The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

[Sideshow Spock]

Big opening weekend.. anyone seeing? I'd like to see it in IMAX, but the mall for that is completely unapproachable this time of year, let alone a weekend..

[drquest]

I took my two older kids to see it just a few hours ago. Lots of action, and good storytelling. I liked it better than the first Hobbit movie and wasn't ready for the credits to roll.

[Nostalgiabuff]

if I can get the snow cleared out of the driveway we are going to see it today

[madmarva]

I liked the Hobbit, but H:DoS fit my tastes much better. Action-packed from the beginning with super special effects. absolutely the best Dragon ever committed to film.

[Nostalgiabuff]

driveway is cleared, now just a few hours till show time. can't wait

[kerowack]

I really liked it, but felt the added footage and crowbarred characters really distracted from the story. Maybe because I read th hobbit probably 20 times when I was younger, but certain things felt forced. Still, to me, the worst moment of the film was that it starts with an incredibly distracting cameo which had me rolling my eyes.

Still, smaug was great....even if they added an almost entirely unnecessary fight scene under the mountain.....

[Nostalgiabuff]

just got back from seeing it with the family. we all loved it. really well done. I did not think Jacksons cameo was distracting at all, it was really quick. he does that in all of his movies. in fact he did almost the exact same walk through in FOTR. his daughter was the waitress

[YoungOnce]

We just got back from seeing it. We all loved it. Very entertaining... Fast paced. Great story. I have read The Hobbit a few times and yes, the story has been expanded to include much of Tolkien's appendices information, but I enjoyed the new characters and plot threads. Just we'll-done on all beats as far as we enjoyed.

[Klosterheim]

I saw The Hobbit: DoS and I do love it.
That said, there were some minor things that could have been slightly different.
Also, Smaug was fantastic, but paintings and drawings of dragons are far better than any movie dragons.

[k2]

Dang! You guys liked it? I thought some of it was pretty cool, most of it way too over he top. Smaug was some of the best cgi ever but the whole thing fell apart for me at barrel kayak scene. I can believe in dragons and wizards and elves but I will never believe a barrel will float like that

[Nostalgiabuff]

come on, dwarves are buoyant, LOL. it's called suspension of disbelief

[YoungOnce]

I thought the barrel sequence was the best! We laughed out loud at several parts in that roller coaster ride.

[Sideshow Spock]

Saw it last nite.. as with the first film, I walked away not really loving it or disliking it. This time I just felt really beat up after sitting there for almost three hours.. that's a long friggin movie.

Also, the crowd was genuinely angry at how it ended..

[TomStrong]

Went to see it with the family, thought a lot of the fight sequences were a little unbelievable but enjoyed it overall. They've certainly added quite a bit that wasn't native to the Tolkien legendarium but if it was just like the book then I guess no one would be surprised when they went to see it. I read the Hobbit every year and am a huge Tolkien fan so its hard to come to grips with what The Professor would have thought about it (I'm sure I know the answer). Maybe it will draw in new readers and believe me we need all we can get. I teach high school and most people who are not with modern children often would be dismayed with how little they read. If I look at it as a fun movie about something I love among a bunch of other dime a dozen Tom Cruise type movies them I'll be happy.

[Sideshow Spock]

Was that an inside joke by Jackson, when after the fight with the big Orc commander, Legolas took a moment to acknowledge his bloody nose? I seem to recall there was some criticism that Legolas never suffered so much as a scratch during all of LOTR...