Another clip from Empire New Desolation Of Smaug Featurette | Movie News | Empire . They've changed an awful lot about Beorn from the book but I think overall it goes very well with the film,though he's now definitely a giant not just a rather large heavy set fellow with a hearty laugh and fiery temper. There's also alot of material coming through now about the film so if you don't want to slightly spoil it be careful what you read from now....... I've seen a couple of pictures of him and he's somewhat similar ,though much,much larger than the shape changers in the Harry Potter films (can't remember which one, not that much interest in them a part from the last few). We've all seen the bear in the clips so they've definitely changed the introduction scene which is a shame but I guess would have been rather superfluous, at least he comes across as more of a terrifying threat now. Smaugs also a very different dragon to how I pictured him ,a very long slim and serpent like shape, in keeping with a few of John Howes illustrations and the LOTR winged wraiths.Which bodes well for those who want the film to be very like the books climax.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Post-release)
- Thread starter nwjedidave
- Start date
Jedi2016
Sr Member
I never had the impression from the book that he was heavyset. I always pictured him like a big lumberjack... tall, broad shoulders, big bushy beard.
Cultural influences possibly. And "The Tolkien Bestiary", there's a good part on him and his race in the "B" section plus a rather good line drawing. And I guess when I read the Hobbit as a lad I pictured Beorn as being as a bear shaped man, large,round shouldered, heavily muscled , with a big stomach from all the honey from the hives ,corn and rich creamy milk from his cattle, rather than the more traditional "Viking" warrior form. Its always a surprise seeing what concepts other people have of the characters. Beorn in the TDOS is a far more extreme vision than Tolkien ever would have had but I think he would have been very pleased, he's certainly more striking and fearsome both as the bear and man. I've got to say Peter J has pretty much aced his presentation of nearly every character and monster in both novels, the Elves ,Hobbits and the Dwarfs are particularly brilliant.
nwjedidave
Sr Member
Okay so for anyone interested you can find Smaug tattooed on the side of a Boeing 777. I won't post the images here, but if you use your googlefu you'll find it.
Well, since the premiere yesterday some info has been leaking out about the film and on the whole its overwhelmingly positive. It seems Peter Jackson listened VERY intently to the criticisms’ levelled at the first and has made a major effort to correct nearly all of them in this one (there are no real spoilers here).
Firstly the film premiered at 24fps ,which has effectively and almost completely killed all the complaints originally made about the uneven palate in Hobbit No1. It now has the more glorious consistency akin to the original LOTR trilogy, mostly because PJ has made the correct decision to mute the hyper clarity of 48fpsHD so it all looks far more naturalistic. This alteration is winning a great deal of appreciation from everyone and technically TDOS overall is being seen as having a much better integration of live effects, green screen backgrounds and action than ANY of his previous films, which is very high praise indeed.
Story wise, it is also much more like the ROTK, where three separate “quests” keep the pace of the script on a much more even and action packed keel so the film cracks on, unlike the long dragging sections of AUJ. And , as hoped , the additional characters and expanded writing have added substantially to the background of the overall world. So, all that additional shooting this year has worked well, and several parts now have a far more wide-ranging character arc and better backstory than in JRTs The Hobbit without it feeling at all like “padding.”
And lastly the action sequences are apparently stunningly enhanced up grades from the story ,although we all kind of guessed that from the trailers. The Barrel ride, the Spiders of Mirkwood, and Dol Guldur are attracting a lot of very positive comment ,not only for the action but for the darker, far more menacing temperament of TDOS than in any of the other films. Strangely not too much is being said about Beorn or Smaug though at this moment.
At least there is no apparent “backlash” at all this time , unlike the first ,that got a fairly rough ride from the industry immediately after it was screened. This ones being touted as perhaps the best since ROTK and possibly better. Just over a week to go and we’ll be able to judge for ourselves.
PS. Official Reviews are embargoed until the 8th December, countries first to view are France and Belgium from the 11th.Oh and Smaug is apparently the last word in screen dragons and utterly terrifying.
Firstly the film premiered at 24fps ,which has effectively and almost completely killed all the complaints originally made about the uneven palate in Hobbit No1. It now has the more glorious consistency akin to the original LOTR trilogy, mostly because PJ has made the correct decision to mute the hyper clarity of 48fpsHD so it all looks far more naturalistic. This alteration is winning a great deal of appreciation from everyone and technically TDOS overall is being seen as having a much better integration of live effects, green screen backgrounds and action than ANY of his previous films, which is very high praise indeed.
Story wise, it is also much more like the ROTK, where three separate “quests” keep the pace of the script on a much more even and action packed keel so the film cracks on, unlike the long dragging sections of AUJ. And , as hoped , the additional characters and expanded writing have added substantially to the background of the overall world. So, all that additional shooting this year has worked well, and several parts now have a far more wide-ranging character arc and better backstory than in JRTs The Hobbit without it feeling at all like “padding.”
And lastly the action sequences are apparently stunningly enhanced up grades from the story ,although we all kind of guessed that from the trailers. The Barrel ride, the Spiders of Mirkwood, and Dol Guldur are attracting a lot of very positive comment ,not only for the action but for the darker, far more menacing temperament of TDOS than in any of the other films. Strangely not too much is being said about Beorn or Smaug though at this moment.
At least there is no apparent “backlash” at all this time , unlike the first ,that got a fairly rough ride from the industry immediately after it was screened. This ones being touted as perhaps the best since ROTK and possibly better. Just over a week to go and we’ll be able to judge for ourselves.
PS. Official Reviews are embargoed until the 8th December, countries first to view are France and Belgium from the 11th.Oh and Smaug is apparently the last word in screen dragons and utterly terrifying.
Last edited:
nwjedidave
Sr Member
much like when the animators in Jurassic Park gave the dinosaurs life like movements that most people wouldn't think about (a certain little waggle of the head and neck) I'm hoping they did something like that for Smaug.
Production diary 13 is up on Facebook and comingsoon..
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152044014321558&set=vb.141884481557&type=2&theater
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=112072
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152044014321558&set=vb.141884481557&type=2&theater
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=112072
Last edited:
A lot of reviews were out yesterday and early today, probably because the word of mouth has generally been so positive this time. HOWEVER,and its a big point of contention with some , the "cliff hanger ending" is causing something of an annoyance to those who are perhaps not true Tolkienites. I remember reading much the same things about "The Two Towers". I only hope it doesn't "end" or rather "not finishes" where I think this part of the tale should have really have concluded.Six days and counting.
nwjedidave
Sr Member
Seattle is having a special IMAX showing of The Hobbit TUJ before the midnight showing of DOS. Picked up tickets this week, and a hotel room in downtown just so we don't have to drive back home at 3am! Can't wait.
DuneMuadDib
Sr Member
People are complaining about it ending on a cliffhanger? They realize it's adapting roughly 1/3 of a book, right?
Darth Lars
Master Member
Oh. This movie is coming out about ... now and the thread is already at page 2. Not that much interest?
I just wanted to share this from my (current) fav movie reviewer:
Kermode Uncut: The Desolation of Smaug - An Analysis.
I just wanted to share this from my (current) fav movie reviewer:
Kermode Uncut: The Desolation of Smaug - An Analysis.
ghostryder
Legendary Member
Saw it tonight, really well done - liked it better then the last one. Didn't know if there was a separate post-release thread?
J.F. Sebastian
Well-Known Member
Saw it this afternoon, 3D version, no HFR for me.
I really like the tone and the atmosphere this time... there's still some cartoonish and (to a degree) annoying over-the-top action *sigh*, and I don't really care for the subtle (pseudo-) romance between two characters, but overall, 'The Desolation of Smaug' just feels more in tone with the original LotR-trilogy. No more sillyness from Radagast, no singing & being merry from the dwarves.
I was pretty overwhelmed by most of the imagery... that alone validates multiple viewings!! :thumbsup Smaug is an interesting character and he looks amazing. There's ONE particular shot, where he sneeks up from nowhere, that I totally LOVE... you'll recognize it when you see it and go "Yikes!"
I really enjoyed what Lee Pace did with Thranduil there... that's one elf you don't mess with, he has some nice dialogue-moments!
Just wondered whatever happened to Bolg, Azogs 'sort of' Lieutenant, and why he looks nothing like the guy in a practical-suit we have seen in pictures. Turns out Conan Stevens (who did the suit-work) was replaced completly by a CGI-/motion capture creature, that he didn't even portray. Can only imagine what a let down that must be. :unsure
Howard Shore wrote a score that is quite impressive and makes you feel right at home in LotR-Middlearth. There's no excessive overuse of familiar themes as was the case in 'An Unexpected Journey'.
'The Desolation of Smaug' is a pretty entertaining, enjoyable ride and definately an improvement over its first installment from a year ago. Will go and see it at least a second time. (Oh, btw, look out for a Hitchcock-style cameo in the first minute of the film...!)
I really like the tone and the atmosphere this time... there's still some cartoonish and (to a degree) annoying over-the-top action *sigh*, and I don't really care for the subtle (pseudo-) romance between two characters, but overall, 'The Desolation of Smaug' just feels more in tone with the original LotR-trilogy. No more sillyness from Radagast, no singing & being merry from the dwarves.
I was pretty overwhelmed by most of the imagery... that alone validates multiple viewings!! :thumbsup Smaug is an interesting character and he looks amazing. There's ONE particular shot, where he sneeks up from nowhere, that I totally LOVE... you'll recognize it when you see it and go "Yikes!"
I really enjoyed what Lee Pace did with Thranduil there... that's one elf you don't mess with, he has some nice dialogue-moments!
Just wondered whatever happened to Bolg, Azogs 'sort of' Lieutenant, and why he looks nothing like the guy in a practical-suit we have seen in pictures. Turns out Conan Stevens (who did the suit-work) was replaced completly by a CGI-/motion capture creature, that he didn't even portray. Can only imagine what a let down that must be. :unsure
Howard Shore wrote a score that is quite impressive and makes you feel right at home in LotR-Middlearth. There's no excessive overuse of familiar themes as was the case in 'An Unexpected Journey'.
'The Desolation of Smaug' is a pretty entertaining, enjoyable ride and definately an improvement over its first installment from a year ago. Will go and see it at least a second time. (Oh, btw, look out for a Hitchcock-style cameo in the first minute of the film...!)
Just wanted to stop by and say: My WORD what a fantastic followup to AUJ. It really was one showstopping set piece after another and absolutely delivered. This is why I'd rather view the movies as a trilogy rather independently, because if AUJ is viewed as a mere part of one long film it really is a great setup piece.
SMAUG! I have no words for how good he was.
SMAUG! I have no words for how good he was.
DuneMuadDib
Sr Member
Just got back from this. Certainly liked it more than Unexpected, which left me feeling uneven about the whole affair. Less eye rolling, though there was some.
Frankly I'm half disappointed that there was no singing from the elves. I'm digging Tauriel, and the unexpected direction that the romantic arc for her went. Well, not necessarily the direction but at least that it's not as straightforward as many would have expected. Injuring Kili with a morgue arrow seems awful redundant, but it gives Tauriel something to do and splits the party up to make the scenes in Erebor more manageable I suppose.
Thank Eru the silliness with Radagast is dialed down. I was hoping for more screen time for Beorn though.
Did I lose count of the barrels, or did Jackson? Each dwarf in a barrel, Bombur's gets destroyed, then he hops in an empty one, then later there's a spare one for Bilbo. Were there two empty barrels from the get go that I didn't keep track of or are these magic barrels?
Stephen Colbert's cameo was smaller than I expected, but that's not necessarily bad as it doesn't call attention to itself. Stephen Fry was half unrecognizable as the Master of Laketown. I really enjoyed what he did with the character, not at all how I was expecting it to go.
It still feels like the CGI isn't as good as it was in LotR ten years ago. Smaug was pretty solid and Azog looked better but jeez that molten gold and the statue looked terrible. That entire bit with the statue was ridiculous, and I have no idea what they hoped to accomplish with covering a fire breathing dragon with skin that's nigh-impeneratible with molten gold. The pseudo eye of Sauron effect on the Necromancer was too gimmicky for my tastes but it at least gets the point across.
Still, overall I enjoyed it better than AUJ. Not sure right now how the attack on Laketown, the Battle of Five Armies, and expelling the Necromancer from Dol Guldur is going to fill 2.5 hours come the next film, but I look forward to finding out.
Frankly I'm half disappointed that there was no singing from the elves. I'm digging Tauriel, and the unexpected direction that the romantic arc for her went. Well, not necessarily the direction but at least that it's not as straightforward as many would have expected. Injuring Kili with a morgue arrow seems awful redundant, but it gives Tauriel something to do and splits the party up to make the scenes in Erebor more manageable I suppose.
Thank Eru the silliness with Radagast is dialed down. I was hoping for more screen time for Beorn though.
Did I lose count of the barrels, or did Jackson? Each dwarf in a barrel, Bombur's gets destroyed, then he hops in an empty one, then later there's a spare one for Bilbo. Were there two empty barrels from the get go that I didn't keep track of or are these magic barrels?
Stephen Colbert's cameo was smaller than I expected, but that's not necessarily bad as it doesn't call attention to itself. Stephen Fry was half unrecognizable as the Master of Laketown. I really enjoyed what he did with the character, not at all how I was expecting it to go.
It still feels like the CGI isn't as good as it was in LotR ten years ago. Smaug was pretty solid and Azog looked better but jeez that molten gold and the statue looked terrible. That entire bit with the statue was ridiculous, and I have no idea what they hoped to accomplish with covering a fire breathing dragon with skin that's nigh-impeneratible with molten gold. The pseudo eye of Sauron effect on the Necromancer was too gimmicky for my tastes but it at least gets the point across.
Still, overall I enjoyed it better than AUJ. Not sure right now how the attack on Laketown, the Battle of Five Armies, and expelling the Necromancer from Dol Guldur is going to fill 2.5 hours come the next film, but I look forward to finding out.
Last edited:
TDOS was a real rollercoaster of a film for me. For almost all of its running time I was hugely impressed by most of the changes to the original story ,which were on the whole very, very positive and I was quite happily entertained by the majority of them. The only real disappointment being Beorn’s brief appearance as man and beast (I would guess there is a lot more in the inevitably extended DVD)
Several alterations struck me as rather brilliantly developments to the original tale, particularly the way the growing influence of the ring on Bilbos character was portrayed, the whole spiders in Mirkwood chapter was exceptionally creepy and superbly done, all of the Wood Elves sequences, up to and including the stunning changes to the Barrel ride , the introduction of Tauriel (what an Elven Warrior she is!), the arrival at Lake town etc ,Bards greater character development, Dol Guldur, I could just go on and on. On the whole an outstanding improvement on the story and thoroughly deserving of all the praise the film had received so far.
BUT, and it was a huge BUT all my invested pleasure in those rich enhancments to the tale were then almost totally bankrupted by THAT final ten minutes and that utterly, UTTERLY unforgivable weaselling out of a decent and proper ending to this section of the story .
The measure of my annoyance was vaster than Smaugs mountain of gold. For a terrible moment after it cut to black I thought the projector had actually broken down. Just fifteen minutes more of the story and this would have been possibly the second best of all the Tolkien/Jackson films for me. Thanks to that finale, or lack of , me and several others in the cinema actually made their displeasure known in rather loud vocal exclamations.
You couldn’t really even call it a cliff hanger ending. Because a “cliff hanger” is supposed to imply nobody can guess the actual outcome. But almost everyone who has ever seen or read LOTR knows precisely how Smaugs story in “The Hobbit” ends. The book has been around for over seventy years. It’s a much beloved classic. Smaugs fate is never in any doubt. He doesn’t appear in LOTR.
So for the love of everything Tolkien PJ, having made such a brilliantly entertaining film up to this point, why do it???????? Why carry this now redundant ending over into the beginning of the last third of the story. “The Battle of the Five Armies” is to come, its not as if that’s NOT going to have any action scenes in it is it? If you do away with Bilbo being rendered unconsciousness ,the enhanced battle scenes and bringing Beorn on in full bear berserker mode then surely there will be enough climatic events without Smaugs attack on Laketown. Unless that been rewritten that as well.
Never have I felt so cheated at the end of a piece of cinema. I’m normally ok with artistic licence but this seemed a very deliberate and calculated editorial choice, designed solely to diddle the audience of any reasonable closure for another year. Ten seconds after I realised there wasn‘t going to be anything more I went from loving it to almost intensely wanting to push the red button.
Thats not to say Smaug was anything less than magnificant. Absolutely the best screen dragon I’ve ever seen and the sly dialogue he engages in with Bilbo was better than I could ever expected. It was wonderful. I could even have forgiven the rather daft furnace plan of the dwarfs if they had ended it with the Laketown battle. Without that it just came across as about the only unnecessary and incredibly stupid CGI stunt padding to the books story during the film.
But that ending we got Peter. Have you forgotten just how superb “The Two Towers” story was because of the brave and correct editing decisions you made there???? To pretty much close a complete chapter of the story so successfully yet leave the rest of the story’s journey open.
If I’d have got the conclusion I was expecting I’d have been completely thrilled by this. When I’ve got all the three DVD’s together so I can watch them one after another then perhaps I’ll be more appreciative. But the film was absolutely flying for me, I was hardly even noticing the time pass until that bloody dead stop,and well, that was VERY hard to forgive.
Several alterations struck me as rather brilliantly developments to the original tale, particularly the way the growing influence of the ring on Bilbos character was portrayed, the whole spiders in Mirkwood chapter was exceptionally creepy and superbly done, all of the Wood Elves sequences, up to and including the stunning changes to the Barrel ride , the introduction of Tauriel (what an Elven Warrior she is!), the arrival at Lake town etc ,Bards greater character development, Dol Guldur, I could just go on and on. On the whole an outstanding improvement on the story and thoroughly deserving of all the praise the film had received so far.
BUT, and it was a huge BUT all my invested pleasure in those rich enhancments to the tale were then almost totally bankrupted by THAT final ten minutes and that utterly, UTTERLY unforgivable weaselling out of a decent and proper ending to this section of the story .
The measure of my annoyance was vaster than Smaugs mountain of gold. For a terrible moment after it cut to black I thought the projector had actually broken down. Just fifteen minutes more of the story and this would have been possibly the second best of all the Tolkien/Jackson films for me. Thanks to that finale, or lack of , me and several others in the cinema actually made their displeasure known in rather loud vocal exclamations.
You couldn’t really even call it a cliff hanger ending. Because a “cliff hanger” is supposed to imply nobody can guess the actual outcome. But almost everyone who has ever seen or read LOTR knows precisely how Smaugs story in “The Hobbit” ends. The book has been around for over seventy years. It’s a much beloved classic. Smaugs fate is never in any doubt. He doesn’t appear in LOTR.
So for the love of everything Tolkien PJ, having made such a brilliantly entertaining film up to this point, why do it???????? Why carry this now redundant ending over into the beginning of the last third of the story. “The Battle of the Five Armies” is to come, its not as if that’s NOT going to have any action scenes in it is it? If you do away with Bilbo being rendered unconsciousness ,the enhanced battle scenes and bringing Beorn on in full bear berserker mode then surely there will be enough climatic events without Smaugs attack on Laketown. Unless that been rewritten that as well.
Never have I felt so cheated at the end of a piece of cinema. I’m normally ok with artistic licence but this seemed a very deliberate and calculated editorial choice, designed solely to diddle the audience of any reasonable closure for another year. Ten seconds after I realised there wasn‘t going to be anything more I went from loving it to almost intensely wanting to push the red button.
Thats not to say Smaug was anything less than magnificant. Absolutely the best screen dragon I’ve ever seen and the sly dialogue he engages in with Bilbo was better than I could ever expected. It was wonderful. I could even have forgiven the rather daft furnace plan of the dwarfs if they had ended it with the Laketown battle. Without that it just came across as about the only unnecessary and incredibly stupid CGI stunt padding to the books story during the film.
But that ending we got Peter. Have you forgotten just how superb “The Two Towers” story was because of the brave and correct editing decisions you made there???? To pretty much close a complete chapter of the story so successfully yet leave the rest of the story’s journey open.
If I’d have got the conclusion I was expecting I’d have been completely thrilled by this. When I’ve got all the three DVD’s together so I can watch them one after another then perhaps I’ll be more appreciative. But the film was absolutely flying for me, I was hardly even noticing the time pass until that bloody dead stop,and well, that was VERY hard to forgive.
Similar threads
