I missed this at the cinema and whilst the same grandeur and spectacle cannot be translated quite the same to the small screen it was still epic. Starting off very slowly following an introduction explaining the origin of their adventure, the story doesn't leave Bilbo's Hobbit-hole until we're 40 minutes into the film. Whilst this helps to develop the dwarves as characters, the sense that a little bit too much has been included resulting in a bloated runtime just shy of 2 hours and 45 minutes (especially when several plot lines included don't even feature in the book... You can see why they've split it into three films now). However once the story really gets going, it's a pretty spectacular adventure - especially the last hour which features the brilliant riddles showdown between Bilbo and everyone's favourite Gollum! It may have it's flaws, then again so did The Lord of the Rings films at points, but you get the feeling that this is only the beginning of what has the potential to be a great trilogy.
4/5
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Watching this with no expectations whatsoever is probably the best way to go into this film, I did and found myself pleasantly surprised. Whilst the script is unmistakably cliched and predictable you can't help but be charmed - largely due to the fact that that the cast of veteran actors (especially Dame Judi Dench, as ever) make you care about their characters that might otherwise have been insipid. It may well be one grand postcard from India, but it's a beautiful one thanks to some stunning cinematography. Someone please take me to India!
3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment