Fan Reaction to The Hobbit [Now with SPOILERS!]

[Stranger Wings]

We've already heard something from somebody to that effect, although unfortunately my brain doesn't seem to be firing on sufficiently cylinders to recall who it was, or exactly what was said.

Still, given my long-held fear that the sequence would basically be replaced altogether, I am a happy camper.

Yup. I have to admit, you were my only source of fear on this subject. I always assumed PJ would leave it in, but you kept insisting that it wasn't likely! In other words, you caused me months and months of sleepless nights.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

My work here is done.

Meanwhile,

The actual lines in the book are:

"Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea - any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good-bye!"

So if Corliss is right, maybe it ends with the final "Good morning!"

[Stranger Wings]

My work here is done.

Meanwhile,

The actual lines in the book are:

"Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea - any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good-bye!"

So if Corliss is right, maybe it ends with the final "Good morning!"

Ah, right. I forgot about that review. It's a shame because Bilbo, and the English, have a hard time of saying "no," so the "come tomorrow!" is very funny.

But I'm still rather pleased.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Something else that many will consider an improvement over the previous films

the Necromancer is shown as having human form, so.... cue rants now!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

This should dampen down your enthusiasm a little, SA (not that we don't know it already):

A couple of other thoughts now that I've had the chance to sleep and think a bit more: Azog and his minions are very much out of LOTR -- nasty, dangerous-looking, vicious, and snarling. The Goblin King and the goblins are much more straight from the Hobbit -- ugly (oh yes, the King is *disgusting*-looking, but with a touch of whimsy; while the GK is dangerous, no doubt about it, he feels more like the villain of a children's tale than Azog). And the GK is very well-spoken!

The action scenes, particularly from the Misty Mountains on, are pure Jackson-on-steroids. There's a TEMPLE OF DOOM-esque gleefulness and insanity to them, even moreso than Moria in FOTR. I thought they were hilarous and fun, but if you're looking for darker action scenes that are more rooted in "realism", then you'll probably be disappointed.

And... there's a significant change at the end of "Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire" -- Thorin and Bilbo are given big moments to augment their characters.

[Stranger Wings]

This should dampen down your enthusiasm a little, SA (not that we don't know it already):

A couple of other thoughts now that I've had the chance to sleep and think a bit more: Azog and his minions are very much out of LOTR -- nasty, dangerous-looking, vicious, and snarling. The Goblin King and the goblins are much more straight from the Hobbit -- ugly (oh yes, the King is *disgusting*-looking, but with a touch of whimsy; while the GK is dangerous, no doubt about it, he feels more like the villain of a children's tale than Azog). And the GK is very well-spoken!

The action scenes, particularly from the Misty Mountains on, are pure Jackson-on-steroids. There's a TEMPLE OF DOOM-esque gleefulness and insanity to them, even moreso than Moria in FOTR. I thought they were hilarous and fun, but if you're looking for darker action scenes that are more rooted in "realism", then you'll probably be disappointed.

And... there's a significant change at the end of "Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire" -- Thorin and Bilbo are given big moments to augment their characters.

You're right. I am expecting that, so this doesn't change much.

I was hoping, however, that "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire" wasn't done in the style of Goblin town...Not sure if he is implying that or not.

[Frelga]

The action scenes, particularly from the Misty Mountains on, are pure Jackson-on-steroids. There's a TEMPLE OF DOOM-esque gleefulness and insanity to them, even moreso than Moria in FOTR. I thought they were hilarous and fun, but if you're looking for darker action scenes that are more rooted in "realism", then you'll probably be disappointed.

I may not think so after watching the movie, but based on just that, I think that's good news.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

For some of us, Frelga. I fully expect to enjoy that sequence far more than Moria. Others, I expect will not appreciate it as much.

[Stranger Wings]

The action scenes, particularly from the Misty Mountains on, are pure Jackson-on-steroids. There's a TEMPLE OF DOOM-esque gleefulness and insanity to them, even moreso than Moria in FOTR. I thought they were hilarous and fun, but if you're looking for darker action scenes that are more rooted in "realism", then you'll probably be disappointed.

I may not think so after watching the movie, but based on just that, I think that's good news.

Peter Jackson's style is already steroidal, so if these scenes are Peter Jackson's steroidal style on MORE steroids, it is basically going to blow me right of the film. I hate this video gamey stuff with a passion. Tolkien's world is evocative, conjuring up strange yet alluring visions of the deep and forgotten past. He deserves more than shiny eye candy and overcooked plasticine thrill rides.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I have to ask, do they explain how golf was invented? :lol:

Yes, they do!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

From someone called "Notanelvishname" from TORN who claims to have seen it, in response to a question comparing the Thorin/Azog conflict with Aragorn/Lurtz:

- It's quite different. There is a long story between Azog and Thorin. The fight is more about drama than action.

Encouraging, if true.

[Stranger Wings]

I have to ask, do they explain how golf was invented? :lol:

Yes, they do!

Does that mean they are showing a backstory of Bilbo's Tookish heritage?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm guessing it is story told by Gandalf. But that is just a guess.

[Stranger Wings]

I'm guessing it is story told by Gandalf. But that is just a guess.

Probably right. We know that such a backstory was filmed, but no reviewer seems to have indicated that any of it is shown.

[SirDennis]

An interesting piece on HFR 3D in the Hobbit. It seems like we are entering a truth and reconciliation phase already, which is a good thing imho.

Start here: http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2012/12 ... t-fantasy/ then be sure to follow the link to the Yahoo News article.

Or go directly to the Yahoo News piece: http://news.yahoo.com/super-clear-forma ... tsrc=yahoo

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It seems like we are entering a truth and reconciliation phase already, which is a good thing imho.

Sorry, but I think that is more than a bit hyperbolic. Some people don't like it, and many others do like it. Pieces like that Yahoo News piece have such an obvious bias and agenda that I find it almost completely useless. I've heard from enough people whose opinion I respect saying that they really like the format to be highly suspicous of claims like this. Truth and reconciliation? C'mon Dennis, you sound like you think that Peter Jackson is some evil overlord (the equivalent of the purveyors of Apartheid in South Africa, that led to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help that country recover), as opposed to an artist trying to push the envelope of his art in new and different ways.

I have now firmly decided that I am going to go see it in 48 FPS with as open and hopeful a mind as possible.

[SirDennis]

It seems like we are entering a truth and reconciliation phase already, which is a good thing imho.

Sorry, but I think that is more than a bit hyperbolic. Some people don't like it, and many others do like it. Pieces like that Yahoo News piece have such an obvious bias and agenda that I find it almost completely useless. I've heard from enough people whose opinion I respect saying that they really like the format to be highly suspicous of claims like this. Truth and reconciliation? C'mon Dennis, you sound like you think that Peter Jackson is some evil overlord (the equivalent of the purveyors of Apartheid in South Africa, that led to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help that country recover), as opposed to an artist trying to push the envelope of his art in new and different ways.

I have now firmly decided that I am going to go see it in 48 FPS with as open and hopeful a mind as possible.

Well first I'm not trying to convince anyone not to see it in whichever format they want to see it. And obviously this thing is no where close in magnitude to the commission that followed Apartheid... but the intent seems similar to me; finally the studio seems willing to consider that they may have screwed up.

What is interesting too (to me) is that it has now been made clear that it was Jackson's own money that went into making the film this way. This validates a point that you made a long time ago, that Jackson chose the format because he thought it would help him make the best movie possible. (But I still wonder if he has a stake in RED.)

The article, to me mind you, seems the most transparent on the subject yet. It is the first one that suggests the studio is actually more concerned about fans having a good experience their first time out than pushing an untested format. As well, they stated that no existing home format supports HFR, not even Blu Ray (it's nice to finally have confirmation on this).

Some of the statements made by the studio still contain weasel words that imply the technology is "better" or that it's not the technology that is bad, it's that people are resistant to change. But overall I found the transparency of the article to be a breath of fresh air.

Please remember that I am critiquing articles not the film or the format (though I maintain my position that The Hobbit was a poor choice to take a gamble on a new format.)

[Stranger Wings]

It seems like we are entering a truth and reconciliation phase already, which is a good thing imho.

Sorry, but I think that is more than a bit hyperbolic. Some people don't like it, and many others do like it. Pieces like that Yahoo News piece have such an obvious bias and agenda that I find it almost completely useless. I've heard from enough people whose opinion I respect saying that they really like the format to be highly suspicous of claims like this. Truth and reconciliation? C'mon Dennis, you sound like you think that Peter Jackson is some evil overlord (the equivalent of the purveyors of Apartheid in South Africa, that led to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help that country recover), as opposed to an artist trying to push the envelope of his art in new and different ways.

I have now firmly decided that I am going to go see it in 48 FPS with as open and hopeful a mind as possible.

Sorry, but there is extreme bias in your statement as well. The negative response from critics seems to quite considerably outweigh the positive, thus far.

Even the more positive reactions are full of qualifiers. They see the future potential of the format, and argue that as time goes by, set designers, costume designers, cinematographers and directors will hone the craft of making films shot at 48fps. In other words, this was a very experimental move on PJ's part - with the Hobbit as a prototype of sorts - which naturally means there will be some obvious flaws, as sets look like sets, prosthetics look like prosthetics, motion seems sped up, and fakery generally looks fake.

I don't rule out the potential for 48 and 60fps to ultimately be a better format in the future. Not at all. But to experiment with the Hobbit was, IMO, a mistake. Even though most showings are at 24fps, the film was shot at 48fps, which means less movement blur was captured. So we can't fully escape the decision.

In any event, I will give 48fps a try on my second or third viewing. Maybe I will like it?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm not talking about critics, I'm talking about people's who's opinion I know and respect. E.g, Telemachos:

For those who're interested in the new technology, I thought the high-frame-rate version looked fantastic, so much so that I'm honestly confused about how people could so viscerally dislike it. But obviously they did, so I guess people react in different ways.

I'm not suggesting that people who have had a negative reaction to the high frame rate are being deceitful, and it may well turn out that I will have a similarly negative reaction (although I tend to doubt it). But equating the criticism of the high frame rates with the truth and reconciliation commission is completely out of line in my opinion (speaking completely as a poster, not as a Marshal, Shirriff or Thain) because it suggests that liking the high frame rates is fundamentally wrong (just as apartheid is fundamentally wrong), and that just isn't right. Again, in my opinion.