My Love/Hate Relationship With "The Hobbit"
There are spoilers, but come on. Everyone already knows the plot, right?
I went to see The Hobbit on Sunday night, more on impulse than anything. To be honest, I wasn't as hyped about The Hobbit as I was for The Lord of the Rings, though I was pretty sure the movie would be decent. Why the lack of enthusiasm, you ask? First off, when I heard that The Hobbit (one book) was being made into a trilogy, I rolled my eyes, thinking Hollywood was just going to stretch things out and make each and every film BORING as a result. "It's probably just a cash grab," I thought, "riding the coattails of The Lord of the Rings." Secondly, well... Here's where I make my unpopular confession:
I did not like the original animated version of "The Hobbit".
I also did not enjoy the books very much.
Don't get me wrong, I love what the books have done for fantasy writing, and the concepts in and of themselves are wonderful. But I was so bored. SO BORED. Most of that lack of interest had to do with all of the pointless poetry flung here and there. I've never been a big fan of poetry to begin with, with a few rare exceptions. Hearing poetry can be pleasant with the right speaker, but reading it is the equivalent of going on a long car ride to Disneyland...you're excited to get there, you know the ending will be great, but damn it if the driver doesn't keep pulling over to take pictures of this awesome rock or to make another pit stop just in case because you never know when you'll get another chance, or maybe we should pull over until we can all decide which radio station we want to listen to, etc. The constant lyrics to songs I couldn't hear dragged down the story, and most of those passages were skipped over immediately in order to preserve my sanity. (I hated Tom Bombadil so very, VERY MUCH.) Moreover, I didn't feel any attachment to the characters, as the book seemed to be a long log of 'these guys went here and did SILLY and Bilbo saved them, then they went here and SILLY and Bilbo saves them again, and then MOAR SILLY OMFG'... You get the point. There just wasn't much emotional depth.
As for why I disliked the cartoon, I'll be blunt. The animation was ugly, and I thought Bilbo looked creepy. Pretty much everything in that cartoon was fugly and/or creepy to me, and the songs were like nails on a chalkboard. This is mostly due to the fact that I just hate 70's music. I grew up loathing that movie. I haven't really seen it as an adult, though perhaps I should if only to be fully objective. Maybe it's better than I realize. I just know I didn't like it when I was a kid.
Now for the new movie. Did it measure up to my expectations that it would be adequate and moderately enjoyable? No.
IT BLEW MY EXPECTATIONS AWAY.
I cannot express just how much I loved this movie, but I'll do my best to mention the points that reallly won me over.
First of all, this was everything I wanted a movie to be: a temporary vacation from reality, and a very pleasant vacation at that. It had a storyline I could follow. It had beautiful sweeping views of beautiful countryside and beautiful settings that wiped away all my stress and worries. The visual aspects sucked in my attention and held it, and made me feel like I really was in another world. Tied to that were the meticulate attention to detail and special effects. I never found myself questioning the make-up, or what should have been fake-looking size differences. You can still tell the CG from the practical effects, but only because you know something real couldn't move that fluidly. There was a good, seamless blend, and there wasn't a single moment where I was jarred back into reality by a sloppy shot. You can tell that the people who made this movie worked very hard on it, and crafted it with amazing detail and love. It felt like art, instead of a cash cow, and I love that.
The acting was, as expected, phenomenal. The humor spiced things up without making the story too goofy, and I enjoyed the dialogue immensely. The best lines were in the trailer, as you might expect, but they still made a powerful impact when they arose in the movie itself.
I love love LOVED the dwarves. I did not expect that to happen, but there I was, admiring the detailed costumes and how nice it was to be able to tell each character apart with so many drastic facial differences. Not gonna lie, Thorin and Kili were pretty hot, and I never thought I'd find a dwarf moderately attractive. I mean, come on, you never see half-dwarves in D&D.
In the book and the cartoon, I viewed the dwarves as petulant, demanding, worthless morons who never contributed anything to the party and just made Bilbo do all the work and constantly save them from peril. In this movie, they are far more fleshed out and interesting. Their backstory makes them sympathetic, and the brotherly camaraderie they shared with one another, and in time with Bilbo, made me feel a deep affection for these characters. While they still had a few moments that were comical or showed their flaws, the dwarves were also colored with strength, sorrow, and compassion. The song they sing near the beginning is beautiful and haunting, perfectly capturing the essence of their character. I left the theater humming the tune (or attempting to) all the way home.
This brings me to the music. Howard Shore layers some new themes over the old, and it enhances the movie perfectly: not too overbearing, not too subtle. I actually enjoyed the poetry and songs the way he presented them. During the end credits, there's a version of the dwarf song that seems to pay homage to the cartoon, as it's very similar in style and vocals. The only difference is that I enjoyed it, instead of thinking it sucked ass. The CD was immediately added to my Amazon Wishlist, and I'll definitely buy it once I'm sure no one else in my family is beating me to it for a Christmas present.
Were there flaws in this movie? Eh. I could probably say that the Raddigast (is that how you spell it?) scene felt long, as I didn't care much for that character. Other than that, I can't really say I objected to much of anything. The Hobbit left me too happy to nitpick and rant. While the movie IS long, and I can't say that the time just zips right by, the time length is actually enjoyable in the way a long hot bath is enjoyable. I didn't want the film to end, and I was eager to watch more. The party of characters is so enjoyable that I found myself wishing I could spend more time with them.
I would happily watch this movie a million times over. The next installment in the trilogy just can't come soon enough, and if the world ends before the next two movies are released, I'll be furious. Dead, but furious. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it. It's a treat to see The Hobbit on the big screen, and well worth the cost of admission AND overpriced theater snacks.
Also, in regard to the trailer for the Dreamworks Caveman movie thing, I liked the design for the main character. She looks like an actual cavegirl, all frizzy-haired and barrel-bodied instead of being some curvy sexy elven pixy in a skimpy leopard-skin bikini. And they gave her a likeable personality! I might actually go see this crap!
I went to see The Hobbit on Sunday night, more on impulse than anything. To be honest, I wasn't as hyped about The Hobbit as I was for The Lord of the Rings, though I was pretty sure the movie would be decent. Why the lack of enthusiasm, you ask? First off, when I heard that The Hobbit (one book) was being made into a trilogy, I rolled my eyes, thinking Hollywood was just going to stretch things out and make each and every film BORING as a result. "It's probably just a cash grab," I thought, "riding the coattails of The Lord of the Rings." Secondly, well... Here's where I make my unpopular confession:
I did not like the original animated version of "The Hobbit".
I also did not enjoy the books very much.
Don't get me wrong, I love what the books have done for fantasy writing, and the concepts in and of themselves are wonderful. But I was so bored. SO BORED. Most of that lack of interest had to do with all of the pointless poetry flung here and there. I've never been a big fan of poetry to begin with, with a few rare exceptions. Hearing poetry can be pleasant with the right speaker, but reading it is the equivalent of going on a long car ride to Disneyland...you're excited to get there, you know the ending will be great, but damn it if the driver doesn't keep pulling over to take pictures of this awesome rock or to make another pit stop just in case because you never know when you'll get another chance, or maybe we should pull over until we can all decide which radio station we want to listen to, etc. The constant lyrics to songs I couldn't hear dragged down the story, and most of those passages were skipped over immediately in order to preserve my sanity. (I hated Tom Bombadil so very, VERY MUCH.) Moreover, I didn't feel any attachment to the characters, as the book seemed to be a long log of 'these guys went here and did SILLY and Bilbo saved them, then they went here and SILLY and Bilbo saves them again, and then MOAR SILLY OMFG'... You get the point. There just wasn't much emotional depth.
As for why I disliked the cartoon, I'll be blunt. The animation was ugly, and I thought Bilbo looked creepy. Pretty much everything in that cartoon was fugly and/or creepy to me, and the songs were like nails on a chalkboard. This is mostly due to the fact that I just hate 70's music. I grew up loathing that movie. I haven't really seen it as an adult, though perhaps I should if only to be fully objective. Maybe it's better than I realize. I just know I didn't like it when I was a kid.
Now for the new movie. Did it measure up to my expectations that it would be adequate and moderately enjoyable? No.
IT BLEW MY EXPECTATIONS AWAY.
I cannot express just how much I loved this movie, but I'll do my best to mention the points that reallly won me over.
First of all, this was everything I wanted a movie to be: a temporary vacation from reality, and a very pleasant vacation at that. It had a storyline I could follow. It had beautiful sweeping views of beautiful countryside and beautiful settings that wiped away all my stress and worries. The visual aspects sucked in my attention and held it, and made me feel like I really was in another world. Tied to that were the meticulate attention to detail and special effects. I never found myself questioning the make-up, or what should have been fake-looking size differences. You can still tell the CG from the practical effects, but only because you know something real couldn't move that fluidly. There was a good, seamless blend, and there wasn't a single moment where I was jarred back into reality by a sloppy shot. You can tell that the people who made this movie worked very hard on it, and crafted it with amazing detail and love. It felt like art, instead of a cash cow, and I love that.
The acting was, as expected, phenomenal. The humor spiced things up without making the story too goofy, and I enjoyed the dialogue immensely. The best lines were in the trailer, as you might expect, but they still made a powerful impact when they arose in the movie itself.
I love love LOVED the dwarves. I did not expect that to happen, but there I was, admiring the detailed costumes and how nice it was to be able to tell each character apart with so many drastic facial differences. Not gonna lie, Thorin and Kili were pretty hot, and I never thought I'd find a dwarf moderately attractive. I mean, come on, you never see half-dwarves in D&D.
In the book and the cartoon, I viewed the dwarves as petulant, demanding, worthless morons who never contributed anything to the party and just made Bilbo do all the work and constantly save them from peril. In this movie, they are far more fleshed out and interesting. Their backstory makes them sympathetic, and the brotherly camaraderie they shared with one another, and in time with Bilbo, made me feel a deep affection for these characters. While they still had a few moments that were comical or showed their flaws, the dwarves were also colored with strength, sorrow, and compassion. The song they sing near the beginning is beautiful and haunting, perfectly capturing the essence of their character. I left the theater humming the tune (or attempting to) all the way home.
This brings me to the music. Howard Shore layers some new themes over the old, and it enhances the movie perfectly: not too overbearing, not too subtle. I actually enjoyed the poetry and songs the way he presented them. During the end credits, there's a version of the dwarf song that seems to pay homage to the cartoon, as it's very similar in style and vocals. The only difference is that I enjoyed it, instead of thinking it sucked ass. The CD was immediately added to my Amazon Wishlist, and I'll definitely buy it once I'm sure no one else in my family is beating me to it for a Christmas present.
Were there flaws in this movie? Eh. I could probably say that the Raddigast (is that how you spell it?) scene felt long, as I didn't care much for that character. Other than that, I can't really say I objected to much of anything. The Hobbit left me too happy to nitpick and rant. While the movie IS long, and I can't say that the time just zips right by, the time length is actually enjoyable in the way a long hot bath is enjoyable. I didn't want the film to end, and I was eager to watch more. The party of characters is so enjoyable that I found myself wishing I could spend more time with them.
I would happily watch this movie a million times over. The next installment in the trilogy just can't come soon enough, and if the world ends before the next two movies are released, I'll be furious. Dead, but furious. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it. It's a treat to see The Hobbit on the big screen, and well worth the cost of admission AND overpriced theater snacks.
Also, in regard to the trailer for the Dreamworks Caveman movie thing, I liked the design for the main character. She looks like an actual cavegirl, all frizzy-haired and barrel-bodied instead of being some curvy sexy elven pixy in a skimpy leopard-skin bikini. And they gave her a likeable personality! I might actually go see this crap!