Three Now Playing TV Spots and Mini Review for The Hobbit 3

Below are three new TV spots for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies that is now officially released in the United States. I saw the movie as part of The Hobbit Marathon on Monday and I did enjoy it. Having said that, I didn't enjoy it enough to spend the effort writing a more formal review of the film so here is my quick summation.

Like the other two movies, Five Armies doesn't come close to the quality and emotional depth of The Lord of the Rings but that didn't surprise me because the book didn't have that either. Jackson caps the movie with an epic battle sequence with a great fights that completes the character arcs for the primary characters with an ending that that ties into Fellowship of the Ring in a rather predictable and forgettable way. If you liked or were somewhat entertained by the first two movies than this movie will easily satisfy you has it has the most visual stuff happening on screen (even if the actually story beats are the most simplistic of the three films).

My main complaint about the film is the same I think most people had - there simply wasn't enough depth material to warrant three films and the result of all that stretching weakens what otherwise would have been timeless films. Instead The Hobbit Trilogy will probably land in the same area as the Star Wars prequels where people know they exist but can't be bothered to watch them when they can enjoy the superior other trilogy instead.

Media Review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The reviews are already in for most of main media for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Over all most seem to enjoy the movie, grading it around a B+ saying it moves at a much more exciting pace compared to An Unexpected Journey. Another common note is the action scenes are very well done and exciting but frequently compared to video games. As for the new characters Evangeline Lilly's Tauriel was complemented as a great addition to the cast and the story, Legolas is a shot of fun to the movie, while Bard the Bowman landed with a mild thud. Smaug himself was more on fence with many critics thinking he was visually stunning but a bit one note as a villain. A few highlights below.

Entertainment Weekly (A+)

The Desolation of Smaug is a more grandly somber movie, and also a much better one, with forces of boldly intense and unified malevolence. ...This time Jackson nails that tone: the feeling that Bilbo, who's been recruited to steal back a wondrous gem called the Arkenstone from the dragon Smaug, is up against a cosmic storm of black forces. The dragon has ravaged the land, the angry, hulking orcs are on a power trip, and the elves — led by the imperious Thranduil (Lee Pace) — are isolationists who trap the dwarves in a dungeon, setting up a great escape via wine barrels on white rapids. ...Yet Jackson's direction is spiky and majestic, and the risky move of inventing his own Tolkien character — the elf guard Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) — as a love interest for Legolas (Orlando Bloom) pays off. These two bring some badly needed heat to the woodlands. Speaking of heat, the dragon is, quite simply, a marvel: gargantuan yet balletic, hoarding his mountain of gold with a razor-toothed smile, breathing not just flame but an inferno, and voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch with the most delicious, insidious knowledge.

Why 48FPS Fails

A new article from a photography breaks down why so many critics (and movie goers) disliked the 48 frames-per-second (aka high frame rate) format of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The writer decided to watch the HFR and the regular 24fps version of the movie on the same day. From that experience he realized he not only didn't enjoy the 48FPS version but it gave him no connection to the story. The however completely enjoyed the 24FPS version.

The article is an attempt to explain this conflicting reaction to what is essentially the same movie. What it comes down to is the increased clarity of image cause all details to come into focus. The increase is visual details essentially causes a sensory overload preventing you becoming immersed into the film as unable to track both the events of the story, take in all the details and know what to focus on all at the same time. In addition, the increase in details also means every little mistake pops out more then would otherwise. Click here to read the whole thing to get more detail about why his experience indicates that 48FPS might be dead on arrival.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure Review

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a love letter to JJR Tolkien, Middle-Earth and New Zealand from Peter Jackson. The look, the feel, and the use of the source material could not have been handled more skill while New Zealand as Middle-Earth could not look more stunning. The story itself is actually pretty straightforward. A company of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) have called on the assistance of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) on the advice of Gandalf the Grey (Sir Ian McKellen) to assist them in getting their home and treasures back from Smaug the Dragon. Like any adventure, the path from here to there is never easy or straightforward. Meanwhile, the "B-story" Gandalf has greater concerns then reclaiming lost land as it seems an ancient evil may be returning to threaten all of Middle-Earth.

Jackson and company make changes from the source material but almost always for the better and that approach has not changed with An Unexpected Journey which follows The Hobbit book much more closely than the LOTR trilogy while adding more to it than the initial novel had. The result is an entertaining film that starts slow (takes time to introduce 14 characters) but gets better as you watch.

I watched this in the same format as The Lord of the Rings trilogy as in regular 24FPS as a result I cannot speak to the 48FPS concerns. The film looked and sounded great and hit along the trilogy just fine. If I go back for a second viewing I will give another format a try but I was perfectly satisfied with the regular way of viewing a film.

As someone who had to force himself to read the Lord of the Rings books, it never ceased to amaze me how Jackson took such dry (but imaginative material) and make it come alive. The Hobbit, being essentially a children's story, moves at a much faster clip (again once get past the dinner party introduction of all the characters) so the result if often Tolkien would skip over the amazing (mountain giants fighting) in just a sentence or two or presenting mysteries (where does Gandalf keep going?) that the novel itself never answered. With The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Jackson gets into the those glossed over nook and carnies presenting a much deeper story then the novel itself had. How with depth comes length and at 3 hours you will be starting to clock watch if only wondering when to hit the bathroom. I just can't think of what could have been easily cut short of the action scenes and who wants those to go? Almost all the "dull" talking scenes are necessary and to cut them would have harmed the film more than helped.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Reviews

With the movie still a week out from release, multiple entertainment websites have started to post their reviews of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. All the reviewers saw the film in IMAX 3D at HFR (aka high frame rate or 48FPS), a decision that may have backfired as it seems many of the reviewers were unable to get past the flaws of the new technology. It is a shame because the reviews will give a worse impression of the film that will not necessarily align with the average movie goers visual experience.

Outside of all of them having problems with HFR, those that could seperate the tech from the rest of the movie experience provided mostly positive reviews. On the plus side is the film is gorgeous with great special effects, solid acting, entertaining story and of course fantastic music. The minuses (besides HFR) include Peter Jackson may have been too faithful to the novel to stretch the story to fit a trilogy, too long, and unevenness in tone with occasional bouts of silliness. The end result is the reviewers recommend the film but the enthusiasm is tampered by the flaws in story execution and the untested problems with 48FPS IMAX showing.

My overall take is see the film, just don't see it in IMAX 3D. See it The Lord of the Rings style at good old fashioned 24FPS and then if really loved the film, see it a second time at the more expensive formats so can make a proper judgement and comparison of the film without that enjoyment being hampered by flaws in new technology. Below are highlights from some of the posted reviews.

Blu-Ray Lord of the Rings Trilogy Review Summary

Yesterday the 1080p HD version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy hit store shelves. The set includes all three movies in their theatrical versions. It is assumed the extended editions will be released in time for the first The Hobbit film in 2011. A few things to note though is the sets currently come with 9 discs - 3 blu-ray discs for each film, 3 DVD discs with the same extra features as released in previous sets, and 3 digital copy discs. The question I had is "Is HD worth buying the films all over again?" Based on the sample reviews collected below, the answer is yes. I grabbed a few quotes from each that focuses on the key concerns of look and sound since that are the core differences between the DVD and Blu-ray versions of these films.

The One Ring

You remember the gold “The Lord of the Rings” lettering looking like forged metal right? With Blu-Ray it seems you can walk up to your screen and pluck the letters off of your moniter and put them in your pocket. They take on a whole new depth and richness.

The audio is also crazy good. It comes in DTS-HD MA 6.1. That means Dolby Theater System High Definition Master Audio in 6.1 channels (six surround speakers and a subwoofer). Why not 7.1? I don’t know but the sound upgrade is on par with the visuals.

I was determined not to [buy the films twice] but the difference in quality is so monumental that it is really challenging not to want the best LOTR film audio and video experience available.

Cinematical

I can however attest that all three films look terrific, and while there may be minor inconsistencies due to noise reduction and other mastering techniques, I suspect that few viewers will notice them in the larger context of these clean and clear high-definition transfers. I feel obligated to make the observation that as a by-product of the time in which the films were produced, some of the special effects are not quite as seamless or as immersive as audiences may once have thought.

Meanwhile, the audio presentation is equal to the task of bringing these films to life, offering notes both epic and subtle as they render the landscapes of Middle Earth with startling dimensionality. All of the film's various elements, from dialogue to sound effects to score, are mixed together beautifully to maximize the impact of the films, which means sometimes to startle the audience and sometimes to slowly evoke deeper emotional themes that resonate long after the story itself has moved on to other business.

Other reviews:
High Def Digest (detailed film by film review) | Mendelson's Memo (brief review)