as this feeling like a video game adaptation of the story because after watching the LOTR movies all over again.. the depth, the three different story arcs.. I feel like I am more in a fantasy world since for me those movies really latch onto me and never let go. That majestic feeling seems a bit dull in the hobbit films.. but I can honestly say I enjoyed both films almost equally with the first film having a slight advantage for me.

My favorite ending out of all of these films (LOTR and Hobbit), has to be The Fellowship Of The Ring. The hope, the emotion, and the the way they left the movie off.. it was like opening arms to Middle Earth coming to life.

[M1ke]

I just watched this. It was garbage.

I loved the LOTR movies, and the LOTR books and the Hobbit book. I enjoyed the first part of the Hobbit movie as well.

But this was trash. The Hobbit had LOTR references if you knew to look for them, but if you didn't care about LOTR, you could still enjoy the Hobbit.

This has turned the Hobbit into LOTR hours 1-12 (once the extended editions have been spooged out), where it used to be a great story of its own.

Yuck, this was boring, poorly written, and it completely sucked the fun out of the story.

[Jinsai]

I see we're not even talking about this fucking movie.

Holy fuck.

I just watched this... and I feel sad. WHY WAS THIS NOT A SINGLE MOVIE?! Even then!

Why is Legolas employing Super Mario Bros physics while jumping around on falling blocks?

Why is Legolas in this movie?

Why are the orcs suddenly fucking scared when 8 more dwarves run onto the battlefield, in the middle of them being overwhelmed 500 to 1?

Why do we need this shitty character named Alfred... the most incompetent person (apparently) in the town... the guy everyone knows is corrupt and super fucking stupid... and every time he comes on the screen, a pivotal character gives him an important task? WHY?! Isn't there ANYONE ELSE in this fucking town you can give the task to? He's betrayed you ten times now! Why?!?!?!

Does anyone think the bit where Thorin "beats his gold-sickness demons" was satisfying? What the fuck was that? Oh, what a dick, and suddenly he has a change of heart because there was a bad CG liquid gold floor nightmare or some bullshit?

Fuck this fucking movie.

Also, WHY did we need to over dramatize the opening bit where whatshisname kills Smaug with the arrow? Dude, using your kid as a prop for your bow? Is this for real? WHAAAAAA?

Also, this is the fundamental flaw of breaking this into three fucking movies. You start with Smaug devastating your town, destroying everything, and he's killed in this (super lame) finale that.. starts your story? This is a shitty way to start a movie. Unless you watched the previous movie RIGHT BEFORE watching this one, it's almost like turning on Return of the Jedi and starting with the epic "I am your father!" lightsaber battle where Luke loses his hand...

And nobody cares, because what the fuck is going on here? Somebody, PLEASE, recut this movie into a succinct and reasonable 2 hour movie. This did NOT need to be 9 hours long.

[Edo]

Somebody, PLEASE, recut this movie into a succinct and reasonable 2 hour movie. This did NOT need to be 9 hours long.

I expect some fan edits will show up trying to do exactly that; re-edit these bloated movies. Might even yield some interesting results.

Meanwhile... not even going to watch the third Hobbit movie, after suffering through the first two. I love the LOTR trilogy very much, and I'm still trying to understand HOW the same team who made LOTR, also made this.

[Mr. Blaileen]

I saw it. I even enjoyed watching it, despite it being a bloated, weirdly-edited mess. A lot of the battle scenes were really neat to watch.

That said, it obviously has some major warts. As stated above, the editing is just sort of weird. The entire movie feels like the end of a movie, if that makes sense. It sort of goes soft climax (Smaug) into a little buildup (Thorin being a dick and a tiny bit of pre-war) and then an hour and a half long second climax.

I didn't mind Legolas being in the movie, but that Alfred character was garbage.

I also agree that Thorin's change of heart was less inspiring and more "Thank god he finally pulled his head out of his ass."

At the end of the day, though, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Tolkien and orcs/dwarves/elves/men battling it out on screen. So despite the fact that this bloated-ass trilogy should have been a two-parter, there are parts of it I enjoyed.

But now I want to watch Lord of the Rings.

[Maul]

I have mixed feelings regarding this movie. It lacked storytelling imho, and the battle should have been shorter just to make the ending look less abrupt. The action scenes were amazing though and when it ended, I liked the overall result.

Still, I feel some takes were just too short. Really awaiting for the extended edition.

[Jinsai]

Still, I feel some takes were just too short. Really awaiting for the extended edition.

Too short?

I don't know... everything felt stretched out and overlong to me. What parts in particular do you think should have been extended?

I still can't get over that drawn out God of War quick-time-event battle with Thorin and the orc with the sword-arm.

[Digital Twilight]

Sums it up:

[kdrcraig]

I liked this a little better than the second one but still pretty much hated it. Bloated is the perfect term to describe these movies. Even The White Council ended up being a let down and after the second movie that was pretty much all I was looking forward to in this one. Every single scene seemed so drawn out and boring. I really don't understand how they did such an amazing job with LOTR but managed to fuck this series up so badly.

[Maul]

Screen Junkies is right now my favorite Youtube Channel because of their honest trailers and their amazing discussion stuff. You guys should suscribe now if you haven't yet.

When I watched An Unexpected Journey, I managed to wrap my head around the fact that both the studios making the movies as well as the director aren't in the same mindset that when they did the ''original'' trilogy. That trilogy, while not perfect by ANY means, had a lot of charm. This new trilogy is overstretched and it shows a lot of plot and pacing problems because of it. Since AUJ, my approach when watching this movies is ''Let's watch fun Middle Earth stuff''. So far, it worked. There are a lot of flaws and some elements are imho forced as hell. But I left all hype at the door everytime and left the theater room happy. I'm trying to stop overthinking movies so I can start enjoying them for what they are, entertainment. I'm not leaving the objectivity behind though, I have a lot of gripes with the movie, both as a book and movie fan. But the first Hobbit movie moved me but some of it's moments, the second one was a really fun ride and this one is an epic but messy conclussion that will sure benefit from the extended cut. For me, the extended editions of each movie are forming a hell of a prologue for what already is an amazing saga.

I still think it's really difficult for any director to satisfy both fans and studio at the same time, and Peter Jackson made a good job of making entertaining movies that for the most part, respect Tolkien's material and message.

Oh: And the beginning of movie is way too fast. Some takes should have been longer. Some character hears a revelation and we start to see a reaction forming in his face and Bam! we cut to another part of the story. Jeez.

[Alexandros]

Well, I will say that I prefered this one over the Desolation of Smaug (I'm not sure about the Unexpected Journey because I don't really remember, which goes to show the impact these movies have had on me). But yes, the whole trilogy was a bloated mess and overall too video-gamey for my taste. I would also be interested to see what a fan edit can do, although I fear some parts are unsalvageable no matter what editing is done. In the end, I agree with what the Red Letter Media guys said. Whatever was happening, I felt nothing. The action pieces are mostly fun and well-choreographed, except when they reel too much towards theme park territory. When the credits rolled, no twinge of nostalgia. It takes a special kind of effort to create this sort of reaction to people (like me) who hold Tolkien's books so close to their heart.

[mrselfdestruct94]

Saw it yesterday. This movie accumulates everything wrong with the past two entries and runs with it. Specifically, it's bloated and a complete waste of potential. I remember when Return of the King came out, how everyday waiting for the midnight release for well over a month felt like torture. I couldn't wait to see the end. I couldn't wait to witness the finale to a fantastic trilogy that I still watch and love to this day.

Opening day for Battle of the Five Armies passed me by and I didn't even notice, and I'm sad to admit that I just didn't care. Everything looks like a damn video game, the story is stretched so thin it's clear Peter Jackson was really grasping at straws throughout this one, Legolas and Tauriel should not fucking exist here at all, Thorin and Fili and Kili's deaths (which should have been emotionally fucking devastating) just kind of...happened. Which isn't a jab at the actors' performances so much as another mark against the direction and writing. Three movies, nine hours, and the few dwarves that were developed that we were supposed to care about all the way to their deaths did nothing for me. I felt nothing. That sums up this entire trilogy. I felt nothing, and I'm sad to say that Peter Jackson and his team turned what should have been another cinematic accomplishment (and I do consider The Lord of the Rings trilogy to be one of the greatest achievements in cinema) into a chaotic mess that left fans frustrated and disappointed.

This is not 'Star Wars prequel' bad. But it's another example of what happens when a team of very creative, very talented people are given everything they want with absolutely no constraints. Who are given exponential amounts of money and resources to try and repeat past success to the point where something as simple as a Hobbit going on an adventure with dwarves is turned into and forced to be Lord of the Rings, Part 2. It doesn't work, and someone should have said something, done something to try and correct this mess. I used to think Peter Jackson could do no wrong. And I hate drawing this comparison, but it was probably the same mentality with Star Wars fans who believed for a very long time that George Lucas could do no wrong. Then The Phantom Menace happened. Well, The Hobbit happened. And I have a feeling a lot of fans will be pretending like it never did happen from here on out.

[Vertigo]

"Not Star Wars prequel bad"? I'd say they're infinitesimally worse. These films aren't merely disappointing (and personally I really liked the latter two SW prequels), they're terrible pieces of work. They fail on almost every level. I still can't believe it's the same people who created LOTR (aside from the visual design workers). Though come to think of it, I did feel that the LOTR films started developing more obvious problems with each successive instalment, so I guess The Hobbit was making up for the lost decade of potential worseness-progression. Then compounded it by a factor of ten.

[Charmingly Miserable]

I saw it opening weekend. I left feeling underwhelmed. However, Lee Pace!!!!!! Hot mother fucking damn!

[Digital Twilight]

"Not Star Wars prequel bad"? I'd say they're infinitesimally worse. These films aren't merely disappointing (and personally I really liked the latter two SW prequels), they're terrible pieces of work. They fail on almost every level. I still can't believe it's the same people who created LOTR (aside from the visual design workers). Though come to think of it, I did feel that the LOTR films started developing more obvious problems with each successive instalment, so I guess The Hobbit was making up for the lost decade of potential worseness-progression. Then compounded it by a factor of ten.

Let's not get carried away here. The Star Wars prequels did fail at every level of film making and story telling, plot, script, dialogue etc, but the Hobbit films don't reach that level of incompetence. They are very overbloated and there was too much trust placed into Jackson that he would do as good a job as he did with LotR. I think that's understandable. He's always been a director who gets a little carried away with things and I think he'll regret the Hobbit films in future years.

[Jinsai]

Let's not get carried away here. The Star Wars prequels did fail at every level of film making and story telling, plot, script, dialogue etc, but the Hobbit films don't reach that level of incompetence.

They blow that level of incompetence out of the water. Did you see this "final chapter" movie? The Alfrid character? He was a running (horribly unfunny) joke. The most conniving, untrustworthy character.... given the most important jobs for three hours. Worst comedy relief ever.

The movie was utter bullshit. At least that last Star Wars prequel had a moment or two where there was a fun lightsaber fight. Even the battle sequences in this were dreary dumbfuckery.

[WorzelG]

I saw the first film on tv and wasn't really impressed, except for liking Bilbo, is Smaug worth watching it for at least?

[dlb]

is Smaug worth watching it for at least?

go on youtube, the whole scene is there or at least spread out in bits at 1080p. and then wait for a decent upload of his death in a couple of weeks (right now there are only grainy camera shots of it).

[WorzelG]

go on youtube, the whole scene is there or at least spread out in bits at 1080p. and then wait for a decent upload of his death in a couple of weeks (right now there are only grainy camera shots of it).

What, there's just two dragon scenes in the whole thing? I know it was that way in the book,but if you're going to ridiculously extend the book into three films, the dragon bits could be embellished

[dlb]

it's a bit more than that, you bascially have Bilbo and Smaug, the battle of the forges with the dwarves and a final face off that leads to Smaug flying to Lake Town for revenge. I don't have the DVD here so please someone correct me, but I guess it's just 20 minutes of Smaug in the whole movie.

[Jinsai]

They DID embellish the battle with Smaug. It was awful. Spoiler alert: it ends (finally) with them casting a gigantic molten gold dwarf statue that they sorta melt onto the dragon, which ultimately has no effect, and the dragon flies away to attack Laketown before the credits roll.

I hate these movies so much.

[Edo]

"Unofficial ‘Tolkien Edit’ Cuts ‘The Hobbit’ Down to Four Hours"

First one of many!

[dlb]

I'm a bit surprised no one has gone into critics mode because recently I watched some footage of the Hobbit games (mainly Smaug) so far and some cinematography of the cut scenes (especially his death) is pretty much copid with the movies.

I have read the book ages ago, so is that due to the games and Jackson really sticking to how the scenes are described in the book?





Or I'm looking too much into it... could be.

[Jinsai]

A new fan edit has trimmed the films down into one three hour movie