It was too long. Yes I know New Zealand is a beautiful country, we saw that a decade ago, but how many helicopter fly bys can you fit into one film? I fully expected the words "Visit New Zealand" to come on screen every time a vista was shown.
Lots of unnecessary padding put in to get the 3 films out. When the film is released on Blu Ray I can't imagine wanting to buy an extended version like I did for the LoTR's trilogy. In fact I intend on getting an editable3 version of it and removing what I consider padding and I'll find out how long the perfect version would be for me.
I don't remember anything about him...pretty sure he didn't hunt them down like in this film. Granted there is probably some history there that is referred to in the book, but I honest to god do not think he is in the book all that much - if at all as a character...please correct me if I am wrong - I do need to have a re-read
Let's not stack it up against LOTR, too many people are doing this, including critics. Ultimately they are two completely different stories that happen to set in the same universe. I mean by saying the stories have completely different emotions and hooks, it's almost like trying to compare apples and oranges (or whatever metaphor you prefer!)
Also, here is my handy list of available viewing options for people who still haven't got their head set straight:
i'm gurning at my local cinema for not having the hfr version lol, they told me its cause it was expensive to upgrade all the projectors, I think my local vue is the only one that isn't showing it in hfr 3d
Just got back from seeing it at our local cinema, which only offers the 3D/24fps version, but was much cheaper than going to the nearest 48fps theatre [by about £20 for three of us inc petrol]... and its supports our local, which struggles to make ends meet.
I loved it! as did the wife and my seven year old son. None of us found it dragged at all - and if my boy can sit still through it all, then PJ did something right, as he's the worlds biggest fidget-arse; however, I do get why some think the start is a bit slow. Personally I enjoyed the pace of the first hour, which then ramped-up as the journey developed.
With all the talk of the 48fps version, I became very distracted by the judder of 24fps, something I have not been that aware of before, and I felt I would like to be seeing it at 48fps. It's funny with the talk of 48fps being distracting due to its clarity, if the tech was going the other way, then there would be mass complaints about judder
Overall the photography and effects are absolutely stunning, far exceeding LOTR at times. The only naff effect for me was
the collapsing bridge in Goblin-Town that all the characters fell with, without a scratch; the physics of the falling bridge looked wrong to me, and was a naff moment up there with Legolas surfing on a shield
I liked all the characters, and though I hated the idea of Freeman as Bilbo, he was a revelation, and played it perfectly... and I can't believe I'm saying that I thought the humour v serious was pretty well balanced, and thought it would be less visceral that it was... no blood, but very violent with a few heads being detached
Maybe all the negativity lowered my expectations, but I for one cannot wait for two and three... and I look forward to seeing it again at 48fps
Without reading the other reviews in here I'll give my opinion:
I went into this optimistic and open minded but I ended up really disappointed. Although it was cool too go back to middle earth, there were so many things that were just... bad.
First things first, the HFR 3D version of the film. Holy poo was that hard to get used to. At times it looks amazing but before my eyes could adjust a lot of it looks like a Benny Hill sketch or in fast forward mode. Even with that aside, with a combination of the 3D and the HFR, or for whatever reason, the fast paced action scenes looked fake and false.
The main offender was the brown wizard and his sleigh. That looked terrible
. Perhaps it's because the more realistic you try to make something the more your eye can see that it's false.
So with that in mind, I really don't know if I could recommend the HFR version... it just didn't sit right with my eyes. I completely understand the comments from critics suggesting it looked more like a slick BBC TV production than a feature film, but I don't think that made it any worse. It looked sharper and more fluid, but is that 'better' in this context? Hmm.
Any-who, onto the actual film. There is the fundamental problem is that the film lacks what the LOTR trilogy has in spades: the sense of threat. There is nothing menacing going on and as a result it's not a dramatic film, relatively speaking or otherwise. It's just not that exciting. The next problem is that there is some seriously misplaced goofy humour and some seriously misplaced goofy characters.
The portrayal of the brown wizard was just terrible. Likewise the scene with the trolls around the fire was silly due to their herp derp nature and voices. Only one of the songs was warranted (the second song in bag end with the humming). The first song with the tidying up of dishes... again, really bad. The biggest offender by a long way was the dwarf with an orange beard. Oh wow hilarious look at the fat dwarf doing fat things like falling over a lot. Peter Jackon. On behalf of the world: He's fat. We get it.
Fair enough the story isn't as 'epic' or 'menacing' as LOTR, but does that mean we have to suffer this dumbness?
With no malingering sense of dread or doom, and the above silliness, it is an enormously lengthy and at times a tedious watch. Far too long considering the content anyway. I'm pretty sure nearly everyone in the audience groaned with disappointment when they realised that even after escaping the mountain, it wasn't over.
Good parts:
The scene with Gollum.
The introduction of the Necromancer
Misc. Bad Parts:
King dwarf and leader of the troupe was just a douchebag.
8.5/10 for me - saw it in 3D 48fps, the quote below pretty much sums my opinion of HFR
''I felt that every time I looked away, I had to spend several minutes trying to get my eyes readjusted. It makes you feel like you are right there…. But not right there in Middle Earth, right there on a set in New Zealand”
Worked fantastically for action scenes and establishing shots but not so much for simple dialogue based scenes. Also agree with the below:
48fps is incredibly distracting and it’s a dubious choice for a fantasy film. Yes, it makes the world look more realistic, but in this sense that means props look like props and sets look like sets. The style looks better during fast moving sequences when your attention is drawn away from how stagey it all looks.
3D was decent but if you want to see good 3D go see Life of Pi - I'm fortunate enough to have seen it twice and the 3D is breathtaking.
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I thought the humour v serious was pretty well balanced, and thought it would be less visceral that it was... no blood, but very violent with a few heads being detached 
