Re: let's talk about the hobbit film trilogy
Well I'm going to see it with a friend on Monday, albeit with something of a sense of trepidation and doom.
The problem with the "let's forget entirely about the book and think of the film entirely as the creation of Peter Jackson" attitude is that for Tolkien it just doesn't work. Tolkien did not write fantasy, indeed fantasy literature as we would understand it didn't really exist prior to Tolkien. He said himself he wrote history, ---- just history that happened to be of a world of his own devising, told in a language that he himself created. Thus, the problem with changes to any of the Lotr books plot is that your dealing with changes to a full historical narative, and changes which if they aren't undertaken carefuly, can have huge and inconsistant effects on the over all world and story.
I've already discussed in another topic the Faramir problem in the Two towers film, as well as various other issues.
Generally, I loved the firsthobbit film, unexpected journey. no, any film cannot do full justice to a book, but Unexpected Journey stayed remarkably consistant to the source material (apart from Azog), but also captured a lot of the smaller, and more fun details, the commical trolls, the entire riddle game, Iindeed all in all it is possibly my favourite of the Peter Jackson films sinse it spent so much time establishing plot and characters, and while it had it's fare share of action, there was never a sense of style over substance.
Sadly everything went down hill in the second hobbit film, desolation of smoug. An unknown dwarf love triangle which is just wrong, several important elements like mirkwood being sidelined, and generally a cheerless film, indeed I agree with Camlorn that it was more a game trailer, ---- very sad, sinse I'd have much rather had a well acted, riddling conversation between Bilbo and smoug as in the book and as in the style of the first film rather than a protracted action sequence.
oh, and killing a dragon with melted gold? come on! What are dragons famous for? breathing fire and sitting on large heeps of treasure, so melted gold is obviously going to be very effective at dealing with them! Really, it's like trying to freeze a snowman!
I was also amazed at this ending given that the hobbit already has a very natural place the second film could've stopped, namely when Smoug, furious at the dwarves attacks their camp smashing the secret side door of the mountain and forcing them to climb for their lives. This would've made a great action sequence, and also ending with the destroyed and crumbled side of the mountain and the victorious Smoug flying off to lake town would've been a great cliff hanger and made far more sense than trying to kill a dragon with melted gold! (sorry, but the shear ridiculousness of that one just goes beyond me!).
After the Two towers, I was severely annoyed, but a fter desolation I just sit back and think, ----- whaaaaa? Methinks Mr. Jackson has been a little heavy on the pipe weed if he thought that was a good idea, and the less said about the love triangle the better.
So yes, I'll go and see the film, but I can't say I'm expecting much, indeed let me think, first film really good and faithful to the book with many nods to Tolkien's style and intent, second film a bloated mess of action with plots entirely off the rails, ---- perhaps Jackson will recoop some ground in the third film, hmmmm, where have I heard that one before?
Tolkien would probably remind Mr. Jackson, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it :d.
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