BotFA professional reviews

[Voronwë the Faithful]

The embargo ended this afternoon, and we are already seeing a number of reviews, ranging from lukewarm to positive.

Here's the Hollywood Reporter's very positive review:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/ ... iew/752865

Here's the most negative one that I have seen, from The Wrap:

http://www.thewrap.com/the-hobbit-the-b ... blanchett/

[Voronwë the Faithful]

IGN: http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/review ... w#/slide/1

ComingSoon.Net: http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/review ... w#/slide/1

Empire: http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/rev ... FID=137273

theguardian: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/de ... er-jackson

gamesradar: http://www.gamesradar.com/hobbit-battle ... es-review/

Ah, here's a negative one, from the telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... exist.html

[Voronwë the Faithful]

80% at RT after 5 reviews. Of course the bulk of the U.S. sites won't put up reviews for at least another two weeks. So strange to have it released so much earlier elsewhere.

[Passdagas the Brown]

Sounds about right. Another middling film.

I plan on enjoying parts of it, and simply ignoring the others. I never do this, but it's the only way to remain calm.

[Elentári]

Philippa Boyens confirms to Aftonbladet reporter more Beorn in the EE and that it will be 20-25 minutes longer...

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/f ... 9950485.ab

- Ja, du vet hur Peter är. I dag sa han att det blir 20 - 25 minuter längre. Och där finns mer med Beorn. Mikael är en fantastisk skådespelare.


Translation:
PB: "Yeah, you know how Peter is. Today he said it will be 20 - 25 minutes longer. And in it will be more Beorn. Mikael is a great actor."
JP: "He's just in a couple of seconds in this film?"

PB: "Yeah, but he will be in the extended cut and you'll get to see how brilliant he is"

[Passdagas the Brown]

I hope that Thorin's funeral is restored. I was very much looking forward to that, especially given the rather satisfying-looking set they constructed for it. Though I am glad that it was removed for the TE, to make room for Legolas riding a bat and temporarily saving Thorin's life.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Are those posts meant to be in this thread?

[yovargas]

Sounds about right. Another middling film.

Considering that you seemed to enjoy DOS much more than the average critic (or human), I'm surprised that you're putting any stock into this stuff.

[Elentári]

Are those posts meant to be in this thread?

Mine was, because I initially thought the Aftonbladet link was to their review, (4/5) http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/f ... 9950252.ab

...but I see now that it is a different article...

[Voronwë the Faithful]

One thing I have noticed is a couple of reviewers mentioning Christopher Lee kicking butt. That is encouraging.

[Dave_LF]

And several have mentioned "D(w)ain Underfoot" too.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Down to 78% after 9 reviews, but 100% of the two top critics.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... rmies.html

This is interesting: "However, it is in parts also decidedly scary. Children may by now have become inured to those terrifying Orcs, but be warned, there is one scene, in which the princess Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) actually appears to be possessed, that really wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film." Hmmmm?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Down to 70% and 67% with the addition of the negative "The Wrap" review at RT.

[Passdagas the Brown]

Sounds about right. Another middling film.

Considering that you seemed to enjoy DOS much more than the average critic (or human), I'm surprised that you're putting any stock into this stuff.

Oh, I enjoyed DOS. But that doesn't mean I don't find it to be a middling film. I have simply learned to dramatically change my expectations, and accept Peter Jackson for what he is: an action director with a taste for excess. And frankly, I find the "pure PJ" stuff to be far more digestible than the mushy PJ-Tolkien soup that so irritated me about the LOTR films.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

This paragraph, from the Variety review, almost seems to come from a different film than Dcole saw, and is really encouraging:

Jackson, who’s surely aware of this conundrum, invests his five-army rumble with such a visceral feeling for landscape and physical action, a sure eye for elaborate battlefield choreography and, above all, a sense of purpose, that he leaves most of the competition — including some of his own previous battle sequences — seeming like so much digital white noise. Like George Lucas before him, Jackson has unmistakably brushed up on his Kurosawa, and there is at least one image here — of elf warriors leaping over the backs of dwarves and into a head-on orc charge — that could pass as an outtake from “Ran.” Better still: a mano a mano dwarf-vs.-orc duel atop a frozen waterfall that is, shot for shot, one of Jackson’s very best things.

[Passdagas the Brown]

Wow. The most encouraging thing I have read yet. Especially since "Ran" is one of my favorite films.

I also think that the frozen waterfall stuff sounds like visually-inventive cinema, and was not discouraged by dcole's description of it (even though I would have rather seen the dwarves get taken out by a mass of orcs, rather than a big bad).

So really, the only thing I'm really worried about at the moment is the Legolas and Tauriel material.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I posted that for you. I know you would appreciate it.

From stuff.co.nz:

But the greatest effect in these films has always been the one that Jackson hid in plain sight, and it doesn't get the attention it should: The acting - particularly Martin Freeman's realisation of Bilbo Baggins - is just extraordinary.

Though the dialogue occasionally betrays its children's book-origins, and though the world is exploding around him, Freeman has carried this tale from beginning to end.

Without Bilbo's journey, there is no story, and Freeman has let us into that journey with exceptional skill and subtlety.

Around him Richard Armitage (especially) and co have been flawless, but Freeman, in his quiet, measured, unfussy way, has been a masterclass. The Battle of The Five Armies feels like the reason this trilogy exists. It is complete, and exactly as it needed to be.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/fi ... ive-Armies

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And from Hitfix:

Ultimately, this film feels like it finally gives Bilbo Baggins (the precise and perfectly cast Martin Freeman) room to be the hero and not an entirely passive participant. He's proven himself before, and in "Desolation Of Smaug," he charged into a few fights, trying his best to be brave and stay alive. Here, though, he risks everything because of the bonds he's formed with his fellow companions on the trip, and the sort of hero Bilbo becomes is most important of all: a moral hero. He may have his secrets, but at heart, Bilbo is a good man, a good friend, and genuinely wants to see everyone treated fairly and well

Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/r ... 7Ytd0k7.99

[Elentári]

UK-based media reviews:

Mirror is Positive
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/tv-film-new ... ew-4729756

The film contains no shortage of wow moments. A swordfight on a crumbling bridge and a face-off on an ice lake are highlights. But best of all is a finale that wraps up the story up in a humorous, quietly-satisfying way.
If you don’t believe in magic, you will after seeing this.

Daily Mail is a 4/5 -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/...tle-Five-Armies.html

The reviewer emphasises how dark and horror-like some scenes are, especially in Dol Guldur.


Birmingham Mail Mixed with 3/5

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-o ... ew-8209651

Given the gargantuan task of making six films on this scale, Sir Peter Jackson deserve huge praise just for his sense of ambition.

And there will doubtless be yet another extended version of this episode before long on DVD to keep him busy with his labour of love for just a little while longer.

Evening Standard is very negative:

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/film ... 95775.html

Jackson's film is a bloated panto with a few inspired beats. It's bound to make money, but let's hope not too much. We don't want more where this came from. Tolkien once wrote a 27 line poem called Cat. Some small and beautiful things should stay that way.

CineVue is Mixed to Positive

http://www.cine-vue.com/2014/12/film-re ... rmies.html

Somehow it seems churlish to attack the film for being too action-packed when it bears the title The Battle Of The Five Armies. One of the most entertaining and touching moments come at the conclusion of the film and for fans this will be warmly received like an open fire in Bag End after a trip to Mount Doom. The six films tot up to nearly twenty hours (by Shire reckoning) and it is impossible not to admire and appreciate the world Jackson has so carefully and lovingly, lifted from Tolkien's tomes. Jackson's efforts have peaked and troughed, but this final chapter will undoubtedly satisfy fans, and kindle a sense of sadness as this hobbit's tale finally draws to a close

Independent is Positive, calls it the strongest of the three - 4/5


http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 97150.html

The Upcoming 4/5

http://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2014/12/02 ... ie-review/

Likewise, The Times 4/5

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/film ... 284245.ece