I’m trying to decide if I’m excited about this movie.
Watch the trailer here, then join the discussion below. I had some surprising feelings after watching it.
The truth is, before seeing this trailer, I was! But now? As a trailer, it is lifeless. It is meant to get you excited about seeing Legolas. It tries to make the case for why Legolas and the woman elf are in the movie at all. It tries to impress by showing the dragon’s face. It gives dramatic lines with dramatic pauses. And it shows off some action.
Part of me hopes the effects are not complete, and that is why the action feels flat. The dragon and the hopping elves just don’t have much life. But this could be unfinished. I hope.
Then there’s Legolas. It is cool to see that familiar face. I like him. But the trailer oversells him. People joked that the last movie should not have been called The Hobbit, but The Dwarf Prince instead, since Bilbo was lost in the multiple story and character arcs that Thorin had. This trailer makes it look like it is The Elf Warrior. My prediction: Legolas will only be in a small portion of the movie, and that he will figure in far more heavily in the third movie. But they are using him as a selling point. Which worries me. This trailer has no focus. Will the movie?
Finally, the barrel escape. Will this be the video game segment of this movie? As perfectly timed Super Mario World platform escape from the goblins in the first one was?
And should I be embarrassed that having the tops on the barrels bothers me? Since this is going to be a big action sequence, the change seems to be required. And I defended changes in the first one. This rubs me the wrong way.
Final thought: I’m glad this trailer hit me the wrong way. I’ll have six months now where I will be expecting lifeless graphics and line readings, change for the sake of change, and Legolas. Seriously, this movie probably cannot be worse than this trailer.
I hope.
What do you think? Let us know below!
~ Ben
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