Despite being as sick as a dog and despite the fact that the babysitter cost a small fortune, The Hobbit was so worth it! I am going to try to see it at least once more in the theater if I can, and if you know how rarely I make it to the movies since munchkin, that is quite an endorsement.
Keep in mind that I've read The Hobbit years ago, so while I remember the general plot, the details are a bit fuzzy. And that I was never a purist to begin with (I was quite content with all the changes Jackson did in LOTR and I was both more attached to the LOTR books and remembered them a lot better). I am pretty sure if someone is a purist, this won't appeal to them nearly as much.
As to the speculated/discussed story bloat, I didn't see any. A lot of events in The Hobbit are just alluded to and even epic battles take half a page - it is after all, a book for kids. I liked that this movie didn't hurry and I liked even more that we got to see battles in great detail. I am a total and utter junkie for medieval and medieval-type warfare and so this movie was pretty much like a multi-course buffet.
This was not as epic as LOTR but then few things are and the source material is a lot less epic. It is a lot more epic than the source material, however. It is not, unlike the original, a story for kids.
The special effects were amazing and it really was wonderful to see Middle Earth in all its glory again.
We see the corners of the world and beasties we did not see in LOTR and my favorite was the Storm Giants - it just brought to me the strangeness and power of that world, two stone giants going at each other, unconnected and disinterested in the tiny beings in their midst.
Mr. Mousie thought they didn't need quite as many shout-outs to the LOTR trilogy but I loved each and every cameo - Elrond, Frodo, Galadriel, Saruman (and they got all those actors to look age-appropriate, amazing!)
Seeing Gandalf again! Oh my!!! I love Gandalf and he is pretty damn fierce in this one, rescuing our heroes more than once. They seem to get in a lot more every-day trouble than did the Fellowship, but then the Fellowship was trying to stay out of the way and Thorin is the opposite of that.
I am one of the few people who never loved Gollum, because he freaks me out too much, but it was almost nostalgic to see him being his own homicidal insane self.
I liked Bilbo - he is a lot less adventurous, a lot less of a dreamer, much more practical than Frodo but then he has nobody chasing him, he has to volunteer. Martin Freeman brings a lovely everyman quality to Bilbo.
But. But. But. My heart belongs to Thorin Oakenshield. Because, first, Richard Armitage. But mainly because he is so noble and tormented and deadly and full of honor and a leader and did I mention tormented? He is pretty much the hero trope that is made just for me. He also reminds me a lot of Boromir and that is never a bad thing. (I mean movie!Boromir, who I adored). Plus, on a shallow note, he looks so damn hot with the hair and the sword and the furs and the anger. What can I say, I have a type. I also love that he is not perfect - he makes mistakes, he distrusts the Elves automatically (understandably with his past. Thranduil is an utter bastard even if he is hot), he doesn't see Bilbo's potential right away (but that is in keeping with his warrior outlook and he does see Bilbo's worth at the end - I loved that epic hug. I wonder if thousands of slash fics were launched).
Out of the rest of the dwarves, the other ones I noticed were the Hot Dwarf (aka Kili, the only dwarf who I matched with a name, thus you can tell how impressed I was by his hotness) and the really old one one who I think is Balin. But I liked them overall.
The whole thing felt like a magic take on a saga - those dwarves would have fit well into one of those Icelandic sagas I used to love.
If there was one drawback, it was the canonical one of utter and complete lack of romance. I can't help it, I love a bit of romance. But unlike Aragorn/Arwen of LOTR, there is no canon romance for Peter Jackson to expand on. I mean, the cast was 100% all men except for Galadriel's brief appearance, so unless one is a slasher (which is not my default but I am sure slashers are busily shipping all sorts of The Hobbit character permutations) or thinks Galadriel has a dwarf fetish, there is really nothing to work with there. Boooo! I need me some romance. Not being a purist, I am fine if Jackson makes one up. Have some dwarf lady keep the home fires burning for Thorin or Kili or someone else...
Anyway, utter and total love.
Keep in mind that I've read The Hobbit years ago, so while I remember the general plot, the details are a bit fuzzy. And that I was never a purist to begin with (I was quite content with all the changes Jackson did in LOTR and I was both more attached to the LOTR books and remembered them a lot better). I am pretty sure if someone is a purist, this won't appeal to them nearly as much.
As to the speculated/discussed story bloat, I didn't see any. A lot of events in The Hobbit are just alluded to and even epic battles take half a page - it is after all, a book for kids. I liked that this movie didn't hurry and I liked even more that we got to see battles in great detail. I am a total and utter junkie for medieval and medieval-type warfare and so this movie was pretty much like a multi-course buffet.
This was not as epic as LOTR but then few things are and the source material is a lot less epic. It is a lot more epic than the source material, however. It is not, unlike the original, a story for kids.
The special effects were amazing and it really was wonderful to see Middle Earth in all its glory again.
We see the corners of the world and beasties we did not see in LOTR and my favorite was the Storm Giants - it just brought to me the strangeness and power of that world, two stone giants going at each other, unconnected and disinterested in the tiny beings in their midst.
Mr. Mousie thought they didn't need quite as many shout-outs to the LOTR trilogy but I loved each and every cameo - Elrond, Frodo, Galadriel, Saruman (and they got all those actors to look age-appropriate, amazing!)
Seeing Gandalf again! Oh my!!! I love Gandalf and he is pretty damn fierce in this one, rescuing our heroes more than once. They seem to get in a lot more every-day trouble than did the Fellowship, but then the Fellowship was trying to stay out of the way and Thorin is the opposite of that.
I am one of the few people who never loved Gollum, because he freaks me out too much, but it was almost nostalgic to see him being his own homicidal insane self.
I liked Bilbo - he is a lot less adventurous, a lot less of a dreamer, much more practical than Frodo but then he has nobody chasing him, he has to volunteer. Martin Freeman brings a lovely everyman quality to Bilbo.
But. But. But. My heart belongs to Thorin Oakenshield. Because, first, Richard Armitage. But mainly because he is so noble and tormented and deadly and full of honor and a leader and did I mention tormented? He is pretty much the hero trope that is made just for me. He also reminds me a lot of Boromir and that is never a bad thing. (I mean movie!Boromir, who I adored). Plus, on a shallow note, he looks so damn hot with the hair and the sword and the furs and the anger. What can I say, I have a type. I also love that he is not perfect - he makes mistakes, he distrusts the Elves automatically (understandably with his past. Thranduil is an utter bastard even if he is hot), he doesn't see Bilbo's potential right away (but that is in keeping with his warrior outlook and he does see Bilbo's worth at the end - I loved that epic hug. I wonder if thousands of slash fics were launched).
Out of the rest of the dwarves, the other ones I noticed were the Hot Dwarf (aka Kili, the only dwarf who I matched with a name, thus you can tell how impressed I was by his hotness) and the really old one one who I think is Balin. But I liked them overall.
The whole thing felt like a magic take on a saga - those dwarves would have fit well into one of those Icelandic sagas I used to love.
If there was one drawback, it was the canonical one of utter and complete lack of romance. I can't help it, I love a bit of romance. But unlike Aragorn/Arwen of LOTR, there is no canon romance for Peter Jackson to expand on. I mean, the cast was 100% all men except for Galadriel's brief appearance, so unless one is a slasher (which is not my default but I am sure slashers are busily shipping all sorts of The Hobbit character permutations) or thinks Galadriel has a dwarf fetish, there is really nothing to work with there. Boooo! I need me some romance. Not being a purist, I am fine if Jackson makes one up. Have some dwarf lady keep the home fires burning for Thorin or Kili or someone else...
Anyway, utter and total love.