I mostly agree with this review. It certainly seems a lot more balanced and informative than the others for this one thus far.
On the other hand, I think that if Smaug ends up dying in the first 15 minutes, they could have simply killed him off at the end of the last movie.
I admit that there was a bit of that feeling with me. Smaug was built up so much and had such a good presence (amazing work by Benedict Cumberbatch) that it was a bit of a shame that he was only in the movies for such a short amount of time. But then again, it didn't bother me too much as it was following the books and (in my mind) Smaug speaking was just a bonus since it didn't originally happen and the scene itself was well put together. The way that Bard uses his son as a makeshift bow, the death of the master via Smaug's corpse, and the desperate claustrophobic sense of trying to escape the burning town all really made the scene tense.
Also, Bard's method of escaping his cell was certainly creative, humorous, and rather fitting.
I see where your coming from and thank you for replying. Have a good night! :)
His cell scene was giving me strong Pirates of the Caribbean flashbacks :P Luke Evans even looks like Orlando Bloom's Will Turner
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Well . . . I enjoyed it
This film series has been . . . polarizing to say the least. Some like it, some think it's the worst abomination of book adaptions since Eragon's film. I admit my inner fanboy throws a fit with each of the changes these films make, but I think that I should really try and enjoy the films for what they are, not what everyone wants them to be. These aren't good book adaptions if you want it to stick to the book, but I think they are enjoyable movies if you divorce from your mind that these are meant to be based on a book.
To be clear, I love the books, the books are my favorite books of all time. I idolize them as the pinnacle of fantasy literature. The LOTR movies are also my favorite movies, but I don't think that means I can't enjoy these for what they are even if I don't think it adapts the book well (I think the Eragon movie has a few good points as well even if I think it is one of the worst adaptions ever.)
So, I really enjoyed this last film. For the storyline it had built, it ends nicely. There were moments that went over the top and some where I thought "oh, a scene that's missing but will probably appear in the extended edition," but on the whole, I enjoyed this movie.
Bad: Some of Legolas's stunts, such as running up falling stones made me sigh. The big battle just suddenly seems to end off screen(I guess that they'll save the scenes for the extended edition). I wish Beorn and Radagast would've gotten more screentime in the final battle.
Good: All the acting is great. The attack on Dol Guldor was epic, seeing Saruman fighting was great! Lake-Town was nice, Smaug got another scene to shine and the method for killing him was pretty creative. The four different armies look unique. Tauriel and Kili also work well, their relationship, while perhaps not as well developed as possible, feels genuine. Bilbo and the Dwarves are also great, Richard plays his role out (of spiraling greed and redemption) well and all the deaths felt genuinely sad.
Looking back, I think the best words to describe this series is "enjoyable on their own." Don't expect them to follow the book except at a basic level. As adaptions, they fail, on their own, they're enjoyable. They're not the epic that LOTR is, but almost nothing is. For what they are, I like them. They feel like a genuine effort so give them a fair try, they may surprise you.