Arrrgh, arrgh, once again the dreaded curse of editing strikes these films! While I will happily worship at the shrine of Weta Workshop (patron saints Alan Lee and John Howe), whoever edits these films needed a swift kick in the pants.

The pivotal Riddles in the Dark scene was not allowed to play out to its full conclusion before cutting back to the dwarfs. Cut should have come after Bilbo discovered the ring#s invisibility power. However, it was at least better than the dreadful, dreadful editing of Theoden's death in RotK.

My main problem in this film was the Bag End scenes - an average of 3 - 5 seconds should have been lopped off each shot. It would have made the whole scene much snappier and allowed the humorous dialogue to zing off the screen, rather than lumber as it did (camomile tea, red wine interchange? That should have been and gone in five seconds, not thirty).

It's unfortunate that the script-writing team are not natural comedy writers. The attempts at humour amid dark seriousness comes across not as tension-breaking light relief, but as awkward interjections that make you wonder what tone the film was going for. In the cinema I was in only one line got a laugh - Bilbo's 'Fair enough' to being eaten. And that had been endlessly trailed. These guys are much, much better at tension scenes.

The above makes it sound like I didn't enjoy it. I did, but I just mourn that it could have been better with just a few little tweaks. Such a small difference. But I could nitpick for days. As with the original films, the overall impression is very favourable, it's only when I start to look in-depth that I notice the problems.

Review Home • Submit a Review