...Back Again. (Off-Topic)

by Leviathan , Hotel Zanzibar, Saturday, December 28, 2013, 23:34 (3832 days ago) @ Leviathan

So the first Hobbit didn't knock me over the head with the first viewing. My Middle-Earth love and knowledge had laid dormant for a number of years. It was like slowly waking up... A few more viewings later, as well as getting to know the soundtrack (still singing Misty Mountains in the shower almost every day), the cast, and the more whimsical creative approaches as explained in the Extended Edition... my fire had been reignited. So I was ready for Smaug from the start this time around... which is what I said in my post, isn't?

I went in excited but hesitant. Like Two Towers, I figured this middle chapter would have the most deviations from the original story (which I'm not opposed to for the sake of a better film - it just sometimes takes time to warm up to, knowing the original work so well). At the head of this, I thought I'd hate Tauriel... but I ended up completely enchanted by her, and her musical theme was probably my favorite audio contribution in the movie. (Vague Spoilers Ahead) The fun and pace of the barrel ride had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, Benedict needs no more praise because he's just too talented for his own good, and the visual transformation of a certain necromancer into something... else... was one of my favorite pieces of imagery in ANY of Peter Jackson's work.

I've always been a fan of deep lore, little corners of universes where it feels like you're exploring a cave no one's been to before. You get a very personnel connection to those bits - like it's a secret knowledge passed down to you and you alone. So when these movies have cut away from The Hobbit-proper to things like the White Council, the tombs of Angmar, a chance-meeting in Bree, and everything in Dol Guldor -scenes where it probably feels like Peter Jackson is most deviating from the story to those who've read JUST The Hobbit- my middle-school soul has been absolutely delighted! I've gotten to see little tales and references I had excitedly poured over in the LOTR Appendices, The Silmarillion, and more in the past, now visualized, which is something I never thought would happen after The Return of the King Extended Edition was released 9 years ago. Just hearing Thranduil use the term "Silvan Elves" made me happily chuckle in a silent theater. It's like if Halo 2 or 3 had included somehow-relevant flashback levels to The Fall of Reach, or even more deep - the Rainforest Wars or the Jovian Moons Campaigns. Most gamers might probably go "what the hell is this?", while I'd be making "Oooh, ooh, ooh" noises!

Now to see it again, and delve into the soundtrack and art books I got for Christmas, and of course, the full edition next November. :)