For those that are my regular readers, you know I was excited as hell to see this movie. I couldn't go see it right away because of the coming holidays and that had to take priority. But today I did see it and right now I'm stalling a little because I really have no idea what to say about it.
Was it good? Yes.
Did it look good? Yes.
There was some talk about how this movie was shot. Something about 48 frames per second and some people not liking it. Yeah it looked a little cartoony at times. The trees were always a little too green, the pastel colors of Bilbo's house stood out a little. The lighting never looked natural. But that wasn't much of a problem for me because this isn't supposed to be real. It's MIDDLE Earth not Earth. Plus, this is a recollection story. This is a story being remembered by Bilbo Baggins and being told to us. If you look at it like that and keep in mind he's embellishing the story a little, then it's okay.
Was it faithful to the book? Mostly
There were a few things added. However I understand why they were added. If you ever read the book, they make constant references to things in narration that the characters themselves never bring up. The Necromancer for example. He's mentioned so many times in the book but always by the narrartor. It isn't Gandalf talking about him, or Bilbo, or any of the dwarves. So, as a screenwriter, there's a choice to be made: either cut out any refrences to the Necromancer since he never appears in the story and is only refrenced, or re-work the script so he can be mentioned and acknowledge that there are other things going on in the world other than this one journey. I think they made the right choice because later on when Gandalf leaves the party, we know where he's going.
There were a few choice cameos by Elijah Wood as Frodo in the beginning, we see Christopher Lee as Saruman again. Cate Blanchett again looking as beautiful as ever as Galadriel. Hugo Weaving with the weird crown on his head playing Elrond. They fit well into the scenes they added so it's not a big problem at all.
The movie added Radagast the Brown mage in order to establish the Necromancer. This guy acts like the old guy who introduced every episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. He isn't in the movie very much (thankfully) so I'm going to applaud the restraint used.
Did it feel like it fit with The Lord of the Rings Trilogy? Kind of
I'll just say it: This movie was way too long. It's very self indulgent. Most of the time when writing an adaptation, things get taken out and other things added to fill in some holes. Things were added as I've said, but there is absolutely nothing taken out. Some things were changed, but not removed. A good 30 minutes of the movie is the dwarves at the dinner table. If you're a fan of the book, you want to see that because it is a rather comedic scene. If you're average joe schmo movie goer, I can understand getting a little antsy and just wanting the movie to get on with it.
Compared to the other movies, this one is much more comedic. It's more witty and characters are a little more childish. There never is any real sense of dread until they reach the Goblin Cave. And even then the Goblin King is a smirking jackass. But by far the best scene in the entire movie is Andy Serkis as Gollum. Someone get that guy an Oscar... or an Emmy... hell someone create a Serkis award for best voice actor! GIVE THIS GUY AN ANDY!!!
What's your overall feeling? I liked it.
It's a setup movie. It's meant to be a great movie on it's own. And it is. But it's also supposed to be a lesser in grandeur to what is to come. This movie accomplished it's goal and then some. It's a great movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment