The Hobbit: High-Frame-Rate Discussion

After hearing how the 48fps high-frame-rate version of the first Hobbit film nearly ruined it in the eyes of most critics, 48fps (frames-per-second) has almost become a tainted word among the film reviewing community. In fact, high-frame-rate distribution of the Desolation of Smaug and Battle of the Five Armies was limited compared to the first film. However, when presented with the opportunity to watch the most recent and final entry in the Hobbit trilogy in 48fps, I decided to take it, and, to my surprise, the HFR (high-frame-rate) was actually impressive. 

While the first 15-20 minutes were jittery and noticeably faster, after my eyes adjusted to the higher frame rate, it actually improved the 3D's quality a great deal. Compared to the previous two Hobbit films, which I watched in IMAX 3D, the 3D combined with the HFR made the 3D, action sequences, and special effects far more realistic and clear. My prior experience with 3D was fine, but any scenes with a lot of fast movement became blurry to a degree. The HFR seemed to eliminate this issue almost entirely. The 3D popped and the action sequences were as detailed as I have ever seen, which made for a far more immersive experience (after the initial adjustment). However, the most noticeable difference is that the special effects and computer graphics are far more realistic and immersive. At many points the effects were so convincing that I did not know what was real and what was computer generated, and this brings me to the main point of controversy: Most critics say that the film uses too much CGI, and it compromises the experience. While I agree that more practical effects like the ones in the Lord of the Rings trilogy would have been much better, what we got in the film was exceptional and convincing CGI, at least if you are watching it in HFR. My opinion of the film differs so much from others, it as if I was watching a different film, and maybe the HFR made a difference in some respects. Regardless, I stand behind my review of The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies being an exceptional film with many thrills and emotionally impactful moments. Also, if more 3D movies look this good in HFR, maybe there is a chance it will become more popular, although it is still not a biggest enough difference to the change the industry like 3D has. Did you watch the film in HFR? What is your opinion of HFR? And what do you think of the most recent Hobbit film? Please comment below and let me know, and do not forget to check out my review for the film by clicking here. 

Here is a video explaining the difference between 24 and 48 frames-per-second. 

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Review

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the final entry in the legendary Middle Earth saga, or at least for the time being. Seeing my second most favorite franchise finally come to an end is saddening, and with a film with so much riding on it, does it disappoint?

As for the plot, by now, you all know the story, and if not, you really need to go watch the first two Hobbit films after watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Due to several factors, including the vast changes to the source material, being split into three movies, and An Unexpected Journey not being the same as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit films have received a lot of undue negativity. The first film certainly had its problems, but the Desolation of Smaug was an exceptional fantasy adventure that not enough people give credit to, especially how the Extended Edition improved upon an already strong film. Honestly, aside from those who are angry about the source material changes, I do not understand why so many people dislike the films, and this is especially true for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. In fact, it reminded me of critically acclaimed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in that it is the epic climax to an epic saga. However, it differs in how it raises the stakes, and, despite being a prequel actually had unexpected twists (if you did not read the book). Both are great movies, but the biggest difference is that almost everyone loves Deathly Hallows yet Battle of the Five Armies received a generally mixed to negative reception.

Having not read the novel, please remember that this is a review for the film as a cinematic experience, not an adaptation. 

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Epic,

Release Date: 17 December 2014

Running Time: 144 minutes

MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Thorin's descent into madness, Most impressive battle sequences since the LOTR, Bilbo and Thorin's friendship, Shockingly emotional moments, Rarely noticeable CGI, Romance almost kinda works, Suspenseful and intense action, Strong performances across the board, 

The Bad: Alfrid receives a bit too much screentime, 

Plot: 9.7/10- Having already been set in motion by the previous film, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies fulfils on the epic conclusion that we all deserved and expected. The film's themes of the corruption by power and greed provide continue throughout, which is portrayed by the struggles of the characters.

Battle of the Five Armies’ pacing is perfect. The film never dragged, and there were enough plot developments during and between the action sequences to prevent the film from being pure spectacle. The only minor issue with the plot is that the film could have used at least ten more minutes to wrap everything with a little more finesse. However, what we got was satisfying enough to leave me fulfill leaving the theater. 

Characterization: 10/10- Thorin's descent into madness provides compelling conflict to drive the plot forward, and his character arc is one of the best and most compelling aspects of the film. Bilbo is such a likable character, and he receives many opportunities to shine throughout the film with a character arc that is well executed and satisfying. Bilbo’s friendship with Thorin is another highlight of the film because it makes you even more invested in the plot and characters of the film. 

For me at least, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has the hardest hitting emotional moments that I have seen in a movie live-action film in a very long time. Throughout the film I was shocked by how much I cared for these characters, and it makes the action sequences all the more suspenseful and intense.

Gandalf is not featured in the film as much as the previous two, but his absence is not much of a negative to the film, although Bard the Bowman receives more screentime than expected, which turned out great.

Everyone’s most talked about part of the movie is the romance between Kili and Tauriel that was set up in the previous film, and the payoff is surprisingly effective. It is not necessary, but it works, and I am fine with it being in the movie.

As before, aside from Kili, Balin, and Dwalin, the rest of the dwarves are almost one big character without much individuality. Considering their lack of involvement in the previous films, this is not a detriment to the film by any mean.

My only issue with the characterization, and one of my only issue with the film in general, is that Alfrid, the Master of Laketown's advisor, receives far too much screentime than his character deserves, and some of his scenes somewhat clash with the more serious nature of the battle sequences. 

Action: 10/10- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ action sequences features the best large scale battles since the LOTR. Almost every scene is filmed with skill, and despite the abundance of nearly nonstop action, it never becomes stale or redundant. Also, we finally get to see three of Middle Earth's resident bad*sses do battle, with a certain wizard's scenes being the most impressive of the trio.   

Acting: 9.9/10- Martin Freeman and Richard Armatage are the standouts among the expansive cast, and their performances are a large part of the reason why the characters’ drama is so compelling. Ian McKellon, Luke Evens, and the rest of the supporting cast all give top notch performances, which is expected from a Middle Earth film.

Special effects: 10/10- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ special effects are a vast improvement over the previous two films. Many times, you cannot even tell whether what you are seeing is computer generated or real sets and people in makeup. Of course, certain scenes are obviously CGI, but it blends well with the rest of the film. 

After reading other opinions, it seems that others felt that the effects and CGI blatant, and maybe watching the film in 48fps and 3D made the effects less noticeable, because I am very critical when it comes to anything animated and the film is near the top of my list of best CGI ever put to film. If you did not see it in 48fps, maybe that is why your experience was different, so be sure to check back tomorrow for my discuss about the high-frame-rate version.

Soundtrack: 9.7/10- Howard Shore's score is not as noticeable as his previous work in the franchise; however, it is still fittingly epic and makes the battle sequences more exciting. 

Humor: N/A- Aside from one scene with Alfrid, the film is nearly humorless, and the lack of humor works out for the best.

Entertainment Value: 10/10- As a Middle Earth fanatic, the film is pure entertainment for me. Not even for a second did the film lose my attention.

Overall: 9.9/10- Even with two incredibly inconsequential flaws, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is an emotional and thrilling ride that more than satisfies as, presumably, the final entry in the Middle Earth saga making it the strongest entry in the trilogy.

Closing comments: Even though I have liked other films more than most fellow critics, like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Thor, I know and admit that there are a few notable flaws in said films. However, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' flaws are so minor that I do not understand in the slightest why anyone, aside from those predisposed to dislike the film, would find it anything less than a high quality film. 

Recommended for: Anyone that watched the previous films, 

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: First Reaction

As is the trend now for me, I am the last person on planet earth not to see The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, but waiting to go see the film in High-frame-rate and 3D was more than worth it! Unlike the previous Hobbit films I generally avoided all reviews and opinions of the film prior to seeing, so as to prevent my opinion from being influenced by others. Having now seen the film, I will go read and comment on everyone's reviews and Best of 2014 posts, after finishing my review, so if you have reviewed the movie, please leave a link in the comment below.

I will say that the one advantage of seeing a movie extremely late is that there are almost always very few people in theater and therefore not many annoying distractions, which was, for the most part, the case. Aside from one guy crunching on some nachos, the theater was quite! In addition to my review tomorrow, on Thursday, I will be discussing the 48fps version of the film and how much of a difference the higher frame rate makes.

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The Hobbit: DOS: Extended Edition Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: The Extended Edition, yet another extended edition in the Middle Earth saga.

Going into the extended edition of The Desolation of Smaug, I entirely expected that the extra scenes to not add much to the overall story, much like extended edition of An Unexpected Journey, and to my surprise, that was far from the case. In fact, much like The Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions, the extended edition is the definitive version of The Desolation of Smaug. 

Instead of my usual critique format, I have decided to list six reasons why the Extended Edition is the superior version. Also, having not read the Hobbit novel, this is my opinion of how the extra scenes make the movie better as a cinematic experience, not as an adaptation. Obviously, if you have not seen the theatrical cut of the Desolation of Smaug, then this post will include spoilers.

Thorin's Father and Character Depth

Easily, the most significant addition to the EE (Extended Edition) of DOS (Desolation of Smaug) is the entire subplot involving Thorin's father, Thráin. In the previous film, it was briefly mentioned that Thráin disappeared after the battle, and in the theatrical edition, his part is cut entirely. However, the EE inserts in the entire subplot about Thráin. The cut is so drastically different that some of the new scenes are not merely additions, but rather replacements for the old content at times, particularly when Gandalf confronts the Necromancer. With Thráin's additions, there is another subplot involving one of the Dwarven rings as well, which adds further depth to the world that Peter Jackson has crafted, and it adds foreshadowing for the next film. Also, the scenes with Thorin and his father add more depth to Thorin's character, as it humanizes the character.

More Beorn

Beorn receives a couple of brief scenes in the theatrical cut, and while he serves as a decent plot device, he is lacking, even for a supporting character. Thankfully, the EE includes several more scenes with Beorn, which expand upon his character with actual character traits. While his scenes are not all that necessary for the theatrical cut, it is good to see more of Beorn.

The Nine's Origin

In the theatrical cut, only a brief line referring that the Necromancer raised human warriors from the dead with little to no explanation. However, in the EE, there is a brief flashback to when the Witch King is buried, as well as more lines of dialogue that expand the origin of the Nazgûl, and thus adding world building elements.

Mirkwood Wandering and the White Stag

With the additional scenes of the Bilbo and the Dwarves wandering through Mirkwood, the disorientating atmosphere is amplified for the audience. In addition to that aspect, a scene with a White Stag is included, which is apparently a scene from the book that was oddly missing from the theatrical cut.

Laketown

Of the additional scenes, the Laketown ones are the least important to the overall story. However, they do provide more motivation for the Master of Lake-town’s actions, and the scenes with Dwarves fighting off the Laketown guards is quite fun, even if it kind of opens a possible plot hole. 

A More Complete Experience

Even though The Desolation of Smaug is an excellent film in its theatrical cut, the Extended Edition makes it a much more complete experience, much like LOTR Extended Editions. It adds more character depth, lore, and, with the exception of one or two scenes, it makes for an overall superior experience. Of course, if you already hate the Hobbit movies for your personal reasons, then nothing is going to change your opinion. 

Have you seen the Extended Edition of The Desolation of Smaug? Do you plan to buy it? Please comment below and let me know.

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New Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Trailer

The new Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies trailer is here, and yeah, it is epic. While the visuals in the trailer are amazing epic and very Lord of the Rings feel, what makes this trailer something special is the song, "Edge of Night." If you remember, that is the song that Pippin sung for Denethor during Faramir's attack, and it is a more than perfect choice for the trailer song. As always, I cannot wait for my next journey into Middle Earth. If you have read the books, please refrain from spoiling anything, and comment below with your thoughts. 

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New Hobbit Movie Name: The Battle of the Five Armies

After many rumors that suggested that the next Hobbit movie would be re-named to, "Into the Fire," Peter Jackson has finally revealed the new name of the third film, "The Battle of the Five Armies." So, yeah.... not the best name ever, but it could have been worse I suppose. Originally, the third Hobbit movie was named "There and Back Again," which has now been the suggested name for the trilogy box set, because it is the final installment in the Hobbit franchise. Despite not having read the books, I do know that there is a "Battle of the Five Armies" that takes place, and naming the movie after that will hopefully make general audiences more interested in seeing a film about a giant battle. Obviously, the title of the film is entirely a marketing strategy, and providing it works, I do not have any problems, except for the fact that the name sounds kind of dumb. It is not terrible, but "Into the Fire," sounds particularly cool and epic, whereas "The Battle of the Five Armies" is more generic and overly long. Overall, the title does not matter that much providing that the actual battle is satisfyingly epic and amazing as the name implies. What do you think of the name change? Please comment below and let me know. Also, tomorrow is my third Blogoversary! And to celebrate the occasion, I have written a retrospective about some milestones and why the blog was made in the first place. Also, my review for Oscar Nominated Captain Phillips will be coming as well.

Also, below is the upcoming posting schedule:

Monday: Three Year Blogoversary! And A Retrospective

Tuesday: Agents of SHIELD: The Only Light in the Darkness

Wednesday: Captain Phillips

Thursday: Seven Samurai Review

Friday: Coming Soon: April

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Review

Thoughts: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the highly anticipated followup to An Unexpected Journey that fully lives up to, and exceeds my expectations entirely. Cutting right to the chase, The Desolation of Smaug is the best movie of 2013, hands down. Everything about it is better than the first Hobbit movie, and it actually lives up to the standard set by the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movie was fun, exciting, engaging, and delivered on the character development. The Desolation of Smaug manages to balance a much darker tone with excellent characterization and a lot of epic action. It is the first movie since The Avengers to give me a feeling of complete and total satisfaction. As soon as I left the theater I knew that this is a modern classic that I will watch and re-watch for years to come.

First things first, Holy Smaug! Wow, just wow, seeing the gigantic dragon in IMAX 3D might be the most awe inspiring thing I have ever seen on the big screen. Benedict Cumberbatch voiced the role perfectly, although a few of his lines were so deep that I could not understand them. Regardless, he is certainly going to be a villain for the ages after There and Back Again. Smaug might be the largest fully featured character I have ever seen in a movie. His size and the quality of effects was simply stunning! Just like Bilbo's dialogue with Sméagol in the first Hobbit was the highlight of the film, Bilbo’s dialogue with Smaug was the highlight of this film. During several parts of the scene, I literally had chills. While dragons have been adapted to the big screen before, none of them compare to Smaug’s stupendousness. He is the definitive dragon that all subsequent dragons will be compared to.

Second, Elves in general are cool, but the Mirkwood elves are particularly awesome. Seeing Legolas again was great, although he has certainly aged since filming The Lord of the Rings. He has gained a lot of weight or something, because he looks different; however he was no less awesome. Some say his eyes are different, but when comparing pictures side by side, there is not much desirable difference other than the higher quality of camera used for the recent film. Mirkwood looked amazing! It would appear that Peter Jackson used more sets for those parts of the movie than he did in An Unexpected Journey, either that or the CGI looked that much better. Now, here are my thoughts on the controversial addition of Chief of the Guards, Tauriel. Surprisingly, she was a good character that had some great scenes. She was not the annoying stereotypical "Miss Perfect" type female character, but she was more like Black Widow from the Avengers. *Minor spoiler* The love triangle between Tauriel, Legolas, and Kíli was actually handled unexpectedly well. Kili's line “Aren't you going to search me? I could have anything down my trousers” was somewhat humorous, and so was Tauriel's line, "He's tall for a dwarf." *End Spoiler*

To be perfectly clear, An Unexpected Journey is one of my all-time favorite films, which is evident by its ranking 10th place on my favorite movies list, and even though I may reference it as being bad, that is only because The Desolation of Smaug is even better. Granted, An Unexpected Journey did have some noticeable flaws.

Directed by: Peter Jackson
Genre: Fantasy, Action Adventure,
Release Date: 13 December 2013
Running Time: 161 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13


The Good: Smaug was impressive, Darker tone, Epic scale, Perfect pacing, Strong character development, Elves!, Effective foreshadowing, Well choreographed battle scenes, Stunning special effects, No goofy humor, Impressive 3D, More practical effects, Good soundtrack, Epic decapitations, Cool new character, Spiders were major creepy!,

The Bad:


Plot: 10/10- Desolation of Smaug's plot played out similarly to The Two Towers in that it is the darker, Empire Strikes Back, middle chapter of the trilogy that takes the characters to an ultimate low. Bilbo's character showed a lot of development in the film from where he was in An Unexpected Journey. He is a much stronger character, and I wish he was not left out of the middle portion of the film as much. Tonally, the film nailed it perfectly! The darker, less humorous tone may not have exactly fit with tone of the source material, but it worked perfectly at making the film closer to the Lord of the Rings in all the right ways. Due to the overall epicness of the story, Desolation of Smaug comes very close to the Lord of the Rings in terms of quality, although actually matching or surpassing it is nearly impossible. The pacing was also excellent as it balanced characters, action, and plot. There was never a dull moment throughout the 161 minute run-time, and I fully engaged in what was happening on screen. While some have complained about the abrupt ending, it actually worked for me because it ended the best way it could have, and it reminded me of Catching Fire's ending.

Action: 10/10- The movie's action was skillfully executed throughout with impressive choreography and epic scale. Peter Jackson's action direction was nearly perfect. Almost all of the scenes were well lit and clear despite the often blurry and darkening effect 3D has on a film. The Elves' fighting technique during the action scenes was particularly impressive with fluid choreography and stun work. There was almost no annoying shake-cam, which is always a good thing. The often talked about barrel chase scene was a lot fun and it was a very engaging experience. The battle with Smaug was incredible to watch, especially since Smaug is such a large and imposing creature. Considering that he is fully computer generated, pulling those scenes off was an impressive feat. In addition, the early fight scenes with the spiders were creepy and suspenseful. My only minor complaint is that one or two of the shots during the scene with the water splashing on the camera looked odd and lower quality than the other footage.

Acting: 10/10- Martin Freeman was particularly on his A game in the movie. Even though he could have used more screen time, he owned every scene he was in. Richard Armitage gave a much improved performance compared to his last outing as the dwarf king. He portrayed the character's inner struggle excellently. Ian McKellen's role was limited this time around, although considering that he was basically the star of the last Hobbit film, making room for Bilbo, Thorin, Smaug, and a few new characters made his absent worth it, however he was of course fantastic as always as the old Wizard. Not enough can be said about Benedict Cumberbatch's Smaug. Never before have I seen such an impressive and imposing creature and Cumberbatch's menacing voice adds so much to the character. The dialogue exchange between him and Freeman was a joy to watch. Orlando Bloom steps up his previous performance as Legolas, making his character a welcome addition to the already strong cast. Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel was surprisingly great, despite her character being added solely to provide a strong female lead. Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman was another impressive new character added to the franchise and Evans performance was much better than the previous roles that I have seen him in. Lee Pace as Thranduil also gave a fine performance. As before, some of the dwarves were noticeably good like Aidan Turner's Kíli, but they all did a fine job in their roles.

Special effects: 10/10- Aside from Smaug's stunning stupendousness and sheer size, the effects in The Desolation of Smaug are a vast improvement compared to the overly CGI heavy previous Hobbit film. Many of the sets appeared to be real and not green screened, and even if they were, they looked fantastic, particularly Laketown and Mirkwood. The spiders were incredibly creepy and literally made my skin crawl! Although making Orcs mostly computer generated is not preferred, they looked good in 3D. The only negative with the CGI was the melted gold that looked fake.

Soundtrack: 9.8/10- While generally epic and fitting for the film, Howard Shore's was lacking in some areas. For whatever reason, the exciting main theme from An Unexpected Journey was absent from the score. There was a slower rendition, but why not have the most memorable tune from the previous movie return? Despite this, the soundtrack was very good, particularly the ambient music that added to the atmosphere of many scenes. The end credits song by "I See Fire," by Ed Sheeran, was good as well.

Humor: N/A- Surprisingly, The Desolation of Smaug was light on humor, especially compared to the first movie. Some of Kili and Tauriel's interaction was rather humorous, and so were the few other remarks by the characters. However, this lack of humor actually worked out for the better in the film since it aided to the darker tone.

Would I Watch This Again: The Desolation of Smaug is the type of movie that left me wanting to watch it again as soon as I left the theater, which has not happened in a long time.

Overall: 10/10- Overall, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug comes close to matching the greatness of the Lord of the Rings with the darker tone, better characterization, more action, and an unforgettable villain. It is everything that a Middle Earth film should be.

Closing comments: If you have not seen The Desolation of Smaug and you can find a theater that is still showing the film, go watch it now! It is more than worth your time and money.

Recommended for: Everyone, Fantasy fans, Action fans,

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Note: If you hate the movie for the sole reason that it is different from the book, read this excellent post telling you why the movie needed to be different than the book. However, I have not actually seen anyone that truly hates The Desolation of Smaug for that reason, but I know that some are out there.

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Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Reaction

I finally watched The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug! After more setbacks that kept me from seeing the movie than I can count, I am officially the last person on planet Earth to watch the Desolation of Smaug I have to say that it was awesome! The Desolation of Smaug was significantly better than An Unexpected Journey with a darker tone, more action, and being all around amazing. My full review will hopefully be up by Monday, but this is just my first reaction of the awesomeness that was Smaug. Seeing so much Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman with season three of Sherlock and now with the Hobbit, is just great. However, I could not help but see a lot of Watson in Bilbo for the first part of the movie. I did get to see the movie in IMAX 3D and it was totally worth going out of town to watch the movie in IMAX. And did anyone else notice Peter Jackson reprising his role as the carrot eating guy in Bree in the very first scene of the film? That was a nice callback for fans. Basically, if you have not seen the movie, go watch it now if you can still find it in theaters! Also, if you have written a review for the movie please let me know so that I go check it out. I have been avoiding a lot of reviews, especially spoiler filled ones, since I was not able to see the movie until now, but I want to catch up on reading them.

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Yes, I know the poster is in Spanish, but it looks awesome.

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Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Early Reviews are Positive

Brace yourselves, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is coming! My most anticipated film of the year is coming to theaters in less than a week! From the early reviews, Desolation of Smaug is going to be better than An Unexpected Journey, and it receiving more positive reviews for its faster pace and other factors. As before, the film will be screened in 48 frames-per-second in a few select theaters, and unlike the negative response An Unexpected Journey received for its high-frame-rate, The Desolation of Smaug is said to be improved in that area. In preparation for Desolation of Smaug, I purchased and watched the Extended Edition of the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and I will have my review of that up on Friday. 

Since finals are this week, one of my best friends and guest writer on the blog, Jamie, will have a couple of guest posts on Wednesday and Thursday. Also remember, if you have written a review of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and would like to have me link to it in tomorrow post, please remember to comment with a link and a brief summary or quote from the review so that I can include it.

Here is the upcoming posting schedule:

Monday: Reader Reviews: Catching Fire

Tuesday: Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

Wednesday: Jamie's Guest Post 1

Thursday: Jamie's Guest Post 2

Friday: Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition Review

Below are various Hobbit posters, one of which is not even in English, but it does look cool.

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Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Trailer Review

Here is the review for the awesome new Desolation of Smaug trailer, and JT is back to offer his opinion as well in our usual rundown of trailers with HD screen caps. Wow, this trailer is amazing compared to all of the other trailers for either Hobbit film. The tone is darker and more epic, plus there will apparently be a few epic battles. Again the Elves are back, which is arguably just as much a good thing as it is bad. On one hand Elves are cool and Legolas is a fan-favorite, on the other the hand Elves could overshadow the other characters like Bilbo, Gandalf, and Thorin. However, I will give Peter Jackson the benefit of the doubt because he has done well so far. Now there is even more controversy over the addition of Tauriel's character now that she is obvious going to be a romantic interest for Legolas, as well as being an entirely new character not from Tolkien's lore. This change is somewhat similar to giving Arwen a larger role in the Lord of Rings, except Arwen was actually mentioned in the book. The original rumor is that Tauriel was going to be a romantic interest for Kíli or one of the other Dwarves, however that is either going to not happen or there will be some crazy awkward "love triangle" between the character, which I hope is not the case. Now, Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug sounds awesome! At first I could hardly tell it was Cumberbatch but after listening to it more, his distinct voice was clearly present. Also I really like the part when Bilbo starts to tell Gandalf what he could in the cave, and Gandalf is like "Good, you'll need it." For some reason the inflection in his voice reminded me more of his role as Magneto than Gandalf but it was still cool. As for my anticipation for the movie as a whole, I cannot wait to see it because I am certain it will be better than the first.

JT: By the looks of this trailer, Peter Jackson and crew would rather have us believe Tolkien wrote a story called Elves: The Forgotten Action Heroes (with cameos by New Zealand, A wandering crazy man and a troop of height-challenged guys with beards and huge appetites). But really, kidding aside, this is a very strong trailer for an action epic. If I had no clue what the story was, I would probably go see this movie and like it. However, since I am me and I do know what it's about, I have the usual purist reservations, although to a lesser degree than for the slapstick fumble that was the first one.

Things that are cool: All those random action scenes (basically the whole trailer)! Bilbo! Gandalf! Bard! Beorn! Smaug!

Things that are not cool: Eyebrow shots. Eyebrows that are not the same color as the hair above it; come on, people it's creepy to look at. romance, implied, assumed, imagined, or real. The Hobbit is not the sort of story that likes that kind of thing. Inventing characters, then telling us there would be no romance, then implying that there is, for no reason. Overdone Legolas beatdowns. Yes, it's going to be fun on the big screen, but believe it, shield- and elephant-trunk surfing have denied Orlando Bloom any future credibility as an action star, even in the same role.

JT: There is confusion on whether this Lake-Town, Dale, or Dol Goldur. For my part the question is who's in the boat and I doubt that Dol Goldur has that much water.

James: For some reason I really like Thorin's armor, it looks awesome with the red cape/cloak thing.
JT: I expect a suitably epic Howard Shore theme to accompany this shot.

James: Even more Legolas killing things, did someone forget that he is not the star of the film? Oh wait, he basically is.
JT: That's the problem right there. And no, he will never live down the surfing on the elephant trunk and the shield. Welcome to Legolas Lives: The action movie that should not be.

James: Other than the obvious fact that Tauriel is not mentioned by Legolas in the Lord of Rings, I wonder what dark secret she has that makes it so that Thranduil does not want her to give Legolas false hope.
JT: Can't help you there. The whole being an invented character business is really messing her up. The speculation is that she's simply not worthy to be making googly-eyes at the prince of Mirkwood.

James: Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman looks like he is a cool character, albeit one that still looks like the Pirates of the Caribbean version of Orlando Bloom.
JT: Did I tell you Bard is awesome? Even in his limited role, he's one of my favorite characters.

James: An army of darkness approaches, hopefully the battles in this and third film will be on par with that of the Lord of the Rings because the world needs an epic fantasy battle.
JT: You can have your movie-centric opinion (no offense intended) but actually, making this battle terribly big might just be annoying, since it's primarily just a throw-in to make the move three hours long.

 James: This is literally one of those blink-and-you-will-miss-it type shots with the Eye of Sauron.
JT: What in Middle-Earth is the flaming eyeball doing in the Hobbit movie? Blatant cross-references are not cool. To whom it may concern, the main Hobbit story has nothing whatsoever to do with Sauron, except that Gandalf engineered the quest in order to rob Sauron of the ability to destroy the north with a mind-controlled dragon. 

James: This scene has the type of humor that I like opposed to the slapstick kind that was a little overbearing in the first Hobbit film.
JT: Exactly my thoughts. And if Bilbo's line is "I found it" or words to that effect, this one of those key moments that's dropped in to make the fans cheer. In the story Bilbo claimed he had simply found it w/o mentioning Gollum until much later. But Gandalf knew he was lying and began to suspect that he had the master ring on him.

James: I hope no one has arachnophobia because there are going to be even more creepy spiders in the Hobbit than the Lord of the Rings. Plus, they actually look more anatomically than the Shelob from the Return of the King in that Shelob was more of a wasp hybrid wit the stinger on the tail.
JT: Bilbo is supposed to be invisible! This scene is great b/c of the image you get from imagining a bunch enormous spiders chasing a floating sword.

James: I have no idea what that thing is, but it looks cool.
JT: Well, James, should I explain or not? Most of the readers probably know anyway.

James: The Bard actually has his Bow in this shot. I hope he is as cool as character as he looks.

James: This battle looks like it is going to be epic!
JT: It will also be three minutes or less, because this is a flashback.

JT: Not a great picture of the hoard under the mountain, although it does convey the sense that it's far bigger.

JT: Smaug's head! And he's red. Not what I hoped for but I'm sure it will look great. Is this because he was drawn in red on the map?

James: This is the closet thing we have to a good look at "CumberSmaug," hopefully the future will continue to be this obscure so when he is revealed in the movie in full, it will make for a better effect.

JT: Fear not! The future is only two months long!

What did you think of the trailer? Please comment below.

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