On Sunday December 23rd, I got to see the new movie "The Hobbit" by Peter Jackson at the Arundel Mills Mall Cinemax Theater. I'd been looking forward for some time to this movie. I expected it to be excellent and, it was. The movie is taken from the book "The Hobbit" written by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1938 though the movie does have some changes from the book.
For starters, the character of Thorin Oakenshield is developed far more. We see him as a brave and inspirational leader determined to reclaim his lost home. Also, we learn more about the Necromancer who turns out to be Sauron who hides in the fortress of Dol Guldur. Another change is the introduction of Radagast the Brown who is living what would become Mirkwood. It's Radagast that discovers the Necromancer and informs Gandalf of it. Another change is the orc Azog. Azog was the orc chieftain living in Moria who started the Dwarf-Orc war that culminated in the battle of Azanulbizar. We see the battle in the movie BUT, the battle takes a different turn from what Tolkien told. Tolkien has Azog killed in the battle by a young (32 years old) Dain Ironfoot. In the movie, Jackson has Thorin cut off part of Azog's arm and, Thorin assumes he dies of his wounds. Azog doesn't and hunts down Thorin and his company with the intent of killing Thorin.
None of these changes hurt the movie and may enhance it. I suspect we'll end up caring more for the character Thorin and his death scene with Bilbo in the 3rd movie will be far more poignant. Also, the movie helps tie in some of what we see in Lord of the Rings. We see where Gandalf got the Elven blade Glamdring and the petrified trolls we see briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Concerning the 3D technology, I saw the movie in XD 3D. I didn't feel any nausea. I did notice that the images were sharper and, I think the colors were brighter. Those helped make the breathtaking outdoors scenes even more stunning. There are scenes that will knock your socks off in that way.
The movie itself is nearly 3 hours long but, it never drags. At the end, I found it hard to believe I had sat for nearly 3 hours in the theater. It didn't feel that long. There is lots of action with some humor thrown in to keep the movie from being too dark. We start to see Bilbo develop discover things about himself he doesn't know are there though I think Gandalf can see them. The movie ends at a good point with the band looking across Mirkwood to the far distant Lonely Mountain which is their ultimate objective. Jackson pans into the mountain and gives us a look inside where we see a huge eye open in a tantalizing glimpse of Smaug.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this movie. Any fan of Middle Earth should be delighted with it. It is so believable and well done. Howard Shore does another fine job score wise with the movie which helps create the appropriate moods. New Zealand itself shows its best in the movie and will tempt lots of people to visit this stunning country. Hopefully, by now, the theaters won't be so jam packed though the movie still pulled in over $35 million this past weekend. It wasn't when I saw the movie though I attended the 11:35 a.m. showing. Folks may be even tempted to see it a 2nd time as I am because, there is a LOT to take in. Happy viewing all!
No comments:
Post a Comment