Peter Jackson to make The Hobbit (2 Viewers)

[netnalp]

The complaints I heard of the Hobbit was the first movie taking too long to get going out of Bag End. I think that gets lessened when you consider whole trilogy. Just recently saw the extended versions. I didn't care for the extended version of the first movie. Seems like there is mainly a musical number by the Goblin King added in. That took me out of the movie and seemed out of place. I did like the extended version of the second movie.

I agree that the first extended edition does not add much at all. The only extended/new scene I loved in the first EE was the extended scene talking about the rings in the white council.

The second EE was excellent all around.

I saw on the LOTR wiki that Battle of the 5 Armies will have 30 additional minutes.

Oh yeah forgot about that. The extra stuff with them speaking of the rings, and Thorin's missing father, and later finding his father is good. The song and the dwarf food fight at the elves I could do without. There was enough of that slapstick in Bag End scenes.

 

[NewlyRetired]

The complaints I heard of the Hobbit was the first movie taking too long to get going out of Bag End. I think that gets lessened when you consider whole trilogy. Just recently saw the extended versions. I didn't care for the extended version of the first movie. Seems like there is mainly a musical number by the Goblin King added in. That took me out of the movie and seemed out of place. I did like the extended version of the second movie.

I agree that the first extended edition does not add much at all. The only extended/new scene I loved in the first EE was the extended scene talking about the rings in the white council.

The second EE was excellent all around.

I saw on the LOTR wiki that Battle of the 5 Armies will have 30 additional minutes.

Oh yeah forgot about that. The extra stuff with them speaking of the rings, and Thorin's missing father, and later finding his father is good. The song and the dwarf food fight at the elves I could do without. There was enough of that slapstick in Bag End scenes.

Thrane and the rings are a very nice plot. The lost dwarven ring of power is a cool story line. I assume some of the 30 minutes in the EE of Battle will continue those plot lines.

If the EE of Battle is as good as the EE of DOS, I will be psyched. I have no idea what Jackson was thinking filming 4 musical scenes for the first one.

 

[cstu]

Question:

Why did Gandalf really bring Bilbo on the mission? This site talks about it, but no definitive answer.

My guess is that with dwarves being so stubborn he thought it would help for them to have a hobbit with the them to bring some practicality. Having been vouched for by Gandalf the dwarves were more likely to listen to him.

 

[Daywalker]

Alfred = Jar Jar Bings. Painful.

Terrible choice to end part 2 where they did when you watch the first 15 minutes of this one. All the tension gone.

Evangeline Lily is utterly beautiful. Surprised she hasn't gotten more roles. Don't think she's a great actress but just a knockout.

 

[grateful zed]

Question:

Why did Gandalf really bring Bilbo on the mission? This site talks about it, but no definitive answer.

My guess is that with dwarves being so stubborn he thought it would help for them to have a hobbit with the them to bring some practicality. Having been vouched for by Gandalf the dwarves were more likely to listen to him.

he was on a long term mission to save middle earth, to destroy the ring. he needed a 'ring bearer', a person/race that would not succumb to it's power. frodo failed, as anyone would, in the long run. but the hobbit delivered it to mt doom, and fate did it's part. the greatest fictional poker play ever.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Question:

Why did Gandalf really bring Bilbo on the mission? This site talks about it, but no definitive answer.

My guess is that with dwarves being so stubborn he thought it would help for them to have a hobbit with the them to bring some practicality. Having been vouched for by Gandalf the dwarves were more likely to listen to him.

Tolkien retconned the #### out of that. If you scroll down the page you linked, someone posted a bunch of quotes from Unfinished Tales but he could never really have it make sense in-universe.

This is one of those things in LOTR, like Galadriel's origins or the Orcs', that there's never gonna be a good answer for since the creator didn't have one himself.

 

[Andrew74]

Question:

Why did Gandalf really bring Bilbo on the mission? This site talks about it, but no definitive answer.

My guess is that with dwarves being so stubborn he thought it would help for them to have a hobbit with the them to bring some practicality. Having been vouched for by Gandalf the dwarves were more likely to listen to him.

Tolkien retconned the #### out of that. If you scroll down the page you linked, someone posted a bunch of quotes from Unfinished Tales but he could never really have it make sense in-universe.This is one of those things in LOTR, like Galadriel's origins or the Orcs', that there's never gonna be a good answer for since the creator didn't have one himself.

I thought The Silmarillion told where Galadriel came from - parents, siblings, etc?

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Question:

Why did Gandalf really bring Bilbo on the mission? This site talks about it, but no definitive answer.

My guess is that with dwarves being so stubborn he thought it would help for them to have a hobbit with the them to bring some practicality. Having been vouched for by Gandalf the dwarves were more likely to listen to him.

Tolkien retconned the #### out of that. If you scroll down the page you linked, someone posted a bunch of quotes from Unfinished Tales but he could never really have it make sense in-universe.This is one of those things in LOTR, like Galadriel's origins or the Orcs', that there's never gonna be a good answer for since the creator didn't have one himself.

I thought The Silmarillion told where Galadriel came from - parents, siblings, etc?

It did, but it was only one of many versions JRRT's son had to choose from when he put together The Silmarillion. And JRRT himself kept changing her origins up until he died. Celeborn's another whose back story kept changing.

The Silmarillion ain't canon, because there WAS no canon for a lot of that stuff.

:nerdwhoreadhislettersbook:

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Question:

Why did Gandalf really bring Bilbo on the mission? This site talks about it, but no definitive answer.

My guess is that with dwarves being so stubborn he thought it would help for them to have a hobbit with the them to bring some practicality. Having been vouched for by Gandalf the dwarves were more likely to listen to him.

I never thought this was very complicated. The dwarves were loud and loutish and occasionally foolish and rash. Gandalf (and the dwarves) needed someone who was quiet and careful. An elf would never do. A man would not work. So he scoured the lineup of who in ME was available and the hobbits came across his mind. Problem was hobbits are not interested in world affairs, they're comfortable and settled and don't like to leave the Shire. The solution? Find a Took or someone with Took blood, they are adventurers (or were at one time) and came from outside the Shire originally.

Bilbo and Frodo were both descended from the Old Took:

Gerontius "The Old" Took: was the second oldest Hobbit in the Shire's history after Bilbo Baggins. The twenty-sixth Thain of the Shire, he ruled for 72 years, and died at the age of 130. He was particular friends with Gandalf, who was rumoured to have given him a pair of magic diamond cufflinks which opened and closed upon command. He was a direct ancestor to the majority of the famous Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings. He married Adamanta Chubb and had twelve children; nine sons: Isengrim III, Hildigard, Isumbras IV, Hildigrim (great-grandfather to Peregrin Took & Meriadoc Brandybuck), Isembold, Hildifons, Isembard, Hildibrand (great-grandfather to Fredegar Bolger and Estella Bolger), and Isengar; and three daughters: Belladonna (mother to Bilbo Baggins), Donnamira (great-grandmother to Folco Boffin, Fredegar Bolger and Estella Bolger), and Mirabella (grandmother to Frodo Baggins and great-grandmother to Meriadoc Brandybuck).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hobbits#Gerontius

Although a great uncle (Old Took's grandfather's brother) the family had shown a capacity to fight and for boldness in its past:

Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took (2704–2806): The younger son of Isumbras III, Bandobras was known for his exceptionally large stature for a Hobbit (he stood 4' 5"(135 cm) and could ride a horse), although he was later surpassed by his descendant Pippin and Pippin's friend Merry Brandybuck. He led the defence against the orcs of Mt. Gram led by Golfimbul at the Battle of Greenfields. He is said to have knocked Golfimbul's head off with a blow from his club and sent it flying into a rabbit hole a hundred yards away, and is thus credited with both winning the battle and inventing the sport of golf.

Bilbo being the Old Took's grandson was a natural to Gandalf and as it turned out not only did Bilbo have qualities he never realized but also some that Gandalf never realized as well.

 

[Mad Cow]

Best, albeit cheesiest, multikill in the franchise was in this one by the elven king.

 

[Sabertooth]

I didn't really care for 5 Armies. Too long since the last one. I wasn't invested in any of the characters. Too much CGI. Why CGI Legolas up so much? Many of the scenes were obviously blue screened when they didn't need to be. I though it really took away from it. The goats climbing the ledges was very poor cgi work as well. This whole series struck me as a money grab and I really wanted to like it.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I just got back and all seven of us that went enjoyed it.

I am very much looking forward to the extended edition and hope they continue the ring plot that was cut out of the theatrical movies.

Once nice tie back to LOTR was during the end credits when there was a song being sung. That song was composed and performed by Billy Boyd who played Pippen in LOTR.

 

[Sabertooth]

How much screen time did the Hobbit actually have in this last one? Not much I'd guess. It was mostly about Thorin. Should have been called the Dwarf King or something like that.

 

[Todem]

Just got back.

Absolutely EPIC. Easily the best part of the series, and I fully expected it to be. I always loved The Battle Of The Five Armies chapters in the book so this was no different.

IMAX did the movie wonders as always.

 

[Psychopav]

The complaints I heard of the Hobbit was the first movie taking too long to get going out of Bag End. I think that gets lessened when you consider whole trilogy. Just recently saw the extended versions. I didn't care for the extended version of the first movie. Seems like there is mainly a musical number by the Goblin King added in. That took me out of the movie and seemed out of place. I did like the extended version of the second movie.

LOTR, love those movies but I'm finding more and more when I re-watch that trilogy, I end Return of the King after the ceremony with Aragorn getting crowned. It just goes for too long after that.

Agreed. Probably the most long winded ending ever. They should have stopped it there. But I understand why they did not. Being true to the books.

It was very slow all the good byes at the boat.

The perfect ending for me would have been "my friends, you bow to no one".

Or even skip showing them having gone back to the shire, then the boat and back to the shire. I'd have gone coronation to the boats and then as the credits roll, show Sam greeting his family.

The Scouring of the Shire is central to one of the majore the themes of the books. It's a travishamockery that it was excluded from LOTR, especially considering all the unnecessary crap Jackson added.

That said, it was still an incredible adaptation, best we could have really hoped for.

 

[Psychopav]

Question:

Why did Gandalf really bring Bilbo on the mission? This site talks about it, but no definitive answer.

My guess is that with dwarves being so stubborn he thought it would help for them to have a hobbit with the them to bring some practicality. Having been vouched for by Gandalf the dwarves were more likely to listen to him.

he was on a long term mission to save middle earth, to destroy the ring. he needed a 'ring bearer', a person/race that would not succumb to it's power. frodo failed, as anyone would, in the long run. but the hobbit delivered it to mt doom, and fate did it's part. the greatest fictional poker play ever.

Nah. He didn't know that Bilbo would find the ring.

 

[Andrew74]

Just felt "meh". At the end you wanted more - more Beorn, more Dwarves, more Bilbo, more closure. Maybe the EE will fix it.

 

[Mjolnirs]

Saw it yesterday and enjoyed it with no real complaints.

I don't understand some of the posters talking about how they don't remember this or that from the book because they haven't read it in decades.

Am I the only one that dusted it off and reread it before the movies started coming out? I mean, it's not a big book and it's an easy read.

Although, I did reread the trilogy before those started coming out too.

 

[Jayrod]

:nerdwhoreadhislettersbook:

It took me a while to realize this didn't start with "nerd whore"

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

saw HBOFA a couple days ago. it was okay, but I didn't really love it. probably my least favorite out of the Hobbit movies. can't really say why...

 

[Sand]

I didn't really care for 5 Armies. Too long since the last one. I wasn't invested in any of the characters. Too much CGI. Why CGI Legolas up so much? Many of the scenes were obviously blue screened when they didn't need to be. I though it really took away from it. The goats climbing the ledges was very poor cgi work as well. This whole series struck me as a money grab and I really wanted to like it.

Yep - very uneven. Jackson lurched from scene to scene and plot to plot with little regard for stitching things together. Alfred was ridiculous and should have been deleted. Some parts seemed gratuitously tacked on - the cart scene was atrociously out of place, for example.

Way, way downhill from the first two, which in turn weren't even close to what the Fellowship trilogy was. It was OK, but I doubt I'd watch it again.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

So is this the last movie?

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

So I don't get the 95% on the dwarf king? Whatever I guess. liked it the least of the movies to this point.

 

[Sabertooth]

I saw the new Conan the Barbarian movie just a couple months ago and I thought it was far better than this. This one just seemed to have way too much reliance on the mythology and all that crap. As a stand alone movie this thing wouldn't make sense at all.

 

[Krankie]

So I don't get the 95% on the dwarf king? Whatever I guess. liked it the least of the movies to this point.

I thought the ending (this entire movie) relied too much on people having read the book (I will assume you hadn't read it), and WTF is the need for that Alfred crap. There was 10-20 minutes of Alfred garbage that could have been used better. Decent adaptation, but this one paled in comparison to the other movies IMHO.

 

[Hawks64]

I saw the new Conan the Barbarian movie just a couple months ago and I thought it was far better than this. This one just seemed to have way too much reliance on the mythology and all that crap. As a stand alone movie this thing wouldn't make sense at all.

I don't think it's supposed to stand on its own.

 

[Sabertooth]

I know and that's part of the problem too. He took a book that would make one great movie and turned it into a homage to himself that took up three movies. He added characters and subtracted characters. He had an unlimited budgets and it really didn't turn out. Legolas really bugged me with he "elf eyes." It was nice seeing Kate from Lost again because she's hot as ####. But otherwise I didn't feel at all invested in Bilbo or Thorin and Kili Feely Neely whoever the #### they were. I knew the one had some kind of love affair with Kate but it never rang true at all. It seemed like a 3rd grade crush more than anything life changing. No need for that crap.

The dwarves just seemed like dudes in bulky armor. The stupid mushroom wizard reminded me of Jar Jar Binks. Smaug was awesome. Bilbo just didn't get enough screen time. Some of the special effects were terrible though.

I'd have much rathered a single tight adventure film than this long drawn out mess with Elf/Dwarf love and Jar Jar Binks cast as hippie wizard.

 

[Todem]

I agree it did not need to be 3 movies. But this is the trend in Hollywood. Keep them coming back to the movies.

I thought though overall it was a good trilogy. I enjoyed each part. I loved this last part because the pace was really fast. Lot's of action, great battles, and overall I enjoyed it. I also feel the LOTR was vastly better than the Hobbit. No question. What I am going to do though is once this comes out on Blueray, I will purchase it and watch all 6 films over the course of a rainy weekend and take in all this nerdery!!!

 

[Sabertooth]

I agree it did not need to be 3 movies. But this is the trend in Hollywood. Keep them coming back to the movies.

I thought though overall it was a good trilogy. I enjoyed each part. I loved this last part because the pace was really fast. Lot's of action, great battles, and overall I enjoyed it. I also feel the LOTR was vastly better than the Hobbit. No question. What I am going to do though is once this comes out on Blueray, I will purchase it and watch all 6 films over the course of a rainy weekend and take in all this nerdery!!!

I had plans to do this with the LOTR movies when I had hernia surgery. Darvocet had other ideas. I mostly just slept.

 

[NewlyRetired]

. What I am going to do though is once this comes out on Blueray, I will purchase it and watch all 6 films over the course of a rainy weekend and take in all this nerdery!!!

Watching the extended editions, that would be ~1230 minutes or ~20.5 hours of Middle Earth goodness

And that does not include the 10 discs worths of extras in the 6 movies

 

[Hawks64]

I know and that's part of the problem too. He took a book that would make one great movie and turned it into a homage to himself that took up three movies. He added characters and subtracted characters. He had an unlimited budgets and it really didn't turn out. Legolas really bugged me with he "elf eyes." It was nice seeing Kate from Lost again because she's hot as ####. But otherwise I didn't feel at all invested in Bilbo or Thorin and Kili Feely Neely whoever the #### they were. I knew the one had some kind of love affair with Kate but it never rang true at all. It seemed like a 3rd grade crush more than anything life changing. No need for that crap.

The dwarves just seemed like dudes in bulky armor. The stupid mushroom wizard reminded me of Jar Jar Binks. Smaug was awesome. Bilbo just didn't get enough screen time. Some of the special effects were terrible though.

I'd have much rathered a single tight adventure film than this long drawn out mess with Elf/Dwarf love and Jar Jar Binks cast as hippie wizard.

I think it will be interesting watching all three back to back, might be a bit more cohesive. And I tend to agree that it was at most two movies and shouldn't have been stretched to a triology.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

So was this the last movie?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

So was this the last movie?

yes, unless the estate of JRRT sells the rights, which im sure they would, but really nothing else would even make a good movie

 

[cstu]

From the Unfinished Tales:

"The Quest of Erebor" explains how and why Gandalf arranged for the retaking of the Lonely Mountain (Erebor in Sindarin), an adventure recounted from the perspective of Bilbo Baggins many years before in Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Gandalf knew that Smaug the Dragon could pose a serious threat if used by Sauron, then dwelling in Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. He was thinking about the matter when he met Thorin Oakenshield at Bree. Thorin also was concerned about Smaug, but had the different motive of revenge and the reclaiming of the Dwarves' treasure in the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf agreed to help Thorin.

Gandalf thought Bilbo, an unlikely choice, to be a suitable companion of Thorin and his Dwarves for a number of reasons. First, he had observed that Bilbo took an interest in the world at large, and was thus adventurous. Another reason is that Smaug would not recognize the scent of a Hobbit, advantageous to a stealthy operation. Thorin also did not think highly of Hobbits, and putting Bilbo in the expedition might prevent the proud Thorin from rash actions — such as openly challenging Smaug.

It was Thorin's objections to Bilbo that Gandalf found most difficult to overcome. Thorin believed that Bilbo was incapable of helping their adventure and that Gandalf might be simply meddling in his affairs for his own reasons. After much debate, Gandalf convinced Thorin that Bilbo would be a worthy member. It could be thought that Gandalf arranged this as he has foreseen the later event and wanted to create another front to fight Sauron.[source?]

 

[netnalp]

. What I am going to do though is once this comes out on Blueray, I will purchase it and watch all 6 films over the course of a rainy weekend and take in all this nerdery!!!

Watching the extended editions, that would be ~1230 minutes or ~20.5 hours of Middle Earth goodness

And that does not include the 10 discs worths of extras in the 6 movies

Plus there are 3 different groups that provide commentary for the movies, meaning you have to rewatch each film 3 times just for the commentary. I didn't watch, but listened to each commentary while playing PC games.

 

[Todem]

. What I am going to do though is once this comes out on Blueray, I will purchase it and watch all 6 films over the course of a rainy weekend and take in all this nerdery!!!

Watching the extended editions, that would be ~1230 minutes or ~20.5 hours of Middle Earth goodness

And that does not include the 10 discs worths of extras in the 6 movies

I have the gorgeous DVD bookcase extended versions of LOTR (never upgraded to blue ray...felt no need to be honest) but I only have the 3D blue ray version of the first two Hobbits. I did not do the extended versions of those. Maybe I will once the Battle of the Five Armies comes out.

 

[NewlyRetired]

. What I am going to do though is once this comes out on Blueray, I will purchase it and watch all 6 films over the course of a rainy weekend and take in all this nerdery!!!

Watching the extended editions, that would be ~1230 minutes or ~20.5 hours of Middle Earth goodness

And that does not include the 10 discs worths of extras in the 6 movies

I have the gorgeous DVD bookcase extended versions of LOTR (never upgraded to blue ray...felt no need to be honest) but I only have the 3D blue ray version of the first two Hobbits. I did not do the extended versions of those. Maybe I will once the Battle of the Five Armies comes out.

I have the same DVD LOTR set as you. Those will go to my grave with me

The EE of An Unexpected Journey is not great. Only one scene was worth it.

The EE of DOS was excellent. Almost every addition was great including a nice plot line I wished they had left in the theatrical version (dealing with Thrane and the lost dwarven ring of power).

 

[Sabertooth]

That all said I am excited to watch the entire LOTR and Hobbit Trilogies with my daughter who is now 8. She's still a bit young for it but she's a tomboy and loves ninjas and #### like that. Can't wait. She's going to just love it.

 

[Hawks64]

That all said I am excited to watch the entire LOTR and Hobbit Trilogies with my daughter who is now 8. She's still a bit young for it but she's a tomboy and loves ninjas and #### like that. Can't wait. She's going to just love it.

She's right at the age my youngest, whose now 9, started. Actually he started at 7 since he saw the first Hobbit.

 

[Maelstrom]

I enjoyed the Five Armies movie, saw it in 3D, and I thought it was pretty outstanding visually. The 3 movies should have been 2, coulda cut out some of the part of each that were a bit drawn out. I do like that this movie (in a small way) gets a bit back to the darker and dangerous vibe that the LOTR movies had, but I understand the reason for the progression as well, as this trilogy started it was really a much lighter time, before the shadow of Sauron stretched forth again.

I do look forward to some sort of EE box set, and if they do a full Hobbit+LOTR box set of BluRays that are all EE then I may just get that, I never upgraded the EE DVD set.

 

[cstu]

That all said I am excited to watch the entire LOTR and Hobbit Trilogies with my daughter who is now 8. She's still a bit young for it but she's a tomboy and loves ninjas and #### like that. Can't wait. She's going to just love it.

The good thing is that she'll be able to watch them in the order they should viewed - the Hobbit and then LOTR.

 

[Maelstrom]

That all said I am excited to watch the entire LOTR and Hobbit Trilogies with my daughter who is now 8. She's still a bit young for it but she's a tomboy and loves ninjas and #### like that. Can't wait. She's going to just love it.

The good thing is that she'll be able to watch them in the order they should viewed - the Hobbit and then LOTR.

And then she'll wonder why Legolas looks older in the earlier films...

 

[Dentist]

Saw the high frame rate version for all three of these movies. Very cool. not as good a trilogy as lotr, but still enjoyable. My main beef with all of these movies is still the eagles, one of the worst deus ex machina's of all time and he keeps shoving them down your throat.

 

[msommer]

I walked out of the theatre a bit 'meh' but I think part of the reason is that there has been a year between the Desolation of Smaug and the Battle of the Five Armies. Watching them in quick succession would have carried the tension of the end of Desolation better into the next movie.

 

[cstu]

That all said I am excited to watch the entire LOTR and Hobbit Trilogies with my daughter who is now 8. She's still a bit young for it but she's a tomboy and loves ninjas and #### like that. Can't wait. She's going to just love it.

The good thing is that she'll be able to watch them in the order they should viewed - the Hobbit and then LOTR.

And then she'll wonder why Legolas looks older in the earlier films...

Botox.

 

[Dentist]

I walked out of the theatre a bit 'meh' but I think part of the reason is that there has been a year between the Desolation of Smaug and the Battle of the Five Armies. Watching them in quick succession would have carried the tension of the end of Desolation better into the next movie.

yeah, i re-watched the first two parts the couple days before going into part 3... if I had not I think i could agree with your assessment.

These movies were made for a binge watch.. not a year apart.

But if you wanted to see the high frame rate 3d version which showcased the movies the best, I think you needed the theater experience.

 

[Chaz McNulty]

Very dissapointed in the series (especially the last movie). Jackson should not have buckled to the pressure and kept this at two movies. I can't imagine them being even longer with the EE.

It would have been so easy to keep this at 5-1/2 hours without losing much. Did the final battle really need to be an hour and a half long? Everything in these movies seemed like it was stretched out. 25% of the series should have been on the editor's floor.

If I wasn't such a fan of the whole series I would have walked out. As great as LotR was, this was crap in comparison.

 

[thecatch]

Liked the movie but yeah clearly this movie needed editing. Basically everything involving the lackey from Laketown was completely unnecessary, just as one example.

 

[Thunderlips]

Don't understand why they cut the second one the way they did. With all the promos being for "The Battle of the Five Armies", it kind of spoils any potential for Smaug being around for a bit. The previews should have at least had a good dose of whatever scenes Smaug was in so the uniformed viewer might have thought he'd have been around for a bit.

 

[Thunderlips]

As to why Bilbo (or a Hobbit was chosen), I think that's summed up in Bilbo's confrontation with Smaug.....Smaug had no idea what Bilbo was and thus; being a bored dragon.....saw it as a bit of a game (or temporary distraction). If it were only dwarves, I don't think there would have been that initial "in" with Smaug.