The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey reactions (SPOILERS)

[Wednesday Boy]

I thought it was below average but I thought the same about the LotR series too.

It's a minor point but aesthetically I wish all of the dwarves looked more dwarven. Thorin, Fili, and somewhat Bofur looked too much like humans and Kili (the worst offender) looked like a half elf.

I loathe when Jackson breaks the tension of his suspenseful scenes by interjecting them with drawn out interludes. In the frying pan scene two of the company are barely holding onto Gandalf's staff trying desperately to not fall to their doom. Suddenly that pulse-pounding tension is put on hold so first Thorin, then Bilbo, then the other dwarves can do a fight scene. That completely ruins the momentum of the story and suspense of a scene.

And I hate how Gollum is portrayed. I can't make it through one of his scenes without rolling my eyes.

(Sorry for being so critical. I'm really not a sourpuss!)

 

[Umbran]

And I hate how Gollum is portrayed. I can't make it through one of his scenes without rolling my eyes.

I don't really argue with the rest of what you said, but this, I wonder about.

Exactly how do you expect them to portray a character who was weak-willed and uneducated, and has spent like four to six centuries in cold dark caves with only a malevolent ego-bending ring for company?

(I personally think Andy Sirkis is a bit of a genius.)

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Exactly how do you expect them to portray a character who was weak-willed and uneducated, and has spent like four to six centuries in cold dark caves with only a malevolent ego-bending ring for company?

To put it simply, I wouldn't try to make the character funny. They take a character who is tragic for all of the reasons that you noted and interject instances where they can portray him as goofy and cartoonish. When those goofy and cartoonish instances arise, it breaks the emotional connection (sympathy, loathing, fear, etc.) that Tragic Gollum was evoking in me. (Which causes my ocular inferior oblique muscles to spasm unconsciously, causing my eyes to roll.)

 

[Orius]

It's a minor point but aesthetically I wish all of the dwarves looked more dwarven. Thorin, Fili, and somewhat Bofur looked too much like humans and Kili (the worst offender) looked like a half elf.

Personally, I think it's good that he dwarves show some actual diversity instead of all looking the same. There's a lot of dwarves here for even three movies, so it helps that their appearances are distinct. Kili in particular might seem quite a bit undwarvish with just heavy stubble rather than a beard, but probably he's there to get the fangirls excited (he's also supposed to be one of the youngest dwarves here, so less beard is excusable).

 

[Relique du Madde]

A side note: When I first saw the cast pictures, especially the one where Thorin was alone, I thought, "who's the human?"

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Personally, I think it's good that he dwarves show some actual diversity instead of all looking the same.

I certainly agree with you there. I appreciated that they tried to make each dwarf unique.

For me it isn't so much Kili's lack of facial hair, it's that his face was completely unchanged so he looks human. The addition of a hawkish or bulbous nose would have done the trick for me.

 

[Umbran]

To put it simply, I wouldn't try to make the character funny.

Ah. Here's the thing - I don't think they're trying to make him funny. At all. If you want to see comic relief in this movie, you look at the dwarves. In the original film, it was Merry and Pippin.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Ah. Here's the thing - I don't think they're trying to make him funny. At all.

Interesting. When Smeagol and Gollum argue it seems like one step away from the Nutty Professor to me. http://movieclips.com/7HGaD-the-nutty-professor-movie-klump-vs-love/ (Mild language, potentially NSFW.) And every time I've seen one of the movies in the theatre, the audience hoots at Gollum's buffoonery.

But to paraphrase [MENTION=6668292]JamesonCourage[/MENTION], "As always, watch what you like!"

 

[Umbran]

Interesting. When Smeagol and Gollum argue it seems like one step away from the Nutty Professor to me.

To me, it comes across as the clear statement that Gollum isn't really evil, so much as broken, screwed up, and overall pitiable. If it *isn't* there, you have a big question as to how you make him threatening, and yet worthy of Bilbo's (and later Frodo's) mercy. What reason do you have for not treating him like, say, any other menacing orc?

 

[Jhaelen]

A side note: When I first saw the cast pictures, especially the one where Thorin was alone, I thought, "who's the human?"

Indeed. Thorin and the twins looked too human for my taste. I also had some issues with the 48 fps 3D version I watched. I was going to say it looked too artificial, but as someone else mentioned above what it actually reminded me of was theatre or live action roleplaying.
I also felt the first half of the movie dragged quite a bit. The second half was much better but all in all I enjoyed the first LotR movie better than this one.