The Hobbit 3D: Review, IMAX vs Regular 3D

It's a grand movie, The Hobbit 3D. I followed The Lord of The Rings, I like it even though I'm not really a fanatic fan as I was to Harry Potter. Particular reason is because I was too young to remember the story of The Lord of The Rings. It came out when I was an elementary school student. While Harry Potter comes out at my adolescence. I barely remember the story of the trilogy. The only thing I remembered the most is the hobbit named Frodo Baggins keeping a ring, and Smeagol try to steal it and claimed the ring as"my precious". Then the characters I remembered are Gandalf, The elf (I forgot the name, portrayed by Liv Tyler), the dwarf, and the other elf. Other than that I can't hardly remember about the story and the plot.

That much is a help when I watched The Hobbit. I barely remember that Frodo got the ring from his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. And that's how the story centered in The Hobbit. It tells a story about a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. Not particularly a unique hobbit, Bilbo is told to be a homish hobbit. He loves his house, and treasured what's in it very fondly. That's why he first insisted on staying instead of going into an adventure with the dwarfs and Gandalf. But he possessed a very kind heart, not weak, but kind enough to giving help to Thorin Oakenshield, getting back his homeland the Erebor, in the Lonely Mountain from Smaug, the evil dragon. Bilbo manage to didn't kill Smeagol when he had time, not because he can't but he won't.

Stop with the spoiler, let's do the review.

There are some particular things I could get from this movie:

1. Riding a big hawk would never look as cool as this movie.

2. Why do they are not just riding the hawk to the Lonely Mountain?

3. Help will always given for those who are in danger. But first, you have to get beaten half-alive until the help is coming, although you have 13 warrior dwarfs behind you.

4.Goblins are so stupid, ugly, and disgusting.

5. Even though you fall from a really high place,, you wouldn't die, you will just get smashed with a giant goblin without getting serious injuries.

6. Smeagol really really really looks like a house elf (Dobby and Kreacher).

7. Did the elves ever get old? I mean, Lord Elrond looks exactly like he was in LOTR (Well, I really adore their make-up artists), and wait, I forgot that this was the prequel, my bad.

8. Did Galadriel changed her costume? At first she wore a grey gown, then changed into the white gown in the next frame. Picture proof:

9. I really like Killi! :D He's rather stupid, but still cute!

10. Dwarfs are sometimes violent and losing their mind, even Thorin too is a stubborn dwarf.

11. Why don't the giant hawk didn't just kill Azog? I mean, they killed the other Orcs!

12. Bilbo's sword didn't that glowy when Azog comes, but glows very well when he entered the Goblin's den.

13. Saruman is still good in this movie, so he is a good wizard before he turns into the dark side. It's a contraction though, he's a white wizard! While Gandalf is supposedly the bad one because he's gray.

14. I want that bunny! Just one, or the hedgehog! Or the tree house.

15. I FORGOT THE SONG! I FREAKIN LOVE THE SONG OF THE LONELY MOUNTAIN. Dwarfs are indeed good singers! Sorry, got excited

But overall, exclude the non-sense and the bloopers I will give 7,5/10. The visual is really outstanding. New Zealand is indeed a pretty place. I really liked the Hobbit's house. It feels homey and just beautifully designed for this movie. And the connection between LOTR and The Hobbit also can be seen. And for that, I should say that Peter Jackson is a genius. He let the movie flow. Here's the list of the casts, some of them are also starred at LOTR:

	Ian McKellen	...	Gandalf
	Martin Freeman	...	Bilbo
	Richard Armitage	...	Thorin
	Ken Stott	...	Balin
	Graham McTavish	...	Dwalin
	William Kircher	...	Bifur / Tom Troll
	James Nesbitt	...	Bofur
	Stephen Hunter	...	Bombur
	Dean O'Gorman	...	Fili
	Aidan Turner	...	Kili
	John Callen	...	Oin
	Peter Hambleton	...	Gloin / William Troll
	Jed Brophy	...	Nori
	Mark Hadlow	...	Dori / Bert Troll
	Adam Brown	...	Ori
	Ian Holm	...	Old Bilbo
	Elijah Wood	...	Frodo
	Hugo Weaving	...	Elrond
	Cate Blanchett	...	Galadriel
	Christopher Lee	...	Saruman
	Andy Serkis	...	Gollum
	Sylvester McCoy	...	Radagast
	Barry Humphries	...	Great Goblin
	Jeffrey Thomas	...	Thror
	Michael Mizrahi	...	Thrain
	Lee Pace	...	Thranduil
	Manu Bennett	...	Azog
	Conan Stevens	...	Bolg
	John Rawls	...	Yazneg
	Stephen Ure	...	Fimbul / Grinnah
	Timothy Bartlett	...	Master Worrywort
	Bret McKenzie	...	Lindir
	Kiran Shah	...	Goblin Scribe
	Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Necromancer
	Glenn Boswell	...	Dwarf Miner
	Thomas Robins	...	Young Thrain

source: IMDB

That was about the movie. And now, I'm going to talk about the differences in watching The Hobbit in IMAX and the regular 3D. As you all know, there are only one IMAX studio here in Indonesia (The one in TMII is not counted since it was not built for pleasure, but for education). And luckily I've been there for around 3 or 4 times. The tickets are just pricey. They put 100.000 IDR per ticket, or around U$10 in public holidays. But, it is worth to spent. The theater is just fabulous. The screen is really big and concave, not like any other regular theater, we can sit everywhere perfectly, but still I prefer the center row. The sound system is perfectly clear and loud and superb! And the screen is not as dark as the regular 3D. It perfectly showed the colors. It really spoiled my eyes. 

I watched the Hobbit for two times, IMAX and 3D. I've done really wrong. I should've watched the regular 3D first then the IMAX and not vice-versa. After watched it in IMAX I feel that regular 3D is too dark, the motions are too slow, and the screen is just too big (maybe because I sit too close to the screen). But yes, I can feel the different between the 100.000 IDR and below 50.000 IDR. It's true what they said, "Ada harga ada rupa". And I think that in the place that I watched the regular 3D didn't have that technology yet, they can't play a movie with 48 HFR 3D. Here's the complete explanation about 48 HFR: The Hobbit-48 HFR 3D, and this; HRF-movie.

If you haven't watch The Hobbit, watch it. You'll feel sorry if you missed it. And watch it at least in 3D, or IMAX is even better.

RB