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Very short hobbit review:
Dec. 23rd, 2012 09:16 amHobbit movie is not a bad fantasy epic.
Is not, unfortunately, The Hobbit. The Hobbit is a morality tale with some very specific values; it does not involve active combat breaking out every five minutes.
And it definitely does not involve Bilbo killing anyone. In the first third of the story (if we count all three movies).
It also isn't supposed to be the story of Emo Dwarf, I mean, Thorin Oakenshield's Coming Of Age journey. And while I understand fleshing things out with other things happening at the same time, Radagast's portrayal is ridiculous. He should be no more comic relief than Gandalf should. Why Jackson/the actor chose to take Sauruman's word for Radagast's behavior rather than Gandalf's, I don't know.
That said: It's still a good movie, and an exciting fantasy epic, but it's just plain not The Hobbit. That might be all to the good. Tolkien himself (I am told) acknowledged that The Hobbit was basically (in its place as a story existing in the narrative history of a fictional world) was probably a children's retelling of a story (however accurate) existing in the -historical- narrative, and probably a lot less ...nice. This might very well be that 'original', as it were.
But it is not, and can not be, The Hobbit. I recommend it to fans of the LotR movies, but Tolkien purists like myself should be warned to adjust your expectations to enjoy the movie. This is not The Hobbit - but it may be a closely related tale.
ETA: If anyone goes to see the movie after seeing this, please do me a favor, and watch the opening scenes of Dale closely - I thought I saw what was intended to be a female dwarven vendor in a Dale marketplace, very very briefly.
Is not, unfortunately, The Hobbit. The Hobbit is a morality tale with some very specific values; it does not involve active combat breaking out every five minutes.
And it definitely does not involve Bilbo killing anyone. In the first third of the story (if we count all three movies).
It also isn't supposed to be the story of Emo Dwarf, I mean, Thorin Oakenshield's Coming Of Age journey. And while I understand fleshing things out with other things happening at the same time, Radagast's portrayal is ridiculous. He should be no more comic relief than Gandalf should. Why Jackson/the actor chose to take Sauruman's word for Radagast's behavior rather than Gandalf's, I don't know.
That said: It's still a good movie, and an exciting fantasy epic, but it's just plain not The Hobbit. That might be all to the good. Tolkien himself (I am told) acknowledged that The Hobbit was basically (in its place as a story existing in the narrative history of a fictional world) was probably a children's retelling of a story (however accurate) existing in the -historical- narrative, and probably a lot less ...nice. This might very well be that 'original', as it were.
But it is not, and can not be, The Hobbit. I recommend it to fans of the LotR movies, but Tolkien purists like myself should be warned to adjust your expectations to enjoy the movie. This is not The Hobbit - but it may be a closely related tale.
ETA: If anyone goes to see the movie after seeing this, please do me a favor, and watch the opening scenes of Dale closely - I thought I saw what was intended to be a female dwarven vendor in a Dale marketplace, very very briefly.
