Battle of the

Chatterbox: Pudding's Place

Battle of the

Battle of the Five Armies.

Okay...wow. After being disappointed by the first two Hobbit films, I was so not prepared for the depth to which PJ would go with this third. It's not perfect, and it's not LOTR, but I felt there was a real grain of humanity, substantially lacking from the others.

Thorin came through in the end--his fall and redemption was a powerful and realistic transformation (though I wished in his dragony moments, his eyes went gold), and his battle on the frozen waterfall was an extremely beautiful piece of New Zealand landscape (or CGI, likely). Azog's faking death and waking up again was creepy as heck, but creative.

The Tauriel/Kili thing wasn't so bad either, mostly because it ended swiftly. All the elves were a bit tedious and unrealistic, though, Legolas included. Thranduil I didn't mind here and there (his exchange with Tauriel in the streets of Dale, his riding elk or whatever), and Tauriel did her fighting bit for the girl's team, but not believable. Or made you sympathize.

Even Bard fizzled out. Obviousy he had to play the heroic role, but after slaying Smaug over his son's shoulder (which was intense), he was completely overshadowed by the dwarves. I also wished Sigrid (his elder daughter) could have done something--slain an orc with Bain to save her little sister instead of just hanging around looking pretty and calling piteously for her father. 

And I was never so happy to see Elrond show up in my life as when he came to Gandalf's aid at Dol Guldur. I never liked the whole Sauron setup, but at least it brought the old actors back.

Agreements? Arguments? General impressions?

submitted by Everinne, age 15, Angmar
(April 29, 2015 - 3:33 pm)

back to the Pudding's Place

This movie was much better from the first two, but it wasn't the Book, and it wasn't LotR. I admit that when we watched this in the movie theater, I was laughing like a maniac when 

SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO PLAN TO WATCH IT

 

 

 

Thorin died. Bilbo was just sitting there crying, holding a dead Thorin, and his crying was just like, "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Everybody was giving me the movie-theater-shut-up glare. But it wasn't like Boromir's death, that makes you want to pledge alligance to the men of Middle Earth. That is the best death sene eeeevvvvvveeeeerrrrr.

 

 

 

End Spoiler

The Galadriel thing was just plain weird. 

submitted by S.E.
(April 30, 2015 - 5:19 am)

Boromir's death scene has to be the best scene PERIOD in all of FotR. Of course, though, it had to be marred by Legolas arriving wearing that irritating expression of tolerant amused interest. Boromir is DYING here--Boromir who has been your companion over miles and miles! Especially contrasted with Aragorn's noble and tragic tears, and even Gimli's quiet mourning.

The Galadriel thing was so SO creepy, but the whole scene was a bit ridic. Sauron does not want the Age of the Orc, he wants the age of SAURON. Which is something else entirely.

submitted by Everinne, age 15, Gondor
(April 30, 2015 - 9:37 pm)

Definitely! Legolas's expression is something my sister and I will laugh about for hours. 

submitted by S.E.
(May 2, 2015 - 5:58 am)

I laugh at all his expressions; he takes himself too seriously. He's an Elf, but does he have to overdo it? He cannot ride a horse properly either.

submitted by Everinne, age 15, Rohan
(May 2, 2015 - 9:53 pm)

My reactions during the Galadriel fight scene:

(scene opens) Oh no, Gandalf! Are you okay?

(Galadriel comes) Oh good okay.

(Creepy ring inscription recitation) OH NOOOOOOO

("I am not alone"/Saruman and Elrond's entrance) YES! TAKE THAT!

(fighting) AWESOME!

(Sauron says the stuff about age of the orc) But elves are so much more awesome! YOU WERE AN ELF, SAURON. 

(Galadriel faints) OH NO!!!

(Galadriel wakes up in color negative looking SCARY) AAAAAAAA

(Galadriel banishes Sauron) Okay, now THAT was cool.

(after scene) Why did they even need Sarumeanie and Elrond?

(later) Galadriel is cool and scary and TOUGH.

(even later) Galadriel is now my favorite elf. 

 

submitted by Brookeira
(May 2, 2015 - 9:20 pm)

In the book, there are only very slight mentions of disturbances. And the Galadral scene made me think they just wanted to repeat what happens in FotR, when she's tempted with the ring in that mirror scene.

submitted by S.E.
(May 3, 2015 - 5:42 am)

It seemed a kind of odd repetition--she went all green in FotR because she was thinking of the power she'd have if she'd go evil. But in BoFA, her banishing power was supposed to be all pure, so why bring it in again? She should have gone an even brighter shade of white.

I saw The Two Towers again yesterday and...seeing it back to back with The Hobbit made me see how terribly The Hobbit failed. I think the main problem was that PJ was too hung up on making it epic, he didn't allow for any light moments--a sad loss considering The Hobbit book had so many. At least TT had a few, most notably Gimli's running joke ("I'm wasted on cross country. Dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances!") and the Merry-Pippin-Treebeard dialogue:

Pippin: "It's talking, Merry. The tree is talking."

Treebeard (indignantly): "I am no tree. I am an Ent."

Merry (in awe): "The treehearders." 

Pippin: "Don't talk to it, Merry. Don't encourage it."

submitted by Everinne, age 15
(May 8, 2015 - 10:28 pm)

Yes. Yes. Yes.

submitted by S.E.
(May 10, 2015 - 3:31 pm)