The Desolation of Smaug anticipation thread [SPOILERS]

Post by **Elentári** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:24 pm

Okay, call me premature, but on the strength (or otherwise) of An Unexpected Journey, what are you most looking forward to seeing in the second movie?

For me it has to be

- Thranduil
If that brief shot of Thranduil in AUJ is any indication, he may be the most wondrous Elf in all these films, outrageously aloof and seemingly indifferent to anything other than his own vanity. I'm hoping Pace's acting delivers on that promising 30 seconds. Also highly anticipating The Elvenking's Halls and the Wood-Elves.

- Beorn
Persbrandt is a god! Filmed on a real set and on location, this sequence should hopefully match the amazing Bag End segment of AUJ, and has the potential to be even more captivating with the suspense about Beorn's night-time activities. I wonder how much will be cut of the Dwarves' re-introduction, though...

- Smaug
Even if Smaug's death is in Film 3, the heart of Smaug's scenes with Bilbo will probably feature in this one. Smaug will be the last truly mythological creature we encounter in these films until the Balrog shows up in FotR. Except he is far more interesting than the Balrog - these scenes could be funny, tense, magical, with even a touch of the psychological like the already classic Gollum/Bilbo sequence in AUJ.

Not forgetting Bard and Laketown which will be the great geopolitical segueway from the tone of The Hobbit to the tone of LotR, the first time we meet the race of Men on this journey.

What am I least looking forward to? In one word....Bolg

Dol Guldur is the great question mark of this movie, but if it's done well, it may well work as the climax of the film. The filmmakers have a lot to play with to turn this subplot into something truly evocative. And the image of Galadriel cleansing the forest is something many dearly want to see.

Post by **sauronsfinger** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:49 am

Great idea for a thread Elen.

I look forward to all the things you mentioned. But the main thing I look forward to is a bit more serious of a film and a lot less of the Indiana Jones Temple of Doom approach.

Not having the horrible character of the great goblin in it improves any pic by leaps and bounds.

By the time we get to film 3, I expect it to pretty much match the tone of FOTR.

Post by **Elentári** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 8:26 am

Oh totally...you know, it wasn't so much the difference in tone that bothered me, and there were only a couple of moments where the humour was unnecesarily in your face. It was definitely the "Temple of Doom" feel you mentioned that spoilt the believability of the movie for me. In particular the Stone Giants sequence and the ridiculously huge fall on the collapsed bridged at the end of the escape from Goblin Town. I suppose the rationale is that Dwarves are made of sterner stuff than humans and can survive harsher circumstances, but it was seeing the characters thrown around like rag-dolls that made you think you were watching a regular kids' fantasy action spectacle where as, in LotR (apart from Legolas' stunts,) the action was far more grounded in reality - even the Moria collapsing stairs I could believe far more readily than the Goblin Town fall.

Post by **eborr** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:36 am

I liked the feel of the films, I liked the fun the temple of doom stuff delivered, I enjoyed Bilbo. His character is well suited to the post-modern stuff that Freenman delivers so well, but if that's all we had it would just have been more fodder for the chattering classes.

The hobbit is an adventure story "is good and should appeal to all children between the ages of 5 and 9."

That is an opinion which PJ has respected and credit to him for doing so.

So I trust he retains something of that tone throughout the next two films(the stone giants sequence is pointless and dull).

Post by **sauronsfinger** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:28 pm

Elentári wrote:Oh totally...you know, it wasn't so much the difference in tone that bothered me, and there were only a couple of moments where the humour was unnecesarily in your face. It was definitely the "Temple of Doom" feel you mentioned that spoilt the believability of the movie for me. In particular the Stone Giants sequence and the ridiculously huge fall on the collapsed bridged at the end of the escape from Goblin Town. I suppose the rationale is that Dwarves are made of sterner stuff than humans and can survive harsher circumstances, but it was seeing the characters thrown around like rag-dolls that made you think you were watching a regular kids' fantasy action spectacle where as, in LotR (apart from Legolas' stunts,) the action was far more grounded in reality - even the Moria collapsing stairs I could believe far more readily than the Goblin Town fall.

I would agree with all that with the notable exception of the Stone Giants. that scene really helped me visualize the reshaping of the world that is described in the big war between Morgoth and the Valar from the SIL. For that reason alone I liked it. Although almost all those on that ledge would have been killed and the fact that nobody was with all that damage and moving about was a bit absurd.

Post by **Elentári** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 12:09 am

The Stone Giants sequence was well-executed but totally OTT, just extraneous padding and unecessary added thrills and spills action when an atmospheric glmpse of the stone creatures battling some way off, with perhaps the Dwarves having to doge a few stray boulders would have worked ten times better, IMO.

That's one of the reasons I really hope that the journey through Mirkwood doesn't become a headlong circus ghost train ride like Goblin Town. I would like the film to stay with Thorin, Bilbo, and Co. without cutting too often back to Gandalf. We need to be with them on their journey. I hope we get some subtler, gentler, quieter scenes as well - the butterflies over the Mirkwood canopy, the glimmering hind with her fawns... It would bring balance and nuance to juxtapose the action with the spiders, etc...give us a breather to make ourselves feel at home in Middle-Earth

Post by **narya** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 12:56 am

I just finished reading The Hobbit again. I was surprised to note that The Battle of Five Armies was only about 5 pages long. I hope it doesn't take PJ a movie and a half to do it justice in his mind.

Sat Dec 22, 2012 2:00 am

sauronsfinger wrote:I would agree with all that with the notable exception of the Stone Giants. that scene really helped me visualize the reshaping of the world that is described in the big war between Morgoth and the Valar from the SIL. For that reason alone I liked it.

That's an interesting perspective. I don't think I can bring myself to see it that way, but I defintely salute you for creative visualization!

Post by **Holbytla** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 5:27 am

If the giants were seen from a distance and not some kind of Disney ride, I would have minded it a lot less.

Sat Dec 22, 2012 5:48 am

I was really looking forward to that scene, and it turned out to be my least favorite in the whole film. Oh well.

Post by **Alatar** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 3:38 pm

Voronwë the Faithful wrote:I was really looking forward to that scene, and it turned out to be my least favorite in the whole film. Oh well.

Can't help it! This just popped into my head and I had to share!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U74s8nFE7No

Sat Dec 22, 2012 4:10 pm

"No pleasing some people" is right!

Post by **Mrs.Underhill** » Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:15 am

About Stone Giants scene: on my first watch I thought that it might be a metaphor for small people caught in the big events, which Thorin company definitely was.

On my subsequent watches I was convinced that it was indeed the metaphor, because it comes directly after Gandalf talking about Saruman preferring power and big picture, while the real good in the world comes from the deeds of small people.

I really like this scene now, because it reflects on entire Hobbit story, and also because it really shows how dwarves care for each other - especially Thorin for his nephews. The only time you see him scared out of his mind for something.

Post by **Mrs.Underhill** » Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:24 am

What I'm looking for in the second movie: basically for the real story to start, finally. And for PJ not to screw it up.

I loved the first movie despite all its flaws. But as the events become more complicated, the probability of errors and digressions from PJ increases. I want to enjoy second movie more than the first one, and don't want to fall out of love after falling in.

So much to look forward to, really: Mirkwood, dramatic tension with Thranduil and imprisonment of Thorin's company, politics of Esgaroth, and of course Smaug the dragon!

It looks like, from the promo pictures for the second movie, that it will end after Smaug death and the company finally getting to the treasure.
A lot of ground to cover, with inevitable padding of Dul Guldur, Tauriel and who knows what else - hope that at least Azog stays away from this one.

Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:27 am

Mrs.Underhill wrote:I really like this scene now, because it reflects on entire Hobbit story, and also because it really shows how dwarves care for each other - especially Thorin for his nephews. The only time you see him scared out of his mind for something.

I'll try to focus on that when I finally get to see it again.

Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:25 pm

Jackson and some of the cast and crew talk about some of what they are looking forward to in DoS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1eAWskbUrs

Interesting to learn that the glimpse of Smaug that we had in AUJ is all that they have finished with Smaug. Good to get confirmation, although it seemed impossible to me not to be the case, that Bilbo's scenes with Smaug will be in the next film. And it seems pretty clear that we are going to get to see Smaug destroy Dale. That should be interesting.

Post by **Elentári** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:54 pm

Confirmation that Thrain/Gandalf backhistory will feature, possibly as prologue, in DoS...

http://www.vulture.com/2012/12/where-wa ... obbit.html

"Good storytelling-spotting!" Boyens said, when we asked why we didn't see Thráin, father of Dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield and one of the bearers of a Ring of Power, give Gandalf the map and key. (Gandalf had found Thráin near death at Dol Guldur.) "We did try it at the front of this movie, and then we moved it," he said. Does that mean we'll see that moment in a flashback or prologue to The Desolation of Smaug? "Yes, it's very important that we're going to be doing that. We will be meeting Thráin, and it may be in unfortunate circumstances. It may involve torture. The discovery of who or what is in Dol Guldur" — i.e., Sauron, known only at this point as the Necromancer — "is a fantastic part of the storytelling, so yes, of course we went there."

Not sure how this is going to make sense, though, as Gandalf was notably surprised that there was evil in Dol Guldur when told by Radagast. He should have already known this when finding Thrain...

Post by **halplm** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 5:52 pm

I'm scared for you guys in the second film. You are all worried about things that are likely to happen. The wheels didn't fall off of LOTR until TTT, and most of you guys are already having issues with the first of these films...

I'd start diminishing expectations now...

Post by **Frelga** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:56 pm

"We guys" got three hours (times however many viewings) of fun out of the first film.

And untold hours of more fun out of nitpicking and/or fanpersoning it.

I doubt the second movie will fail to deliver in that respect, although I grant you, if the third is all one giant battle, I may be grousing in unison with you.

Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:14 am

Frelga wrote:"We guys" got three hours (times however many viewings) of fun out of the first film.

Not to mention a couple of scenes that are among the best ever filmed evah.

In my humble opinion.