Critical Reception of The Hobbit: AUJ [Massive SPOILERS!]

For discussion of the upcoming films based on The Hobbit and related material, as well as previous films based on Tolkien's work
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Post by Alatar »

Spoiler regarding Radagast description below:

Hidden text.
The description of Radagast going crosseyed when smoking Gandalfs pipe (not bong) is accurate, but its more of an OTT reaction than a stoner impression I thought, although I can see why some would choose to take that impression. He does not appear stoned after it, in fact Gandalf suggests it will help to calm him down when he has become agitated. Think of it more like one of the old Hamlet cigar ads.
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

A very positive review from the Birmingham Mail ("It’s the most exciting film of 2012.")

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-o ... ney-366390

And a much more mixed (but still "fresh") review from Reelviews (from a critic for some reason considered a "top critic") that raises the total score back to 73%, and the top critic score "up" to 25%:

http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_tem ... ifier=2563
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Glad to help! (Although I must say I am puzzled by why they put out a trailer that has such a different tone and emphasis than what it appears the film itself has, from everything that I have seen.)
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Post by Stranger Wings »

Voronwë the Faithful wrote:Glad to help! (Although I must say I am puzzled by why they put out a trailer that has such a different tone and emphasis than what it appears the film itself has, from everything that I have seen.)
Though this is anecdotal, that trailer seemed to have pleased general audiences (I know that when I saw it in the theater, there was much excitement after it played), so I imagine WB had it market-tested pretty rigorously.

The film, on the other hand, seems more directed towards fans than I expected it would be.

I will see on Saturday...
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

A mostly negative (but in my opinion also quite clueless) review from Film.com:

http://www.film.com/movies/review-the-h ... ed-journey
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Post by kzer_za »

This [the unexpected party] is not a solid start, so the film doesn’t really get going until a good forty-five minutes into the narrative. This opening gambit was likely meant to help lighten the eventual doldrums that “The Hobbit” falls into, but they would have been better off just getting on with the party already. The film is called “The Hobbit,” and so a conflict where the Hobbit possibly won’t be involved is a stretch to sell an audience. The well-paced action scenes do deliver respite every fifteen minutes, and whenever someone is yelling “Orcs!” it’s impossible not to be engaged. Orcs make for good drama, that’s just screenwriting #101.
Wow, what an awful review.
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to think so!

RT is still at 73%, but there are a bunch of new reviews (now 56 in total), and most of them are pretty positive.

There does seem close to a consensus from the reviewers that the HFR is distracting, or worse. So far, though (in a very limited sample size) fan reaction to it seems more positive. We'll have a better idea of that in a few days!
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Post by Dave_LF »

I guess it wouldn't be too surprising to find that a professional film critic is more likely to take a traditional view of cinema than the man on the street.
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Or that someone who is constantly watching films in theaters would find the new format more jarring than someone who watches films in theaters less frequently.
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

The San Jose Mercury News (the closest major newspaper to here) has not one, but two reviews in today's paper, one rotten review from the main critic (a "top critic" at RT) which begins "There are some truly wondrous things to behold in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," director Peter Jackson's return to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth" and a glowing review from a "teen correspondent" and self-professed "avid J.R.R. Tolkien fan."

Review: 'The Hobbit' a ponderous journey

Review: 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' exceeds expectations
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Post by Elentári »

Really positive review by Mark Hughes at Forbes, with a bit more depth in his reviewing than the majority of the other reviews as he gets into talking about the themes of the film, Bilbo's character arc in this part of the story, and responding to the criticisms that have been prevalent amongst the more mixed or negative reviews.


'The Hobbit' Review: Peter Jackson's Return To Middle Earth Is A Triumph
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Post by Primula Baggins »

Thanks for posting that, Elen. It's a fantastic review to read if (like me) you want to get a bit more excited about seeing the film! And I didn't spot any enormous spoilers.

It especially made me happy to see how much the reviewer liked 48 FPS.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

That may well be the most positive review I've seen anywhere.

There is also 4 new "top critic" reviews at RT, all "fresh," finally bringing the "top critic" score into positive territory with 10 out of 18 fresh. The overall score is up to 76%.
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Post by axordil »

The bandwagon effect can cut both ways, but it's quite real. The whole "70s BBC video" meme is a classic example of that. I'm betting half the reviewers--I won't call them critics--haven't even SEEN "I, Claudius" or "Upstairs, Downstairs" or "Elizabeth R." They can't figure out how to describe what they're seeing, so they fall back on something someone else said.

I do admit I'm a bit concerned about the theatrical end of the HFR technology. The HFR projectors are still very, very new equipment. Whether it's turning the light bulb too low (HELLO, WE'RE WEARING DARK GLASSES) or sync issues, new tech means new things to go wrong.
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

I would suggest that perhaps one reason why we are getting such varied reports about the HFR is that different projectors are working differently. But we have reports like the one from Dark Jackal at TORN, where she said that she had problems with the HFR, but her friend who saw the same screening liked it alot.
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Post by Alatar »

Unsurprisingly, I agree with every word of that review!
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Post by Dave_LF »

Except he's another one who apparently thinks FotR was the weakest of the original 3, while I feel (strongly!) the opposite. Funny how tastes run.
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

For SA, here's a review from someone who didn't like the LOTR films much, and likes this one a lot better:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sigh ... d-journey/
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Gotta love this turn of phrase, in what may be the most negative review I've seen yet:
In a prologue as entertaining as watching the last bits of ketchup drip out of the bottle ... ."
http://www.redeyechicago.com/entertainm ... 205.column

Back down to 73% at RT with 94 reviews counted. And the so-called "top critics" are back below 50% (11 fresh, 12 rotten).
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

This is rich, from a luke-warm review by Peter Travers in Rolling Stone:
As if to remind Rings fans that they're in the same territory, Jackson does things Tolkien never imagined, such as bringing in the elf city of Rivendell
Really? Tolkien would never bring the elf city of Rivendell into the story of The Hobbit? Who knew?

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/revi ... z2EymWrngF
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