The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - An Unexpected Journey, or the morning after

Tuor in Gondolin · 01-13-2013, 06:07 PM

Having finally seen PJ's Erebor movie (Part I) my view is that if you haven't read
TH and liked his previous Middle Earth movies you'd like it overall, otherwise not
so much.

While aspects of scenary, casting, etc. are still well done the overall impression is
of a dark "adult" cartoonish feel (sort of like a "graphic novel" as opposed to a comic book. Battle scenes are too large and long, characters like the dwarves are too
non-dwarvish (unlike, physically, Gimli in the LotR movies), and individual scenes and persons are exaggerated. examples are showing in detail the stone giants tossing mountain bits, the trees in the concluding scene of the movie (leaning over the edge of a precipice--The Hell?), the absurd, and repetitive, scene in the Goblin underground city. This is a pointless repetition of Moria and even more absurd. A long serious of jerry rigged wood walks which wouldn't even hold up in an Indiana Jones escape. And at the end they fall waaaay down , say ouch, and jump right up, less believable then a Hollywood car chase where the car keeps on going no matter what. And the Goblin King goes from Tolkien's basically obese orc to a cartoonish figure of absurd size.

The point is not that it's a bad fantasy movie, but is a fail as an adaptation of The Hobbit. After leaving Bagend it has none of the charm of TH. As others have commented, PJ isn't bad when he adheres to Tolkien's work and words but 9 out of 10 times fails when trying to add/improve (whatever) his "vision". Oh, and Thorin has to have a mano-a-mano (okay a dwarf-a-orko) confrontation?

And what the heck is that about a tunnel leading to Rivendell?

01-13-2013, 06:07 PM	#181
Tuor in Gondolin Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Southeast Pennsylvania Posts: 3,651	Having finally seen PJ's Erebor movie (Part I) my view is that if you haven't read TH and liked his previous Middle Earth movies you'd like it overall, otherwise not so much. While aspects of scenary, casting, etc. are still well done the overall impression is of a dark "adult" cartoonish feel (sort of like a "graphic novel" as opposed to a comic book. Battle scenes are too large and long, characters like the dwarves are too non-dwarvish (unlike, physically, Gimli in the LotR movies), and individual scenes and persons are exaggerated. examples are showing in detail the stone giants tossing mountain bits, the trees in the concluding scene of the movie (leaning over the edge of a precipice--The Hell?), the absurd, and repetitive, scene in the Goblin underground city. This is a pointless repetition of Moria and even more absurd. A long serious of jerry rigged wood walks which wouldn't even hold up in an Indiana Jones escape. And at the end they fall waaaay down , say ouch, and jump right up, less believable then a Hollywood car chase where the car keeps on going no matter what. And the Goblin King goes from Tolkien's basically obese orc to a cartoonish figure of absurd size. The point is not that it's a bad fantasy movie, but is a fail as an adaptation of The Hobbit. After leaving Bagend it has none of the charm of TH. As others have commented, PJ isn't bad when he adheres to Tolkien's work and words but 9 out of 10 times fails when trying to add/improve (whatever) his "vision". Oh, and Thorin has to have a mano-a-mano (okay a dwarf-a-orko) confrontation? And what the heck is that about a tunnel leading to Rivendell? __________________ The poster formerly known as Tuor of Gondolin. Walking To Rivendell and beyond 12,555 miles passed Nt./Day 5: Pass the beacon on Nardol, the 'Fire Hill.' Last edited by Tuor in Gondolin; 01-13-2013 at 06:14 PM.