I know they're going to make Kili's death tied in to the stupid love story. Tauriel will be all sad and things will go in slow motion and play sad music and someone will almost stab her and then Legolas will come in and save her... trying to hide a smile...
XP

Also, for a lot of it I felt like I was watching a video game not a film. Especially for all the Legolas fighting parts.

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All by Bellatrix
Married Nymphadora Tonks 29/6/13

Where do I begin? It was excruciating to watch.

Things I like;
- Stuff that was you know, part of the actual plot of The Hobbit.
- Fleshing Bard out a little. Because, to be fair, in the book, he was just some guy that shot Smaug down.
- Erebor, amazing.
- Smaug, exactly how I imagined him.
- The Woodland Realm, gorgeous.
- Thranduil, he was amazing. So vein, but cold. Different from Elrond and Galadriel.
- Beorn was perfect. Great mix of man and bear, in in his human appearance.

Things I didn't Like;
- Tauriel. She was so predictable. Like a complete Mary Sue. How she seemed to bend the rules of Middle Earth to her will. The scene where Thranduil gives orders that no one is to leave, yet there goes Tauriel, to run after Kili. Like three seconds before she came on screen, I rolled my eyes, because I knew what was coming. The way she behaved, and the thing with Kili felt like they were turning it into some Middle Earth chick flick. She was like a terribly cliche mix of Arwen and Eowyn, that didn't come off that great at all.
- The whole thing with the necromancer. That was so not needed.
- All the filler stuff, that wasn't needed at all. Like, splitting up the dwarf company.
- The lack of Bilbo. I mean, it is The Hobbit after all. Shouldn't the main character of the whole story get more focus?
- Just how much emphasis was put on the romance. LoTR and The Hobbit is about the adventure, not love.

Things I found funny
- They couldn't have done anything about it, because well, people do change with age. Orlando Bloom looked his age. Yet, sixty years later, in LoTR, he looks younger...


I honestly felt, that it was too dragged out. If they had just took all the filler stuff out. Removed Tauriel. Focused on the plot more, The Hobbit could easily have been two films.

I was honestly disappointed when I left the theatre. AUJ was perfect. I wouldn't have changed a single thing about it. But, I don't think I'll be that bothered, when There and Back Again comes out.

Me and my mother thought that it was a classic case of four epic movies set the standards too high, and they fell flat on their face with this one. I on the other hand, thought they might as well have named it Heart of Tauriel, instead of Desolation of Smaug, with all the focus was put on the romance.

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♥ Married to Thranduil, 22 April 2014 ♥

♦ Lónannûniel, Queen of the Woodland Realm ♦

I've heard it described as bad fan fiction. And for all purposes... That's exactly what it is. The writer(a woman, actually. PJ just directed), saw Kili's design and fell in love. So why not fill her dreams of falling in love with the taller-than-average if-middle-earth-had-a-boyband-he'd-be-in-it dwarf through Tauriel. I liked Kili... Until Tauriel showed up. Then I started liking Fili more!

The only person I know that was happy with it was a friend of mine who had never read the books and is more of a romantic and wants to see more romance than anything...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

I didn't like how Beorn felt rushed. But I guess that made sorta sense in the movie, because they were running away from the Orc pack. If they left out the unneeded Tauriel/ Kili scenes... more of Gandalf in Dol Guldur, and maybe finding out what happened to Thror. Or even finishing all the Smaug scenes.

I did rather like Bard. So I'm looking forward to see him in the next movie, or extended scenes.

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Ok...i am going to be completely honest!
I thought that Tauriel was cool...(im me ) i lost a lot of respect for Legolas:p
Tauriel and Kili are a cute couple...but the healing scene was a bit odd i think! And i missed half of it because i was trying to muffle laughter!
Overall i really liked it...although the ending was awful!


EDIT:
This is my opinion of the ending...
Thorin, Balin, Dwalin,Nori, Ori, Dori, Gloin, Bifur, Bombur, and Bilbo are chillin' in Erebor after sending Smaug away...
Tauriel, Kili, Fili, Oin and Bofur are chillin' with Bard's kids...
Gandalf is hanging out in a cage in Dol Guldur...
Bard is stuck in the Master's prison for who-knows-what...
Legolas is still chasing after Bolg (while holding Orcrist)
The Ending stinks!

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Formerly Legolin12

I went, I saw, I LOVED it. lol overall it was an AMAZING movie.
SPOILERS AHOY! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!




Smaug was downright frightning and beautiful and cunning and huuuuuuuuge, and omg that VOICE haha so wonderfully done! Beorn's part felt rushed but made sense because they were on the run and I guess we'll see him in movie three, but thought he was interesting, Tauriel, for a madeup character is pretty awesome, very badass but gracious and beautiful, rebelious, loved Kili's crush on her and while I do think tauriel had a thing for him too, I think it was all played out pretty good, I liked it, I only thought Kili seeing Tauriel in a bright light was kinda cheesy lol.
Laketown was very interesting, loved all the characters there, the spiders FREAKED ME OUT, so did the giant wasps, Mirkwood is gorgeous, Thranduil is sassy badass, the scar I did NOT see coming, thought it was pretty cool, Thorin and his ego got them locked up *pets him*, LOVED seeing Bilbo going ballistic thinking he lost the Ring and then killing what it LOOKED like a spider, not sure what it was, because he thought that bug was gonna take away his Ring, going all "MINE!", then slowly realizing he's getting addicted to the Ring and getting freaked out about it, loved all about it.
Legolas was awesome, tho his gaze looked odd, in Laketown I figured out why, on one take, I think its the eye contacts, make his eyes too wide.
I loved Gandalf's showdown with the Necromancer who finally revealed himself to be Sauron.
Erebor is absolutely stunning, loved seeing the dwarves using all kinds of stuff to try to kill Smaug, like molten gold, making that statue, loved that, tho it was pretty stupid, to quote Daenerys Targaryen, fire cannot kill a dragon loved when Thorin stopped Bilbo from going outside, like "you ain't going ANYWHERE without the Arkenstone", there was MADNESS and desperation in his eyes as it showed as soon as they approached the mountain, very subtle and well done; his dispair when he thought they missed the chance to enter the mountain was wonderful, and the sadness he had when he saw all those corpses in Erebor completly broke my heart, made me tear up.
The ending had me going all "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" internaly but made me REALLY look forward to There And Back Again

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Maybe I'm just less cynical than most of you...

I didn't walk into the movie expecting it to be the book reincarnated.
I don't WANT it to be the book reincarnated.
Because then, honestly, why would anyone read the book if they could just sit for a few (*coughninecough*) hours and watch the movie and get all the same stuff out of it. And that's not fair for Tolkien.

The Movies are just an adaptation. They are PJ/FW/PB's adaptations. I use them to amplify my own understanding of Tolkien. (and I'm one of those crazy people that read through the entire Tolkien Scholar section of my College Library, including Tolkien's letters.)

I, honestly, LOVED the movie, even more than AU. I tried my best to avoid spoilers, but listened to the Podcast (by the Tolkien Professor, whom I love to listen to!) titled A Bit of Wookie: Riddles in the Dark Year 2 in Review which summarized all we know from the production videos, the EE of AU, and the trailers and what we should expect to see in the movie (and which things were still completely up in the air!).

Here's what I loved:

-Mirkwood: fantastic! Loved how they changed it to be sort of psychedelic lost-ness instead of chasing after a party in the dark. (right? how would they even do that on screen?)
-Spiders: the whole encounter was very well done. Love that Bilbo still had his Hero moment!! Love that we could hear the spiders talk, and the naming of Sting was awesome!
-Elvenking's Halls: Loved the characters here, loved the architecture, loved that we actually got to see the drunk elves fall asleep so Bilbo could steal the keys! (That was a bonus in my book! I really did not expect them to ever put that on screen)
-Tauriel: I loved that she was graceful and strong yet still feminine. I always wished we could have seen more female elves and this is just what I wanted! (see below!)
-Bard. 'Nough said.
-SMAUG. I was so scared that he was gonna look stupid and cartoony (seriously, how do you realistically make a lizard face speak without it looking stupid?) but he was PERFECT. wow.
-All the rest of Laketown was awesome as well. People, political climate, etc...
-Thorin: my heart really went out for him, especially his desperation when the door didn't open (which I was equally freaking out about! Props to PJ!)
-The Dwarves were all fantastic.

Here's what I wanted more of:

-What's up with Thranduil's face? He alludes to "knowing" dragon fire and then goes all zombie... I really hope we get more elaboration on this in the EE!
-Beorn: his section was so rushed we didn't really get anything else out of him other than he hates goblins, is extremely large, and can turn into a bear. I WANT MORE PLEASE.
-Tauriel: I wish we could have learned more about her backstory. She talks about how she is more concerned with the outside world than anyone else in Mirkwood. Somehow Thrandy and Leggy's comments about how she is "lower" and shouldn't care about other creatures makes her go over the edge and run off to fight her battle!! I think that learning of the arrow-wound to Kili (and that no one but the elves knew it was a morgul shaft but didn't care if it killed the dwarf) was the straw that broke the mumak's back and sent her off. I also love that she as a warrior gets a chance to turn her skills to healing instead of killing, even if it is in defiance of her Lord (who has been a jerk to her, really...). The romance didn't bother me, mostly because I saw it as sort of one-sided (Kili to Tauriel, where as Tauriel's attraction is more of the unknown, of wanting to go and help the world and learn more about it instead of being cooped up in mirkwood). Hence why we need MORE TAURIEL BACKSTORY SO WE UNDERSTAND HER MOTIVATIONS MORE CLEARLY PLEASE.

I actually felt the beginning was a little rushed (I wanted more Beorn! More Mirkwood! More Elvenking!) but I fully expect it to be filled out in the EE.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope I didn't upset too many people! haha

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I totally loved the movie. There wasn't very clear plot, but I thought that it doesn't matter. There was so many perfect things in it.
Smaug was perfect, and Benedict's voice was something amazing. (Yeah, I'm a fan of him.. a very, very obsessed fan. )
Bilbo was perfect too. And Thorin. And the Necromancer.. and.. well, everyone in the movie.
When I first saw that movie, I didn't like the romance thing between Tauriel and Kíli. But now, after watching it 3 times, I think that T&K thing isn't very good, but works still. I think Tauriel is a great character, the "feminine energy" is the thing that the Hobbit 2 needed.

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What if?

Going to see it again tomorrow. As much I love the book, I pretty watch the adaptations for the Heirs of Durin.

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Me too... Only I'm watching it for a fourth time today. I'm kinda obsessed.

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What if?

Thorin is the best thing about these movies (that isn't played by Martin Freeman, I mean).

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Yes! I agree completely. And one of the most positive sides of this adaptation is that my non-Ringer friends also genuinely enjoy the movie. They say it's easier to understand than LotR, because there is less mentioning of characters that never reappear, as well as more action thoughout the entire movie. So if this adaptation is a way to introduce new people to Tolkien's world, I'm completely fine with that

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Agreed. I was disappointed the first time watching it because of the changes, but when I went to see it again with my dad (and knew what was coming) I was able to appreciate it more. Now I would say I'm mostly annoyed with the movie between the points of Bilbo talking to Smaug and Smaug going off to destroy Laketown. I felt the whole "let's run around and light the forges and fill this mold with gold" bit was extremely unnecessary (not to mention made Smaug look less than incompetent).

Smaug was fantastic though! I especially liked how he continued to sow the beginnings of what will be Thorin's downfall in the next movie. And he was created amazingly well. His and Bilbo's interactions were up at the top of my favorite parts.

Bard was amazing, I loved the backstory they gave him and I'm excited to see him in the next movie.

THRANDUIL AND THE WOODLAND REALM I WANT TO SEE MORE. I just thought it was a gorgeous set and I want to know more elven backstory and see them do more things and more. More elves.

I actually wasn't that annoyed with Tauriel. I saw her more as someone who takes an interest in the world at large, and that's what mostly drives her emotions. It would be good to get a little more insight into her, but that's how I saw her taking off after the orc pack (she had a point there about how letting them go was horrible) and her fascination (because I wouldn't call it love/crush) with Kili.

I wish there had been more of Mirkwood in general, and I wish we could've seen a bit more of who Beorn really was. I understand they're not the most exciting of scenes, but one of my bigger problems with the movie as a whole was that it felt very non-stop action.

I felt the lack of Elrond keenly. Which had better mean he's in a lot of the next one as they drive out Sauron. Gandalf going in alone seemed rather stupid (I get why it works in the movie but come on, Gandalf wouldn't do that) and I was hoping we'd get some more of the White Council actually doing things. I liked the visiting of the tombs. Will we ever get a flashback to Gandalf meeting Thrain?

I knew going in that Smaug and the elves would be what I was most excited about in this movie anyway, so overall I'm not surprised that I wasn't that impressed. I'm much more interested in all the politicing that will happen in the next one, so I'm much more excited for that!

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going on a journey through my old claims

Seeing the movie for a second (and third) time has also slightly changed my opinion of it. After the first viewing I didn't leave the theatre very happy, although I could definitely see some good points in it. Overall the movie just didn't feel up to par with LotR and AUJ, but I didn't really know what to make of it.

After seeing it again I'm feeling more overall positive. There are still some things that I don't really like (such as the weird scene with Tauriel healing Kili and Kili talking to her in his feverish state), but there are also some things that are really awesome.

Smaug was still good, although it would've been fun if he'd been a bit more vain or arrogant, like described in the book. I also like how they pictured the enormity of the halls of Erebor. In the book Smaug is described as lying upon a bed of gold in the middle of a large hall, but the mountains of gold in the movie are much more impressive.

The scene with the Dwarves seeing the last inhabitants of Erebor was also good. It gave this action-packed movie a more emotional and tragic touch, and it reminds the viewers of the feelings of Thorin towards Smaug. Even though the expression on Balin's face when he entered Erebor and looked upon the bodies of his kin nearly made me cry. Balin is cool.

I'd really liked to see more of Beorn, who seems to have an interesting character and background and of the Mirkwood halls and its inhabitants. Thranduil is very good, although he also gives something of an impression that he might have a more tragic story that his arrogance suggests. What did he have to do with the firedrakes of the North? Why don't we get an amazing flashback of that?

And I hope there will be more White Council in the next movie. Elrond and Galadriel better step in to help Gandalf somehow, instead of leaving him in that cage for who knows how long. And I'm wondering to see what Bilbo will do with the Arkenstone, since I assume he already has it now. Although it would be a miracle if he could have kept it during that chase through the mines...

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Still not sure how I feel about the film version of the barrel scene. It's another sequence that adds too much time, even if it was nice to look at.

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