THE HOBBIT, AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY; Carlisle's Final Word.

“Far over the misty mountains cold / To dungeons deep and caverns old / The pines were roaring on the height / The winds were moaning in the night / The fire was red, it flaming spread / The trees like torches blazed with light...”

Thorin Oakenshield (singing)

 

 

Script Logic; 1/2

Pace; 1/2

Acting;  2/2

Aesthetic; 1/2

Originality & Intention; 1/2



Final Score; 6/10



So, I've decided this deserves a much longer review, but for now I'll settle with my usual length summary.


Final Word.; long story 'short', Jackson drops the ball. The film is overly long and strays uncomfortably between the darker tone of The Lord Of The Rings films and the more light-hearted source material. Without wishing to give away any spoilers, the polar points of this observation are 1; the brutal battle flashback between the Dwarves and the Orcs (where a significant character is decapitated, and his head tossed aside) and 2; the scene where the Dwarfs in Bilbo's home sing merrily while washing the dishes, resembling something straight from a Disney cartoon. 
The CGI, while good, is overused and barely better than what has already come before. A number of subplots (taken directly from other Tolkien material, but not the actual Hobbit novel) have been shoe-horned into the narrative to better tie it into the mythos of the previous films, but only serve to confuse the story and stretch the running time.
All in all, not a disaster, but unforgivably flawed. Would have been far better served as a single film, two at the most- but hey, its good fun while its playing, and worth catching in the cinema if only for the giddy thrill of revisiting Peter Jackson's Middle Earth.

More on this to come...

THE LORD OF THE RINGS, RETURN OF THE KING; Carlisle’s Final Word.

"A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.

An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight!"

Aragorn.

 

 

 

Script Logic; 1/2

Pace; 1/2

Acting; 2/2

Aesthetic; 2/2

Originality & Intention; 1/2

Score; 7/10




Final Word; The weakest in an amazing trilogy, but by no mans a bad film. A great film infact. Again, for all its strengths its let down by a plodding pace, details that don't serve the story, and an over-sentimental ending that drags (and drags, and drags). That said, expect glory, drama, warefare and heroism. Final final thought, too many elephents...

THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE TWO TOWERS; Carlisle’s Final Word.

"There shall be no dawn for men"

Saruman.

 

 

Script Logic; 2/2

Pace; 1/2

Acting; 2/2

Aesthetic; 2/2

Originality & Intention; 1/2

Score; 8/10

Final Word; Following on from the first film was always going to be a tall order, but for the most part the film succeeds. Weakened by a very slow start, some needless subplots and irrelevant details, but comes into its own in the second half with a brilliant battle scene. Purists of the book will criticise some of the changes, and while some of these do feel like strange choices, others do serve the story arc of the film. Like its predecessor, could do with loosing 30 minutes of run-time.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS, FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING; Carlisle’s Final Word.

"One Ring to Rule Them All. One Ring to Find Them. One Ring to Bring Them All and In The Darkness Bind Them."

Gandalf.

 

Script Logic; 2/2

Pace; 1/2

Acting; 2/2

Aesthetic; 2/2

Intention & Originality; 2/2

Score; 9/10

Final Word; A very faithful adaption of the first book, and a staggeringly detailed presentation of Tolkien’s world. Could have benefited by a little more editing, and a less slavish devotion to the source material (much of which does nothing for the story), but still a brilliant adventure, and brave enough to take itself seriously.