The third "Hobbit" didn't disappoint.
It had plenty of battles, conflicts, love, and psychological transformations.
It was entertaining.
Peter Jackson made Hobbit more
than a connecting thread to his original masterpiece. This was an adult story
with complex story lines. He used other JRR Tolkien tales to tell this story
and hint at a larger world of Middle Earth. As such, the second Hobbit was the
only successful movie of the three; sorry big fans of Middle Earth movies. So
what were some minuscule mistakes?
First of all, I constantly saw
Lord of the Rings (LOTR) battle scenes. Sure, they were very different, but I
always expected another Dwarf army (from Blue Mountains) to come charging-in
and help our heroes like Dwarves of Iron Mountain did. (I think in the book
there were two dwarf armies). For me, it looked like a last battle-party where
everyone was invited to participate.
Second, the mentioning of
Aragorn was a huge mistake. He wasn’t even born during this adventure. After
all, LOTR tale took place 60 years after the Hobbit. Aragorn would have been
about 80 by the time Frodo went on his journey if he was alive during this time;
in LOTR, Aragorn was between 30 and 45.
Last, but not least, the movie
showed 3 dead Dwarves. In the book, if I remember correctly, only one died. I
can imagine that the death of three was more metaphorical and if not
allegorical; allusion to the future perhaps. I know these errors are trifles
but they got to me.
However, I enjoyed some other powerful
scenes. I liked the battle between Lady Galadriel and Necromancer. I was happy
to see the full might of Lady Galadriel; in LOTR, we had to take Peter Jackson’s
word for it. Now, I can see why many were frightened of her and why Sauron
didn't want to attack her kingdom until he took out human strongholds; though,
of course, he tried to buy her with promise of power like he did with Saruman. (I
probably would’ve known about Galadriel’s power if I read the book, but I didn’t.
Now have to dust it off and read it).
The second scene was the
transformation of Thorin Oakenshield. I believe this was the most powerful
scene of the movie. I could feel like the camera and the actor were taking
me on the wild ride into a person’s corrupted mind with a heart of stone. The
slanting of the camera and special effects felt like I was Thorin and left my
corrupted thoughts behind in that golden floor. (Actually, it felt like being in a trance after taking a psychedelic drug). Though I am coming out of my
own shadows, Peter Jackson made Thorin look like a person who at last found his
heart of his own accord with wise words from Bilbo, his compatriots, and of
Bard. (He did look like Jesus Christ, didn’t he? But then, when a person finds
one’s own heart, she or he might look like that and/or feel that light coming
out of him or her all around).
Lastly, when the Eagles came
and attacked those ugly bat-type creatures, I had to surmise my own conclusions
about this situation. After all, this occurrence didn’t happen in the book. In
the book, there were no bats. There were crows that didn’t attack anyone.
Instead, they covered the sun allowing orcs and Wargs to attack. And Eagles
came to disperse those annoying creatures. Nevertheless, this was entertaining,
and Peter Jackson told it superbly.
My favorite character portrayal
was Thorin Oakenshield played by Richard Armitage. He brought deep dimensions
and complicated levels of acting to give Thorin life. In LOTR, there were two: Gandalf
and Aragorn.
On last note, I thank Peter
Jackson, actors, movie crew, and background actors for working hard in the
toughest conditions to bring us the visual aspects of Middle Earth. Everyone
did a perfect job for a perfect story as JRR Tolkien envisioned a fairy-tale should
be told. Peter Jackson has been a master storyteller who understood Tolkien’s
philosophy quite well. Thank you.
So, did you enjoy the last
journey to Middle Earth?
No comments:
Post a Comment