There and Back Again, Day 4 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Jane Doe

I gotta agree, unfortunately... This is how I felt when I saw it:

"Just got back from the 3D HFR screening of the Hobbit. I am disappointed to be frank. I really wanted to give Peter Jackson the benefit of doubt with the new 3D HFR technology but I can't... The tech just didn't help the story at all. I could never escape the feeling that I'm watching an over-produced soap opera on a HDTV; or I'm playing a computer game on a super high-resolution monitor. Yeah, everything was crisp and sharp, the action scenes were superb in 48fps, definitely without headache inducing motion sickness so common in 24fps 3D movies... I just don't know, I really wanted to like it, but the 'hyper-realism' of the movie destroyed the 'fantasy' of the Middle Earth. I will go see it again, this time in plain 2D and see if I'll change my opinion... And yes, it was a little too long in story and sloppy in editing, it could easily be compressed into 2 hours."

Dec 17 - 05:40 PM

Big Brother

The few comments on the plot were for the most part how I felt. I saw it in 24 fps. Gotta say though even I'm getting tired of people talking about the 48fps.

Dec 17 - 07:03 PM

Steve Buchanan

I'm not sure if I can ever get used to 48 FPS. I also found myself being taken in and out of the viewing experience. It was very jarring. Visuals aside I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, gonna see it again in 24 FPS.

Dec 17 - 07:06 PM

Jacob Crites

I totally agree about all the opinions on 48fps. It just took me right out of the movie. Thankfully I saw it a couple days later in good old 24fps, and I was able to appreciate the film itself.

The film is wonderful; if there is a step down in quality in the previous films, it is a small one. The main thing is that the tone is different, but it's the sort of tone I wished the original TLOTR trilogy had more of: a more lighthearted, spirited adventure with bits of darkness, and not the other way around.

The Riddle scene is probably my favorite scene in all four Tolkien movies. Had Jackson cut the awkward scene toward the beginning with Frodo and Old Bilbo, and shaved off a bit of the overlong council meeting with Gandalf and the old folks, I'd call it the best of the bunch. But having just watched all films in the past couple weeks, An Unexpected Journey truly isn't any more digressive or inconsistently paced than ROTK or The Two Towers.

Dec 17 - 08:00 PM

Eddie Baty

I saw it in 48fps 3D. I guess I'm one of the few who actually really enjoyed it in the intended format.

Dec 17 - 09:08 PM

Justin Buell

Saw it twice (once in 2D, then in 3D). Still have yet to see it in 48fps.

I can say, after a second viewing, it is on par with LOTR. Absolutely loved it.

Doesn't deserve the criticism it's been getting. Not one bit.

Dec 17 - 09:27 PM

Alan Ventura

I personally thought they could have done the movie well without the intro with Bilbo and Frodo, it was not necessary. The Hobbit was all about Bilbo hence the reason. Another thing I hope that Smaug looks a bit more like the dragon from "Dragonheart" although the movie showed very little of how he will most likely look, all I thought when I saw the glimpses was the image of the dragon from Shrek. . . . . and I agree that the movie should have been a little more shorter and I know I may sound a bit like I'm contradicting myself when I say this that although the movie would have been better if they trimmed off some minutes they should have given more screen time for some of the other dwarves and that Radagast shouldn't have had that much screen time for he was only mentioned very little in the book. overall since the book will be split into 3 movies I can't really say much about this first installment, but enjoyed it very much with my little daughter, she especially loved it when Gollum appeared. hehehe

Dec 17 - 11:14 PM

David Stanley

I think those that did not enjoy the movie are mostly people who saw it in 48fps. Those like myself that have seen it in 24fps really enjoyed it. In fact, I loved it - perhaps even more than The Lord of the Rings films.

Dec 18 - 06:09 AM

Bernhardina Hörnstein

I saw it in high fram rate... and I thought it was amazing! Spectacular! I know most of you didn't like it and I feel so sorry for you :/

Dec 18 - 12:20 PM

Steven Scott

I just hope that the others can be good as well!

Dec 18 - 01:04 PM

Facebook User

I think your all wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Dec 18 - 01:54 PM

Simo Ammar

the audience loved the hobbit so u can just kill ur selves

Dec 18 - 02:41 PM

Brian Lorenzen

After the first, say, 40 minutes, I was no longer consistently distracted by the 48 fps. And by the middle of the film, involving the escape from the goblins, I actually think it completely elevated the quality and clarity of what was an insanely dense scene.

As for the storytelling, I was eating out of their hands from the opening scene. I was pleasantly surprised by he inclusion of Radagast and the beginnings of their involvement withe Necromancer. I'm in no position to review it objectively, as I walked out of this movie completely satisfied and delighted.

Dec 18 - 03:03 PM

Ryan Palmer

I saw it in 24 fps and after all the reviews I don't ever plan to see it in 48. It looked great and I am fine with it. I also thoroughly enjoyed the movie, imperfect as it was.

Dec 18 - 06:21 PM

Phillip Kissell

I did sort of have a problem with the narrative, like Ryan said, it just felt like a series of perils without really feeling like one led to the other. But that was a problem I had with the book. But I really enjoyed it.

Now I saw it in 24 FPS once, and I really am curious about the 48. I've heard nothing but bad things about it, but I'm curious and I want to see for myself.

Dec 18 - 06:49 PM

Jeffrey Donato

The intro might have been my favorite part of the entire film. I preferred this to the original trilogy, just as I preferred The Hobbit (book) to the LOTR. I did not see this movie in 48fps, but I did see it in IMAX 3D and then again in 2D. I am so happy about how it turned out. I loved the extra weight given to the tale by the expanded upon material and I cannot wait for Desolation of Smaug!

Dec 19 - 12:46 AM

David Riley

As an avid fan and reader of the LOTR, I approach this first installment as a basis for bigger and better things. It set the stage for the real action and plot points, which I believe will satisfy many more viewers. I watched it in 24fps 3d and thought it looked incredible. 3D has never looked this crisp. I may watch the 48fps out of curiosity but would recommend regular 3d to everyone.

Dec 19 - 08:59 AM