HOBBIT III. The return of Sauron(and others)

[farntfar]

Well I just came across a trailer (not THE trailer) for the third part of the Hobbit movies.
It looks like we're going to veer even further away from the book.
The battle of the five armies (the title of the film, after all), looks like having at least 7 or 8 armies, most of whom are bigger than any of the ones in the LOTR films.
Lots of guest appearances from Sauron, Galadriel, Saruman, Mandos and Ar Pharazon. (ok! not the last two) And everything is bigger and more exciting than anything you've ever seen before.
Looks like Bilbo features in a scene or two, just for continuity.

I apologise.
I'm making sweeping assumptions from a 2 minute trailer (which as I said featured Sauron, Galadriel et al), so I may be entirely wrong, and of course Mr. Jackson knows perfetly well that I'll have to go and see it anyway for all my misgivings, so what does he care.

 

[BAYLOR]

The trailer looked pretty good.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I feel your pain, farntfar. I watched the first two films again last night, and I felt like crying (I love the book). The extra characters/storylines that were added are just ruining the films for me...I feel no pleasure in watching them. I'm not going to see the third film, and I don't think I will buy the dvd (I hope Future Cat's Cradle remembers this when he sees film 3 in some discount bin one day). And Bilbo does sort of disappear, really, in the second film. Or at least the Bilbo I loved from the novel is long gone. It's all lost opportunity..it's sad.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Ah, but still humor is possible...I went to the Chron's main page after commenting here and saw that the latest post under the author's forum was "The Hobbit III. The return of..Cat's Cradle". I would actually go see that in the theater, if Jackson filmed it!

 

[farntfar]

AH well. I suppose I must now apologise to Peter Jackson.
I've just come back from the cinema and have to say that I really quite enjoyed it in the end.
The armies were all too big, the fighting was rather too stylised and there were characters and monsters that shouldn't have been there, but overall it had most of the bits from the book that I was expecting would be lost. (If in some cases rather jemmied sideways into the film just so as not to be missing, but never mind)
Of course, in such a film, the childish/innocent charm of the book was missing. Of course the love interest (Kili/Tauriel/Legolas) continued to grate, but as a film it was impressive.
The battles were panoramic and grandiose. The elves were beautifully choreographed and coordinated, the dwarves led by Billy Conolly as Dain made some amazing manoeuvres, the orcs were vile but incredibly well trained and well led. A quick diversion to Arrakis was a bit odd, but never mind.
There were also the usual Jackson one to one fights with somewhat incredible gymnastics, some of which were highly amusing.
So all in all I have (somewhat against my will ) to advise you to go and see it.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I'll wait till DVD is cheap on Amazon or Tesco. I'm a grumpy old man and prefer my living room to the local Multiplex.

 

[anno]

Has Tom Bombadil turned up yet?!!!

 

[Extollager]

Here's a detailed review of these regrettable movies.

http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/201...-of-the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies/

 

[BAYLOR]

I doubt there will be any more Tolkien stories adapted to the big screen , at least for a number of years.

 

[farntfar]

Here's a detailed review of these regrettable movies.

Having begun this thread with an expectation of exactly what was described in the linked article, I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the film.
My enjoyment may well have been in part because I was expecting it and could thus appreciate the film as a film, rather than as an absolutely faithful representation of the book, but nevertheless I found many of the depictions of events well made.

I also note that the author of the article made the same point many times over. Presumably he is paid by the word, and employing much the same philosophy that he decries in Peter Jackson.

Or to reiterate......

 

[Boneman]

Saw the film last night, and came home feeling 'yeah, good film, but not a great film'. A bit like the Jack Reacher movie... not what the writer intended, is my uppermost thought. I always thought Elves were whizz kids with the bow, so why did they just use the dwarves as springboards to leap into the orcs horde and get massacred, when they could have slaughtered a load of them from a few hundred yards away, and then leap into action? Poor officers, by the look of it. Have you noticed how once they've been used as cannon fodder in a battle, there's none of them left? Did you see a single one alive at the end of the battle for Helm's Deep?

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Did you see a single one alive at the end of the battle for Helm's Deep?

Oh yes, Boneman, great point! My wife and I watched all three TLOTR films this past week, and that was one thing we noticed...it seemed incredible (and unlikely) that every last one of the elves would be killed at Helm's Deep. And they certainly wouldn't have broken the alliance and left after the victory (had any survived).

But the ending of the battle too was changed from the book (the forest of Huorns weren't in the film)...and I'm not sure if the company of elves in question were even in the book..? It's been a few years since I've read it. Anyways...still haven't seen this third film...maybe someday..

 

[svalbard]

In the Directors Cut of The Two Towers there is the scene of the orcs getting destroyed by the forest.

 

[Nechtan]

The fate of the Elves at Helm's Deep has always bothered me too. Théoden calls down to Aragorn to get his men out of there, we see Aragorn shouting to Haldir, who nods then gets slaughtered. Aragorn arrives too late and catches Haldir's body, then we get a shot of Elves running up a set of stairs to safety. Then no further mention of them is made. No scene or explanation of where the survivors went and no grieving or tribute for those who died. Nothing.

The Elves at Helm's Deep weren't in the book. In the making of documentaries, the makers explained that they didn't want movie-goers to think that the Elves didn't take part in the war, that in the appendices Rivendell and Lorien were attacked and they wanted to honour that and also to give a small glimmer of hope to the Rohirrim and the audience. It's one of the changes I do like in the films.

To add to what Svalbard said, in the extended version, as Treebeard and the Ents march to Isengard, one of the hobbits notices that there are more trees moving in a different direction and iirc Treebeard says they have business with the orcs. Later on, as the orcs are fleeing the battle, Eomer warns the Rohirrim to stay out of the trees. Exactly how he knows isn't made clear. I'm guessing we have to assume Gandalf told him. I don't think anybody explicitly says they are Huorns.

 

[Narkalui]

You know those people, you must have met them, who say "why read the book? If it's any good they'll make a film" those people. He'd already started talking about ents, if he started on about Huorns then those people would get confused...