"The Hobbit (Part 2)" Spoiler-Free Review


I saw a few movies lately - Catching Fire, Frozen and The Hobbit (Part 2). Here is my review of The Hobbit, the rest will follow later.
  The second part of The Hobbit picks up pretty much where the first part left off, with a 'prologue' that set up the first film. The adventure continues, but it gets darker along the way due to dangers and ancient revealed. Some of the lightheartedness has been replaced with somber, because the race is on to get to the end of the journey. 

Everything about the first film is made better (or, depending on your viewpoint, worse). The effects, look and tone of the film are top notch. So too is the sound. Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage continue to shine..and well, Sir Ian McKellen is Gandalf. So glad am I to see him as Gandalf the Grey in four Tolkien movies total. But it is the titular character Smaug who definitely makes the film seeing. 


If you enjoyed the extended versions of Lord of the Rings, as well as seeing Part 1 last year, it's a safe bet that you'll enjoy this film (I have not seen the extended version of The Hobbit (Part 1) yet, I'm waiting for the extended box set). If you are puzzling how we got 3 movies out of a book less than 400 pages, then don't see this film. Or the next one. Peter Jackson still knows how to create a spectacle on screen, and breathe history and meaning into it. Legolas is the son of the Elvenking....so don't be surprised to see him show up. Also, Gandalf shows that he is the 'link' between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, as emphasized by his side-mission and the opening scene. I should note that the ramped up role of 'The Necromancer' does not take away from Smaug as being the villain of the story. The Necromancer side story is, at this point, a mystery that some secondary characters are trying to puzzle out. But when Gandalf realizes his identity and utters the 'S' word, I am curious how that story arc will play out in Part 3....

This movie, is not perfect. I found it to be about as good as Part 1, though in different ways. 

Regardless, I had a great time at the theater, and am already looking forward to Part 3 next December....

What they got right, worthy of note:
- the 'prologue'
- Mirkwood and Spiders
- The Woodelves (incl. the integration of Legolas)
-  'Barrels out of Bond'
- Gandalf's side-mission
- Smaug

What they got wrong, or what I felt was off:
- how Beorn looked in human form
- Tauriel. No, not the fact that she's an original creation. At times she stuck out like a sore thumb. But the actress did a great job with her.
- a little too much time in Esgaroth after the company arrives.

Like the first film, I give this installment a solid

9/10

Although, I was close to giving it an 8.5 / 10. (my score goes in .5 increments) More movie reviews coming soon....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tolkien Signature Paperback Collection: Master Listing

Image
  Recently, HarperCollins has been re-issuing most of the Tolkien titles in a new paperback style. Since that a vast majority of these share ISBNs with other covers, eventually the older covers will be replaced with the new. I wanted to provide head's up for that. If ordered via Amazon UK, Blackwell's, or Waterstones, you'll very likely have the newer/Signature cover. If possible, it may be best to actually visit  the bookstore so you can see which one they actually have on their shelves.   This post is a Master Post, collecting ISBNs of the titles released in this style. I have made them into 'groups' or 'sets' for ease of reference, as well as possibly assist in purchasing them, if one were to get more than one book at once. Over the course of time, this post will get updated. Once a new title comes to this format, I'll do a separate blog post focusing on that title; and provide it's ISBN, cover art, and description. Enough of these have come out t...
Read more

An Update

Image
So I bet you're wondering how The Saga of Kalvel is coming.  It's going well, but slow. I'm not putting into as much time writing the series as I'd like. It's still being thought of in my head, and I'm only able to get to it part time, but I'm still planning and writing at the same time. This weekend I'm hoping to binge through some.  I'm working on the third chapter for one character, and would like to start the first chapter for another character. I begun as early as Dec. 2011, and my deadline is August of 2016, but so far I have approx about 40 completed manuscript pages that I'm thinking of going back to until the first draft is completely done.  Now. That's manuscript pages.  If I were total everything I'd ever written about Kalvel, it would be closer to around 100 (give or takr about 15 either direction, some things are in various states.) I've said before and again that the most difficult vo...
Read more