Before I begin this review I will start with a short disclaimer. I have not seen the two previous Hobbit films, I have seen the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and read the book the Hobbit a long time ago, so long ago that I have pretty much forgotten the plot. With these things in mind, I understand that I come at this with a different perspective in that I am rating this film on its own merits and not in connection with the two that came before. I understand that some may view this perspective unfavorably or believe that I am at a disadvantage, so I just want to make sure it is known before we get into the meat of the review. I went into this film hoping for 2.5 hours of quality escapist entertainment with Martin Freeman's Bilbo as my guide and the world of Peter Jackson as my destination. Unfortunately, I found the experience disappointing.
I understand that I, who have not seen the previous two films, came at this with a disadvantage but it was not my lack of knowledge of the story thus far that disappointed me. It was rather the mechanics of the film itself. No matter how involved the stories that came before were, the story confined to this film felt drawn out and clichéd. The whole thing centered around a big battle much like Jackson's previous trilogy closer but here the battle felt long and uninteresting. The character development that occurred in this film also felt clichéd. I could predict where the story would go, what little actual story there was, and thus began to feel bored. This feeling was only accentuated by the drawn-out nature of several of the action scenes. The length of some of the fights harkened back to the long fights in a Zack Snyder film and I found myself wishing they would get to the point. I am willing to give the film the benefit of the doubt on some of the more emotional scenes because I am assuming the proper character development has been put in place for them to work. Even with that in mind the pacing just felt off to me.
The acting in the film was alright and I think Freeman was a good choice for Bilbo. It's always fun to see Christopher Lee on screen and I think the performances from the rest of the cast seemed on point but the scripting and directing seem to have lost the magic that the original trilogy had. The way Jackson filmed this installment seemed to suck the magic out of what made the Lord of the Rings so incredible. That magic lay in its sense of grittiness and its sense of realism. The world in those films felt realized and inhabitable. Here, Jackson films the proceedings so that one feels as if one is watching a video game. If you enjoyed the previous films don't let me dissuade you from going to see the conclusion, but from my perspective, on its own merits, it is a disappointment. 2/5
No comments:
Post a Comment