Jackson to do The Hobbit, after all?

[unbongwah]

Personally I would have left in some of the Tauriel material but I know I’m in the minority on this one. I also would have left in the White Council scene from the first movie as it was eluded to in the book, wasn’t it? I think that scene plays well but none of the rest of the Dol Gulder plot-line does.

I was actually completely fine with at least the intentions behind much of the additional content in the trilogy - as long as the material was consistent with what Tolkien wrote happened. So I enjoyed all the White Council material, and it was great to get the opportunity to see even stunt double/CGI Christopher Lee kick ass one last time. And I was fine with the addition of Tauriel, since if ever material was in need of diversification by adding some female roles, it was Tolkien’s writing, and an elven warrior fit the material. Same with the inclusion of Legolas, since we know he was likely involved in at least the Battle of Five Armies. And the creation of Azog, since movies work better with identifiable protagonists.

It’s weird to find myself in agreement with Desslock when it comes to movies, but: I agree with Dess. Which probably means everybody else hates us now. ;)

The problem is almost all of the additions to the film which weren’t in the books feel like digressions away from the main plot, not enhancements which enrich the overall experience. I like Tauriel, but she felt like a character in need of her own arc; and not a dreadful “love triangle / star-crossed romance,” because that is clearly not Jackson’s forte. Likewise, Legolas’s presence isn’t that unreasonable, since he is canonically Thranduil’s son; but all of his scenes felt gratuitous, like he’s just there to appease the fanboys/-girls, not because he adds anything to the story (…omg, he’s Middle-earth’s Wolverine). I thought Azog made a pretty credible antagonist in the first film, only to be completely sidelined in the second before returning for the third; that would be like, say, sidelining Vader before ESB to be replaced by Darth Pancho, before bringing him back in RotJ. Same with the White Council: it was great seeing them in action, particularly Galadriel; but again, it just doesn’t have anything to do with the central narrative.

I also disliked the treatment of the ring - in the Hobbit, the ring is supposed to be a consequence-less magic item fortuitously found, which Bilbo happily employs whenever desirable.

Well, here it gets tricky, since as I dimly recall, Tolkien hadn’t mapped out LotR when he wrote the Hobbit. Thus, making Gollum’s ring the One Ring and the Necromancer was Sauron etc. were retcons he invented when he wrote LotR. But since the films have been made backwards, it’s impossible to ignore what happened in the LotR trilogy.

[Telefrog]

I agree with the sentiments about Tauriel. I didn’t think the character was terrible, and obviously from a studio point of view, The Hobbit suffers from a lack of female characters, so I get why she was added. She just didn’t fit into the movies very well. The love triangle with the dwarf was goofy. I think her story would’ve been improved if it was just the tension between her, Legolas, and Thranduil’s call to duty.

In the same vein, having Legolas show up isn’t a bad idea. It fits into the books, and from a studio perspective is a good callback to the LotR trilogy. Unfortunately, Legolas’ role in The Hobbit trilogy isn’t to advance the story as much as he’s there to just show up and provide “cool” moments that are undercut by the not-quite-convincing CG.

Has anyone seen the EE of Desolation? Did anyone find the re-addition of Thrain in the middle of Gandalf’s battle with the Necromancer kind of dumb?

[Scuzz]

That sounds like an enormous improvement, one that might make the trilogy watchable. I’ve only seen the first two and don’t plan on viewing the third, but edits like this would change my mind and I’d give it a go.

I finally saw the third movie about two weeks ago. I do admit that it is probably the best of the three. The least objectionable anyway, although there are parts of it that still make no sense and could easily have been deleted. But it is an action packed ride, with some emotional pulls.

[rowe33]

What happened to the Arkenstone?? Also, what happened to the elven jewelry? You know, the whole reason the elves were there…wasn’t it?

[Mark_Crump]

The Arkenstone was returned for 1/14th of the treasure.

[Nesrie]

The Arkenstone was returned for 1/14th of the treasure.

Which is given to the men of Laketown and the elves I thought, presumably those gems as well.

[Rock8man]

Thanks to this kotaku article, I now know about two 3 hour cuts of the movie on top of the 4 hour fan edit mentioned above.

This one is by “underhilleditor”.

And the more promising one (I think) is this one by David Killstein. It has an example of a 5 minute sequence that has been condensed from 33 minutes, taking out all orcs in the process. I watched that 5 minutes, it was excellent, I couldn’t even tell where the cuts were made, it was so nicely done.

[TimElhajj]

Wow, that David Killstein 5 minute preview was excellent. Thanks for posting Rock8man.

[Rightbug]

Yeah, seriously, that sounds pretty close to my ideal edit. Looking forward to seeing it.

[Rightbug]

His comments on the Dragon Sickness mirror mine up thread pretty closely as well.

[Woolen_Horde]

Good news! Just announced that the extended editions will be hitting theaters this year!

The Hobbit Trilogy Extended Edition in Theaters This Fall

Bwahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[John_Reynolds]

I would rather masturbate with 50-grit sandpaper.

[Telefrog]

Yeesh. No thanks. I wouldn’t want to sit through all three of the theatrical releases. There’s no way I’d make it through even more of the last movie.

[Gedd]

Wait, we didn’t already watch the extended version?

Seriously, with all the inane stuff they kept in, I shudder to think what they originally cut and decided would be good enough for this. I always hoped the director’s edition of The Hobbit films would actually be shorter than the originals.

[Woolen_Horde]

Wait, we didn’t already watch the extended version?

Seriously, with all the inane stuff they kept in, I shudder to think what they originally cut and decided would be good enough for this. I always hoped the director’s edition of The Hobbit films would actually be shorter than the originals.

Borrowed from the Slashfilm comments

“We kept hearing from the fans, asking ‘why do we never see Bilbo shop for groceries?’, or ‘what happens at night after the characters go to sleep?’ These are the sort of key plot points we had to cut that the extended edition allows us to explore.”

[rei]

Yeesh. No thanks. I wouldn’t want to sit through all three of the theatrical releases. There’s no way I’d make it through even more of the last movie.

God, especially not with HFR3D.

[mok]

I am surprised they did not add: What happens when Bilbo is in the loo?

Think I have already seen enough.

[ArmandoPenblade]

I am surprised they did not add: What happens when Bilbo is in the loo?

That moment when millions of casual LotR fans sudden learn that hobbit wangs look like lamprey eels mixed with a burr coffee grinder?

[Telefrog]

Five Armies Extended Edition rated R!?

http://filmratings.com/downloads/cara_rating_bulletin.pdf

Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies - Extended Edition, The - Rated R for some violence.
Warner Home Video
R
NOTE: EDITED VERSION. CONTENT IS DIFFERENT FROM PG-13 RATED VERSION, BULLETIN NO. 2351 (12/3/14).

What? Why?

[Shellfishguy]

Must be some hot Elf on Dwarf action that hit the cutting room floor.