The Hobbit (film series)

[Manton]

Two movies I could just barely see. Three? At around 3 hours each? No way.

 

[Anthony K]

First look at 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' -- EXCLUSIVE

by Josh Rottenberg

Image Credit: Warner Bros. & MGM

With the Dec. 14 opening of the first installment of director Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, subtitled An Unexpected Journey, only days away, rabid J.R.R. Tolkien fans are already looking ahead and speculating about how the story will play out over the two films that’ll follow. Well, here’s a big clue. In this exclusive first image from the second film, The Desolation of Smaug, in theaters Dec. 13, 2013, we see Bilbo Baggins going for the gold. To be more exact, we see Martin Freeman’s reluctant hobbit hero splayed out on a massive pile of treasure, looking up in hobbit-y alarm at what we can probably safely assume is an enormous and not very happy fire-breathing dragon named Smaug.

But hold on, you might be saying: Isn’t The Hobbit basically all about a quest to reclaim a pile of gold from a dragon? If we see this climactic scene in the second movie, what’s left for the final film, There and Back Again, due July 18, 2014? In fact, as anyone who’s read the book knows, the tale of The Hobbit — which Jackson is expanding considerably by drawing on some 120 pages of appendices Tolkien wrote to The Lord of the Rings that elaborate on the story — actually continues well past the face-off with Smaug at the Lonely Mountain, culminating eventually in the epic battle Battle of Five Armies, involving Laketown men, orcs, dwarves, goblins, elves, wargs, and giant eagles. “The dragon is a huge, wonderful, amazing part of the story, but it doesn’t end there,” says screenwriter and producer Philippa Boyens. “Everyone can suspect there’s a rather large battle in film three.”

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

There was now way that turning a single book into three films was going to turn out well. I got and understood Manton's point about them adding in extended material from official canon not found in The Hobbit proper, but nothing about this has felt right to me. If these early reviews hold true, it will be interesting to see how the more fanatical fan-base process it.

Agree. Many out there don't realize that Tolkein wrote a lot of material that wasn't published until his children compiled it into separate "histories", etc. If Tolkein wrote it, I am cool with it going into films as long as it stays in proper chronological order. However, it is just starting to smell like a money making enterprise to me.

 

[deadly7]

I don't think this is a money-making enterprise. I truly think PJ is trying to bring out as much of the lore as he can, but there was just too much stretching of The Hobbit. Like Manton, I think 2 films would have been the right length. Plenty of room to add additional material, and you leave yourself the option for a true bridge film.

 

[Anthony K]



Like Manton, I think 2 films would have been the right length.

Agreed. I was in disbelief when they announced that they were doing 3 films instead of the initial 2.

 

[Jr Mouse]

Once these are all released and available to purchase, someone's going to edit out all the fat and make available as a torrent a much shorter version. It's just the sort of project a hardcore fan would take on. I actually wouldn't be surprised if this is done multiple times by different people, if the excess filler is as bad a problem as we are hearing.

 

[MyOtherLife]

The Lord Of The Rings movies were boring and these will be boring too.

 

[deadly7]



The Lord Of The Rings movies were boring and these will be boring too.

you're an idiot, please stay out of my thread. thanks.


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Reviews are mixed, but a vast majority of the negative reviewers strike me as morons who haven't read The Hobbit and are expecting some epic in the vein of LotR. It makes finding worthwhile reviews *very* hard. Has anyone seen the film? I'm probably going to make it out next week.

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

I guess starting tomorrow, people can start posting reviews of the movie after seeing it themselves! Sadly, it will probably be sometime in January before I am able to see it.

 

[deadly7]

I thought it was out yesterday, whoops. Just in select countries. Many see releases today, and complete global release tomorrow.

 

[FLMountainMan]

So a total of eight or nine hours of movie for a book you can read in two or three hours? I might just skip them..

 

[Manton]



So a total of eight or nine hours of movie for a book you can read in two or three hours? I might just skip them..

I'm going to go but I already feel like a fool for it.

 

[bdeuce22]

Just got back from seeing it.

Been a while since I've read the book but I know scenes were added. Started a bit slow but really picked up about an hour in. Didn't feel like a 2.5 hour movie.

 

[limping_decorum]

enjoyed.

 

[Rambo]

what's the verdict on seeing it in IMAX 3D 48fps or regular? gonna go see it this afternoon.