I saw The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies yesterday, in 3D HFR, and it was the first time I had seen a HFR film. Here is my review: Well when the ads came on in the cinema, the 3D wasnt working. Then someone came in to assure us that the 3D will work for the film. And sure enough, it did. One of the first shots in the film (involving the interior of the Master of Laketowns home) looked awful. It looked sped up and it was like the characters werent even in the location. But then after about 5 minutes, the HFR didnt look sped up, it seemed pretty normal, only smoother. The scene before the title sequence overall was still one of my favourite scenes of the film. There were a lot of Alfrid scenes in this movie, which never really bothered me, some of them were pretty funny to me though. There was a bit taking place on the Shores of the Long Lake which was interesting, but it was Dol Guldur I looked forward to in the first half hour of the movie. Dol Guldur was amazing. Id have liked to recognised Sauron as Benedict Cumberbatch a bit more, like, see his figure a little more, but its fine that we got all those flashing lights in his absence. Id have liked there to be more dialogue from Saruman, and Id have liked the short scene with Radagast and Gandalf to have been longer (for example, Radagast giving Gandalf his staff, wishing him luck, seeing Gandalf ride off.) The dragon-sickness played out really well. The gold that swallowed Thorin looked no more real than in the previous film when the statue of gold exploded. But above all, his dragon-sickness was played out well. I did enjoy the scene with Thorin giving Bilbo the mithril shirt, among other scenes like Bard negotiating, Gandalf speaking with Thranduil, Bilbo handing over the Arkenstone, and even when Fili, Kili, Oin and Bofur returned to Erebor. But mostly, I liked the arrival of Dain Ironfoot. That was great. The whole, Good morning, how are we all? was perfect, and then he starts shouting. Would you consider JUST SHODDING OFF? You know, I knew this was just a guy that Id like. And no, we was not entirely CGI. The reason behind his altering was that due to Billy Connolys Parkinsons disease, he forgot his lines, and he often mumbled or said them wrong, so they got him to re-record his lines in a studio and edited his mouth to move with the new dialogue. The were-worms were just... out of place for me. What is this, Dune? The battle overall was good, but some of it looked very fake. Prosthetic orcs would have been better than closeups of CGI. Think of Helms Deep and the Pellenor Fields. I didnt like Dains headbutting. A headbutt could not kill a fully-armoured orc. Dwarf, use your darned hammer, not your unarmoured head, which should have knocked any normal being out cold. The deaths of the pig and the elk really made me sad though. I like how Thorin joins the battle toward the end and leads the charge, and I didnt mind that we went to Ravenhill. The deaths toward the end (involving three major characters) werent as emotional as I thought theyd be. Not as emotional as the death of Boromir, for example. Legolas running on falling stoles and clinging to a back? No thank you. Radagast leading the eagles. Sure, why not. Beorn jumping from an eagle only to get 8.3 seconds of screen-time, half of that in bear-form? Bad move. He should have killed Bolg, Legolas already fought that orc in the Desolation of Smaug. When Thranduil told Legolas to find Strider, I cheered. Tauriel and Kili fall in love after a few weeks of knowing each other? No. And she kisses him while he is *dead*? No. That should not have happened. I dont hate Tauriel, just the love story. The flirting was fine, but not all the do you think she could have loved me? and such. A warrior she-elf would have been better than that. Therell be more funeral scenes and the like in the Extended Edition, which will likely be more emotional than the theatrical. The scene with Gandalf and Bilbo sitting silently together was a bit odd, but it was a nice addition. Bilbos farewell of the Dwarves? Could have been longer. Would have liked to see some close-ups of each of them before he departed. By this point, I was tearing. Id also have enjoyed seeing Bilbo when he found the gold in the troll-hoard, because suddenly it goes from him having no chest to having a full chest on the borders of The Shire. Extended Edition, maybe? The auction scene was just great. Loved how he made his return to Bag End. And then, he takes out the ring and looks at it, and it cuts back to Old Bilbo. That was amazing, and made me tear up the most because Martin Freeman was gone. And then we hear Gandalfs and what about very old friends and you hear that whole scene as the camera zooms into Thorins Map, and the tears just burst out like a waterfall. Then me (and admin The Precious) stayed until the end of the credits, sitting there in a state of what now? Well there you go, that was me reaction/review of the film, which I cant wait to buy on DVD and in Extended Edition. Did you like/dislike similar things? Let me know in the comments. ~Saruman
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 02:05:05 +0000
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