The End Is (Almost) Nigh (probably)! (poll)

I might get thrown out for standing on my seat cheering when Thorin, Kili and Fili die. OR maybe it will be the confetti I throw in the air and the party horn I blow when Tauriel dies. I'm not sure which will get me thrown out quicker...



I'm sure no matter which one it will be... It might actually be the booing and yelling, "that didn't happen in the book, what a crock!!" that does it.

Mrs Figg wrote:I remember in Bree before AUJ came out everyone was excitedly discussing every crumb of info that was coming out, from a Dwarven belt design to a set detail seen from a mile off by some nerd with megaphotonlense, everything was pored over in minute detail. those were the days when all seemed happy and hopeful. I remember happily discussing Laketown roof Tiles and Elven furniture, oh happy innocence where are you now?  

Everything changed when that bird pooped on Radagast's face and he refused to take a shower. It only got worse from there...

RA, Simple words that impact a powerful blow

Recoveryanonymous wrote:
Everything changed when that bird pooped on Radagast's face and he refused to take a shower. It only got worse from there...

When future Tolkien fans ask us what went wrong with the Hobbit production, we can answer them:

"Shit happened."

We can also say: "The Hobbit movies really shit the beard".

Someone bump this up after BOTFA comes out, I really don't see myself feeling any different...

Bump.

*Looks at calendar.*

Oops.

After watching BOTFA last night, I think this sums up my feelings well on Jackson not making any more Tolkien adaptions:



So no, I didn't get a sudden burst of nostalgia or enthusiasm for this trilogy...

You survived ? Were there sick bags on the backs of the seats, like they do on airplanes ?
Was there floor lighting so you could find the exit easily ?
Was there defibrillators in the foyer ?
Did they offer you anything free from the sweet counter ?
Extra large Popcorn & Cola ?
A lifetimes admission to a cinema of your choice ?
Did they play ambient music, turn up the heating & light Joss sticks ?
Are you still sane ?

azriel wrote:You survived ?  Were there sick bags on the backs of the seats, like they do on airplanes ?
Was there floor lighting so you could find the exit easily ?
Was there defibrillators in the foyer ?
Did they offer you anything free from the sweet counter ?
Extra large Popcorn & Cola ?
A lifetimes admission to a cinema of your choice ?
Did they play ambient music, turn up the heating & light Joss sticks ?
Are you still sane ?

I spent most of the film is a state of resigned lethargy, I doubt I'd get emotional enough to even vomit

Its ok nurse *phew* he's still with us

I've talked to 2 people who saw the film and both of them (which are not huge Tolkien fans) said it was just "ok", not great, not awsome but just ok. When I asked would they see it again the answer from both of them was no. My wife says she'll buy me the EE blueray when it comes out, because of how much I like the behind the scenes stuff.I probably wont waste my time even watching the film then. The making of stuff is the only stuff worth watching on these Hobbit films IMHO

I'm not gonna change my vote, but I'm feeling much more that I'm ready for this to be over and much less ambivalent/melancholy about it all ending that I was earlier. Part of me wishes that I had more excitement about seeing the final film (though I'm sure that when I'm sitting in the theatre and the lights are going down I'll feel excited), but just ... yeah. There are a lot of far better movies and TV shows that I actually want to see for their merits as opposed to a mixture of nostalgia and completism. So I'm glad that this is going to be done soon, although I know I'll watch the final EE in a year or so. But after that (and I might rewatch the first two EEs then, if I feel up to it) I don't see myself revisiting The Hobbit films for a long time.

Eldorion wrote: But after that (and I might rewatch the first two EEs then, if I feel up to it) I don't see myself revisiting The Hobbit films for a long time.

Except for Petty's purist edit, right?

Maybe.

wheres those Vikings when you need them? hey! they spend a thousand years getting in our hair and then when you need them to be actually in your hair they skedaddle off under a troll bidge and hide.

WHERES THOSE REVIEWS??? its only 10 years weve bin waiting.

Bump.

Well, here we are with the BOTFA EE set to be released shortly...personally I feel exactly the same as I did when I created the poll, it's been fun discussing, arguing about and/or occasionally enjoying these films for the last few years, and although I'm glad the films were made (due in part to the friendships I've made and interesting/occasionally creepy conversations I've had the pleasure of taking part in here ) overall, for me personally they were a disappointment...and I'm not particularly upset that the trilogy, and Jackson's forays in cinematic Middle Earth have come to a highly probable end...

...Though I'll certainly purchase the Ultimate Editions if/when they are released!

Question for the Forum Oldies, out of interest (I'm not sure if you touched on this in your BOFTA EE review or not Eldo), how hard did the ending/nostalgia hit you when the credits rolled?

I haven't been an active member of the fanbase for anywhere near as long as some of you, and to be honest the ending didn't hit me very hard at all...I think I lost any remaining enthusiasm for this trilogy halfway through DOS...

how hard did the ending/nostalgia hit you when the credits rolled?- Malick

Does cheering and weeping with joy that's its finally over count?

Pettytyrant101 wrote:how hard did the ending/nostalgia hit you when the credits rolled?- Malick

Does cheering and weeping with joy that's its finally over count?

Yes

As you may have noticed from my ramblings in the EE re-release thread and elsewhere, I have put a lot of thought into the whole end of an era that the release(s) of BOFA signify, and I do have a lot of conflicting emotions on the subject.  Walking out of the theatre a year ago after seeing BOFA for the first time was the most emotional moment for me, but I did have a definite sense of finality when the credits for BOFA-EE started rolling with the pencil portraits of the characters going by, ROTK-EE style.  That said, there are still a few final fannish tasks I want to complete by the end of the year, so for me the journey is not quite over yet.  But there's nothing left to watch except the final leg of my LOTR rewatch, which obviously I've seen many times before.  And I'll always be able to go back and revisit Middle-earth, same as a I have with the books since I finished them, but it won't be quite the same, and the fandom will continue to be less active.  I'm certainly grateful for the activity The Hobbit trilogy brought our community, and will miss having new Tolkien stuff to look forward to (no new significant Middle-earth books since 2007, no new movies for who knows how long).

I may have overused the phrase "end of an era" lately, but come this December I'll have spent seven years actively in organized Tolkien fandom.  Pretty much every aspect of my life has changed dramatically since then, including which sites are my main online homes, but the one constant on the fandom side has been that I was following The Hobbit and counting down to various release dates.  It will certainly be weird being part of the fandom but no longer having that.  But on the other hand, I know everything has to end eventually, and I am glad I can say I was saw it to completion.

Eldorion wrote:As you may have noticed from my ramblings in the EE re-release thread and elsewhere, I have put a lot of thought into the whole end of an era that the release(s) of BOFA signify, and I do have a lot of conflicting emotions on the subject.  

I too have conflicting emotions 'That was a dissapointment' coupled with 'At least it's over now' joking aside it does feel very odd...I can still remember the first time I watched FOTR 13+ years ago, and it's weird to think the journey is now over all these years later, I've changed, and cinema has changed alot in that time, and I don't think we will see a cinematic franchise or a gamble like LOTR with as much cultural impact for a very long time...

Walking out of the theatre a year ago after seeing BOFA for the first time was the most emotional moment for me, but I did have a definite sense of finality when the credits for BOFA-EE started rolling with the pencil portraits of the characters going by, ROTK-EE style.

No post credit scene then?

But there's nothing left to watch except the final leg of my LOTR rewatch, which obviously I've seen many times before.

I really should get around to watching the films again soon...

I'm certainly grateful for the activity The Hobbit trilogy brought our community, and will miss having new Tolkien stuff to look forward to (no new significant Middle-earth books since 2007, no new movies for who knows how long)

Forumshire will live on for a long time I think, and I'm not convinced in the slightest Warner Bros will leave this a dormant franchise for very long, it may take 5 years or 10 but I'm certain we will see new videogames, or movies with or without Jackson at the helm (and if not, I think Petty will remain significantly narked off with the existing films to give us many more conversations to come...). There's still a substantial amount of unpublished wrting by Tolkien (mostly academic, poetry or the many hundreds of unpublished letters) but whether any of it merits publication is a wholly different matter...

I may have overused the phrase "end of an era" lately, but come this December I'll have spent seven years actively in organized Tolkien fandom. Pretty much every aspect of my life has changed dramatically since then, including which sites are my main online homes, but the one constant on the fandom side has been that I was following The Hobbit and counting down to various release dates. It will certainly be weird being part of the fandom but no longer having that. But on the other hand, I know everything has to end eventually, and I am glad I can say I was saw it to completion

Agreed, it's been a long, weird and exciting journey following these films to screen, and despite the failings of the final product I'm not sure I'd change any of the experience if I could...

I'm still quite peeved whenever I think about it that the Hobbit trilogy started out poorly and then got much worse! Just the other night I was watching some tv with my dad and we came across An Unexpected Journey. It had commercials every 20 minutes or so ( ) but I watched it through to the end even after my dad went to bed. And it was extremely aggravating!

The only part I enjoyed was once Bilbo's and Gollum's conversation began (the intro with the falling ring and dying goblin is odious to me) because that was probably the only part of the entire movie that worked dramatically and emotionally! Throughout the rest of all the action sequences surrounding the Misty Mountains I was just made more and more crabbit by the terrible dialogue:
"RUN!" "Run you fools!" "Look out!" "The legends are true!"  ""FIIIGHT! Get up, FIIIIGHT!" "Gandalf! We can't fight all of them!" "Well that could have been worse." "You've got to be joking!" "Quickly!" "Through here!"

Just the most inane, terrible and pointless stuff. The only way I could stay interested was by inventing dialogue for the Dub Version. That and playing that one love song when Azog and Thorin started making love with their eyes near the end of the movie.

As for the end of an era, I'm pretty sure that the era already ended back in 2003. Well, a little later really, when the EEs were released. I like to think that The Hobbit is not part of a continuous timeline that encompasses the entire 18ish years of production and releases, but is more like the end of the 2nd age of Middle Earth. So LotR is like the first 3000 years, in which the Numenoreans first come to Middle Earth, Sauron begins to build his power, the Great Rings are forged, and epic battles take place. And then The Hobbit is kind of like the last bit when the Numenoreans got real cocky and overbearing and messed everything up, leading to the downfall of Numenor and everything being different.

Well, I guess that's still all part of the same Age. So it is the end of an era, I suppose. But hey, people probably said the same thing when Tolkien passed away without publishing more than his two main works. But then the legacy continued with his son, and we now have an entire library of Tolkien-ian books and anthologies to enjoy. I'm sure we'll get more cinematic Middle Earth. Or maybe it won't be shown in theaters, but on our computer screens instead. Who knows what the future may hold.

I redirected my attention to other things, its helping get over the abysmal pile of raw, uncooked shat that ridiculously called itself a work of Tolkiens imagination, a story that was once read to his children. It was more like a "Harry Potter " spin off ! How would that have sounded if Tolkien read to a very small Christopher....... " And the big bad Orc had his hand cut brutishly from his arm but, in its place a metal fork was pushed into the raw & bloody stump " .......Oh yeah, sleep for a fortnight after that ! Not only was the film(s) the biggest let down of the century but, that plonker Peejers & coven of deluded Harpies actually believed they had a great film on their hands ! Oh what medication are YOU on ! Im glad its over, nearly hysterically glad its all over ! for me it has sunk lower than the Titanic !