I know I'm very late to the party with this review, but I actually saw the movie the day after it premiered in Taiwan and another time since then! My progress with the dwarfs have been heavily delayed (I'll get them finished by the time the trilogy ends, I swear!!), so four dwarfs (five if you count in my friend Glen wearing his bearded helmet) and a hobbit accompanied my friends and I to the theaters. There were five of us, so each of us took a dwarf/hobbit.
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| Here they are lined up on the table at the food court awaiting our selection <3 |
Anyway... onward with the movie!
I loved it!!! So much that I went and saw it again the week after, which might now sound like much but I hardly ever do that. I liked An Unexpected Journey, even though parts of it feel kind of slow, namely the part with Radagast and the introduction of the dwarfs. I understand why the latter is necessary though, and I love it wholeheartedly because of Richard Armitage singing >////<
The Desolation of Smaug, on the other hand, is just full of action and keeps me on the toes the entire time. There are so many things I love about this film that I hardly know where to begin!
Okay, first let us bath in some Legolas-goodness.
I was actually thrilled to hear that they are bringing Legolas in the trilogy, even though he's not in the novel. I have my doubts about it making the film better in general, but I knew that it would definitely be a plus for my fangirl heart.
It's actually the original character Tauriel that bothered me. I thought it might turn into some sappy romance and
As it happens, I absolutely LOVE her!!! She totally kicked ass in this film. I loved the part where she asked Legolas "Are we not part of this world?" She's strong-minded and has different ideas about the world and her part in the world than other elves. No wonder Legolas has a crush on her.
There's a sort of love triangle between her, Legolas and Kili. Kili totally had Legolas beat, with all the talk about promises and starlight and moon-rise. Some people hated it. I thought it was cute. It would have been nice to see more of her ideals motivate her actions, since running after the dwarfs to Laketown and leaving Legolas to get beat up by orcs to save Kili... a lot of her actions in the second half of the film seemed to be motivated by her feelings for Kili (honestly though, who can blame her?)
Moving on, another of my favorite aspects of the movie... Thranduil!!!
The way he moves and the camera angles... for a while I forgot if I was watching the Hobbit or New Zealand's Next Top Model!! I gave an involuntary squeal when he swooped (yes, swooped, not bent) down to talk to Thorin. Loved Lee Pace's performance!!
Then there's the barrel scene!! I loved how it was fast-paced, exciting, yet so much fun (not to the dwarfs, but certainly for me it was) at the same time. Sure, the fighting is synchronized to the point that it's kind of unrealistic, but I enjoyed it through and through.
And of course, Smaug. Benedict Cumberbatch's voice, need I say more? I was silently screaming in my seat. It's everything you could ever wish for in a dragon, that's all I gotta say. I just can't help but imagine Benedict prowling around with motion sensors all over though XDD
It's so nice to watch this with a bunch of crazy fangirls. We knew just the right moment to turn to each other and grin, or grab each other in a silent fit of giggles.
I can't wait for next year.
After the Hobbit, we went to a restaurant called Dream of Hobbiton for a late lunch/early dinner. The owner is a huge LOTR fan and had a collection of swords and other props that you could play with!!!!
Last but not least, a photo of Glen in his dwarf beard, posing before the Christmas tree in Taipei Main Station.
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