Geoff
51, Winnipeg
Canada
Date Posted: 2012-12-17
Tolkien Fan Level: 7
Film Format Seen? 3D 48 fps
Will view again in a different format? Yes
I loved the movie. Favourite scenes were (1) Bilbo and Gollum, including the riddles as well as Bilbo's moment of mercy, and leap over Gollum (2) the Wargs and the Eagles, including Bilbo's defense of Thorin (3) the Trolls (4) Bilbo's first meeting with the dwarves, with appreciation for Martin Freeman's acting in this scene and throughout the movie.
Things I didn't like (easily outweighed by the things I liked): (1) I found that the action scenes early in the movie, esp. the dragon's attack on Erebor, were difficult to follow with my eyes, in the 48 FPS 3D. I feel that the camera moved TOO FAST for my eyes to follow. There is simply to much visual data to process, with the result that I felt that I couldn't see the action. (2) Sets were "vulnerable" to appearing unrealistic with the 48 FPS ultra-clear image. (3) The movie should have been just a bit shorter - maybe 2.5 hours - for the "meat" of the story. Feeling was that film went slightly too long for the story. I would suggest editing down the length of the Stone Giant sequence, and some other action sequences. I felt that the length was correct for the dramatic scenes, including the dwarves meeting Bilbo at bag end.
Overall - I thought that the book "felt" faithful to the book, even if there were some additions. I really, really loved it. The acting by Martin Freeman is superb - just right. He gets the nuances of Bilbo's 2 natures, and the internal struggle within himself. He also nicely portrays the "anti-hero" personality of Bilbo. Loved it.


Richard Armitage 's performance as Thorin?
Bilbo's retelling of the history of Erebor and of Thror/Thrain/Thorin
The Eagles rescue sequence?
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