Has anyone else seen this yet? I took the train to see it yesterday. Loved it!
Public service announcement (or spoiler, take your pick): If you have serious spider issues, you might want to miss the first maybe 15 minutes or so of the movie. Take your bathroom break then or stand in line for popcorn. Creature animation for this film is fantastic (more about that later), and these arachnids are BIG and NASTY. Not just when you're sitting down in front, either. By the way, I watched this in regular 2-D.
Some of the animation - I'm assuming it is animation because I can't image stuntmen being able to do it or being put at risk to do it - does seem a bit much at times, but not totally distracting. I'm assuming that people who play video games on a regular basis would be expecting this and would probably like it.
Loved Martin Freeman as always. It was interesting to see how the evil inherent in The Ring is already beginning to take a toll on Bilbo. One scene in particular makes you go "Whoa, what happened to the sweet, gentle Hobbit from part 1?" You know why, but still. I'd put it on a par or more with what Watson does at the end of "A Study in Pink." The other thing that I noticed is how much synergy there is between John Watson and Bilbo. Bilbo dealing with Thorin, in particular, and sometimes with Smaug reminds me of John dealing with Sherlock when he's in that snide, "What must it be like to have a simple brain?" mode.
Is it a spoiler to say "OMG, the dragon!"? That is the really outstanding animation! The first you see of him is just an eye opening (which fits in with Sauron being the evil, all-seeing eye). Then he works his way out from under his hoard and he's HUGE. That's been done before in old time creature features, but it still works. He's slinky and sneaky and wait until you see what he looks like after the dwarves try to kill him. You'll know what I mean when you see it. If those were old-fashioned animation cells, then they'd be worth serious money as art. I'd love to get a cross-stitch kit to recreate it as a picture suitable for framing. Benedict Cumberbatch voices the dragon, but his voice is electronically distorted enough that except for certain words and phrases, I don't think I would have made the connection if I didn't know it going in. Your milage may vary. Seriously, if all I'd seen of the movie was the part with Smaug, I would have considered it worth the price of the ticket (and the train, too). This is the part I wish I could see in 3-D (but with my vision that doesn't work for me). Already looking forward to part III because the dragon will be back and I'm guessing the amination will be even more spectacular when he's flying and in attack mode.
Tolkein's Christian themes of "help your neighbor" or maybe "treat your neighbor the way you want to be treated" and "don't be greedy" seem to begin here. I can only assume that they'll be a major focus of part III.