[ThaVirus]

Had a Hobbit watching marathon last night and this morning- watched Unexpected Journey and Desolation of Smaug. I love the mythology and lore of Middle Earth so these movies were certainly enjoyable. I've never read the books so I can't speak much to how good of an adaptation it is, but there was nothing really terrible that stuck out to me in either movie.

The movie was very well cast and I liked all of the characters, most notably Bilbo. I think hobbits are annoying but he's a very likable guy. Smaug was also awesome.

Spoiler!

If I had to nitpick any issues, it would be stuff that was seemingly pointless. I've watched about 6 hours worth of movies in the last 12 hours or so and now my brain is fried but off the top of my head those giant fighting mountain dudes. Like, what was the point of that?

The visit with Beorn seemed a bit short and I was mad that I didn't see him rape some people. They made it a point to portray him as a badass (the orcs wouldn't attack the dwarfs while he was standing guard) with an extreme hatred of orcs but all he did in the end was offer the crew some horses- GAY. It appears from some of the other spoilers in this thread that he'll play an instrumental part in a future battle? I am greatly anticipating that.

Also a minor "complaint", the Lakewood scene was boring as hell. I like the actor that played the "smuggler" boat captain but that whole introduction scene had me turning my attention to my phone at one point.

Other than that, it was cool to see all of the nods to LOTR and the inclusion of some of the "old" characters. Those eagles were pretty raw, Gollum is hilarious, showing how Bilbo came upon the ring, the Mirkwood elf making fun of the picture of Gimli, and nobody kicks more ass than Legolas.

I quoted this one because it is something that I was also thinking about during the movie. What exactly is the limit of Gandalf's power? Obviously it greatly fluctuates from The Hobbit series to LOTR (he can vanquish the Balrog but can't hold off a couple orcs and wargs at Dol Goldur?).

Originally Posted by wilas101

Spoiler!

Here is something that was brought up to me by a buddy and I had no good answer for it. Gandalf goes into Dol Guldur and is suddenly faced with a crap load of orcs so he breaks out the magic and keeps them all at bay. Why didn't he do that shit on the cliff before eagles picked them up? It would have saved a lot of hassle with climbing trees and thorin being nearly killed, etc.

He's a magical being so I wouldn't expect his powers to be defined, I guess. He can and can't do whatever Jackson needs to advance the plot or build tension..