I love how Tolkien’s dragons are wicked psychologists like Hannibal Lector. The movie captures some of that dialog, but in the book Smaug drags Bilbo taunting him that he came to steal treasure but hadn’t considered that the cost of cart transportation and security to get his treasure home would eat up all his profits. And Bilbo despairs because Smaug was exactly correct.
So Legolas is 'pounceable'? LOL. I'd sure like to see that! Orlando will need to watch his back at future public appearances with that Calypso Lady lurkng, bur at least he'll hear her fell voice on the air from a mile off ha ha.
Not gonna lie this was super enjoyable. I think Martin Freeman as an actor encompasses what we all love and want to see. Compassion, odd mannerisms, tiny details in expressions and so much more easily making anyone laugh, cry and fill all the spectrum of emotions, he is literally holding the whole trilogy on his lap tbh, what a fascinating actor to watch. Props to Cumberbatch also, easily the best voiced dragon ever on the cinema screen. They make a great duo here, very memorable.
I absolutely LOVED your reaction! The way you were mesmerized by Legolas; so funny! And your face, when Smaug The Magnificent appeared, talking to Bilbo; This hopeless tangle between horror and laughter - priceless!!! ❤❤❤ The movie was never so funny, until watching it with you. Keep up the great work. 👍
Yes, Tauriel (an original character to the films) is over 600 years old. Still a young adult by Elf standards. It's unclear what happened to her parents. Maybe they were killed by the spiders of Mirkwood; or perhaps they were slain in the same conflict that took Legolas' mother (also original to the films). Esgaroth is the Sindarin (Elvish) name for Lake-town. In the book Bilbo sees the remains of a previous Lake-town, possibly destroyed by the dragon Smaug many years ago. Yeah, Thrain had one of the Seven Rings given to the Dwarves, the one that was originally given to his ancestor Durin III. In the original story Gandalf found Thrain near death in the Necromancer's dungeons almost a century earlier; it was Thrain who gave Gandalf the map of the Lonely Mountain and the key to the Secret Door before he died. It was at that time that Gandalf learned the truth about the Necromancer, but Saruman the White rejected Gandalf's proposal to attack Dol Guldur. The wind lance was created for the movies. Peter Jackson and his team made Smaug so huge that it would have been too hard to believe that a normal-sized arrow could harm him, so the Black Arrows also had to be huge. Another of the differences between the book and the films is that Tolkien never had the Dwarves actually confront Smaug. They hid in the secret passage when the dragon emerged from the Mountain. But that would not have made for an exciting movie. Also, in the novel the Longbeard Dwarves had forgotten how to calculate the exact date of Durin's Day (though you'd think that Lord Elrond could have been helpful with that). That's not very realistic though since we would have to accept that the Dwarves couldn't figure out when the last new moon of autumn would occur. The Rings of Power takes place in the last years of the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I'm not very fond of the first season, it just doesn't feel much like Tolkien's Middle-earth to me. But your mileage might vary.
If it helps, Sauron's master, Melkor, corrupted and sowed discord within Eru Illuvatar's (God) creation in Middle Earth. The gods of Arda were to help shape the lands, oceans, forests, etc., but only Eru could create sentient life. Even the dwarven race, though formed and animated by one of the angelic, lesser gods, were given "life" by Eru. Melkor had the desire to marr and disfigure creation to his own whims and purposes. His (and later Sauron's) chaotic machinations took what was good and wholesome and turned it into rotting and diseased hellscapes like Mount Doom, Mirkwood Forest and Utumno (Melkor's First Age fortress). Melkor took many creatures and bred them into various tools of destruction. He could not create life, but he succeeded in corrupting races like elves, men, ents, etc. through cross-breeding, necromancy and sorcery as would Sauron in later ages. I like the fact that in Tolkien's world, while the various peoples, kingdoms and beasts are not without their flaws and political motivations, when it comes to good vs. evil it's easier to tell the difference between the sides. It's hard to imagine a good orc, troll or dragon as their motivations are hate, greed and destruction. On the other hand, while men, elves or dwarves tend to represent what's good in Middle Earth, they can also choose a selfish or evil path when giving in to vain ambition or the will to dominate. I think even with Sauruman in 'The Two Towers' when we see the creation of the Uruk Hai (Mordor also had variations of Uruks), they weren't all "grown in mud", but they were corrupted from existing races and bred normally in future generations. Gandalf, after he escaped Sauruman with the help of his eagle friend, mentions to Elrond that their former ally was crossing orcs with men. I assume the men that he was using were the Dunlendings that pledged fealty at some point early on. Once again, sorcery/necromancy would be needed to speed up the process. As is mentioned elsewhere, Tolkien's world was always in flux, even after publishing and well into his twilight years. Such a creative mind, it's amazing how the peoples, geography, histories of Middle Earth were being tweaked throughout his life. These works were not "projects" to be completed and shelved for him, rather they were a lifelong labor of love not only for J.R.R. Tokien but also his son, Christopher, who edited many more books from his father's personal notes and correspondence. It's wonderful, as a life-long fan, to see you getting so much enjoyment and laughter from these movies. They have their critics, but they aren't "bad" movies - unlike some of the more questionable films from more recent franchises. Thank you for your reactions.
Actually Sauron wished he was working with Smaug. It probably was one of his plans, to use him to create chaos in the north. Its the reason Gandalf helped organize this entire operation, for the dwarves to retake their home (thus rebuilding another strong dwarven kingdom for the war to come) and to kill Smaug before he gets (more) corrupted by Sauron.
Gillion didn't "mark" Smaug, he hit him and a scale of his chest flew away, so his flesh is uncovered ^^ "The first moon of winter and the last sun of autumn meet together in the sky" is the prophecy Very good reaction, love you laughing at Bilbo just breathing x) keep it up !
There’s a lot of concern to be had and plenty to say about a woman who falls in love the second she sees a man with grace and skill with a sword behead someone… and I do NOT want to hear a word of it! 😂 Legolas has stolen my heart with so much violence and grace 😂
Wood elves getting drunk is perfectly in keeping. When the dwarvers encounter them in the forest, they were barging into a revelry (that and the spider encounter are very different) When the company goes to Rivendell, the elves are singing and joking about them and partying at just about any hour of the day. When Frodo gets there and the Fellowship is forming, and when they leave Moria and get to Lothlorien, things are much more somber and stressed of course. The drinking game in "the 2Towers" didn't happen, but of course a woods elf could out-drink a dwarf. Of course Tauriel doesn't exist, but I for one didn't mind the addition. I also took their words at face value and didn't sense any of the "love triangle" that some talk about. Steven Fry is great in anything. I think that the Master and lake men would have been fair to demand to know the dwarves ' plan. Their lives were at stake, and what on earth were a dozen or so dear es going to do about it? Bilbo should have asked that before signing on. Seven armies of dwarves would provide some entertainment and snacks for the dragon, so what did Gandalf have planned? If I were running a gaming campaign, as soon as they opened the door, the dragon would get dice rolls to smell the change in air. When a dwarf enters, he'd get plusses to that roll. Smaug is the model of avaricious, jealous dragons
If you like the actor playing Kili, you should watch Poldark at some point. I also love that Bard's daughters are played by Bofur's real-life daughters.
Just my opinion, but the 'Rings of Power' have almost nothing to do with Tolkien's world. I don't know how you're handed a creative license for any portion of Tolkien's work (take your pick) and manage to NOT produce an interesting story with rich character development and mysterious plotlines .... BUT Amazon manages to absolutely miss a target the size of the moon. I absolutely blame the writers, producers & director on this one. They really whiff on the elves, or are they some disappointing version of Star Trek's Vulcan's? They absolutely butcher the "can't mess up" character of Galadriel changing her from the wise, powerfully-magical elven queen of far-sight into a brooding, rebellious, warrior-princess whose tunnel-vision dooms any plotline she's near. Elrond's not bad, but then again he's only half-elven. Eager to see dwarven women with the beautiful beards spoken of by Aragorn, Legolas and Gloin? Not in this version, but hey, creative license, right? Want dead-end plotlines, shallow characters, weak conversation and Tolkien lore from people who obviously either never read Tolkien (not even Cliff's Notes for school reports) or severely misinterprets anything Tolkien? Maybe this is something you'd be interested in. To clarify, they had actual Tolkien scholars to help guide this series .... but they got rid of them. Instead, they made a show, made some pretty scenery, weapons, make-up and used the "Middle-Earth font" for a trailer, BUT they make the rest up and it seems to have little to do with Tolkien's world, philosophy, tropes, races, anything really. I don't know how you miss the mark so badly and spend so much money for something bearing the name and look of Tolkien but nothing else, but that's exactly what Amazon did. It's not the fault of the actors (mostly), artists, photography, etc. .... it's the writers and whomever decided the back story, themes and general direction of the show (definitely wasn't a knowledgable Tolkien lover). A HUGE disappointment. You probably don't want to waste your time on this series. There's a movie project in the early stages of development. Hopefully, they will learn from Amazon's mistakes and give us Tolkien. You can spend however much money and time you want, but if it isn't based on Tolkien's work - it's not Middle Earth.
That is only true in comparison to the dragons of the First Age. Smaug would have been nothing to them. But in the Third Age, when this takes place, Smaug is considered the greatest of his race at the time. Not only because of his physical presence, but because of his tenure in Erebor. Dragons value the wealth of lesser races because to capture such wealth brings prestige. They don't need gold. Money is useless to them. But to hoard it away from those who value it, makes them mighty among their dragon peers. So, for Smaug to have sat on the largest collection of wealth in all of Middle Earth for 170 years, makes him the greatest dragon of the Third Age.
Years later, Tolkein was less keen on the "Orcs were Elves" thing, and he was going to change it. He passed away before any change was canonised. I can see why he didn't like it. Elves are the children of Eru Iluvatar (God), near immortal and have great powers.
There is no evidence that he was going to change it that I've seen. Moreover, the orcs are corrupted elves thing is in accord with the rest of Tolkiens idea, that being that evil cannot create, only corrupt. Morgoth could not create himself but only corrupt things that are extant. This goes all the way back to the music of the Ainur where Morgoth attempts to introduce dischord in to the music and he is told by Eru that even his attempts at dischord will only serve the greater purpose of Eru. Morgoth's search for the Flame Imperishable is another aspect of this same idea that evil is unable to create but only corrupt. You're idealizing elves as angelic creatures that cannot be corrupted is imposing your own views on the authors intent. Even Maiar and Valar can be turned to evil and there are examples of the same throughout Tolkien's works.
neither the elves nor the humans are an acceptable version unfortunatly , orcs are mortal , morgoth has not the power of un imortaled a species , and orcs arrived in middle earth before the 1st age , they can't be human either...it's kinda problematic...can we imagine they are made by morgoth ? like dragons were...even if he s not supposed to be able to create a form of life with conscience
Smaug is my favorite character in the trilogy. He's just such a great villain, but also well-acted and animated. Your reaction to the Legolas/Bolg fight was the funniest I've ever seen! XD And I love your reactions to Martin Freeman's mannerisms. I agree that the dwarves all giving up so easily was annoying, but that's just kinda how they are lol. Dwarves tend to have a lot of flaws as a race--ironically, more "human" than some others--which is why I love them. Also, Bilbo is always saving them in the book while the dwarves are always getting into trouble so it makes sense he's the one to figure it out in the end. p.s. the keyhole was hidden magically, they wouldn't have been able to find it no matter how much they searched.
That whole Smaug vs Dwarves fight scene is the best dragon scene I've seen on screen. I love it so much and they spent long screen time to it. What's scary is that apparently Smaug is still a teen dragon.
Rings of Power is adapted from a point in time from the given history, but it is not really canon. You arent missing anything by not seeing it, because tolkien didnt write any of it. They took a couple plot points & extrapolated (poorly)
@@amywhitter5096 Tolkien left a bunch of gaps in action throughout the Second Age, and the Amazon writers have taken advantage of this. I consider it worth watching once, even if just to acknowledge a genuine attempt at new lore by writers who unfortunately fall very short of their predecessors in New Zealand.
That´s crazy! ... and it says a lot.🙄 Well thanks for the answers. Honestly, I never read any other Tolkien book than LotR and Hobbit. I am not familiar with what happened in between the ages of Middle Earth. So I don´t miss it yet. 😉
@@amywhitter5096 Not really. Even if it had a different name and wasn't associated with middle earth, it is mindnumbingly boring. Most of the characters are extremely unlikeable. And despite its huge budget, it looks cheap, like a 90's fantasy series. Some nice scenery though, but that's it.
The 5 Armies are Men, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Wargs (wild Wolves as they are called in the Hobbit). If you count Beorn as an Army it would be called Battle of the 6 Armies 😁 That is the Thing I don't like about the Hobbit Movies - Beorn played a great Role in the Book and even saved some of the Dwarves, but in this Movie he is only seen in an extremely small Scene.
Honestly, just completely avoid Rings of Power. It deviates from Tolkien's lore at almost every step. The only thing positive about it is that some of the cgi backgrounds are very well done and the music is ok. You will learn nothing from that show that will further immerse you in Middle Earth, as everything they portray has been significantly altered from the canon. I honestly don't think it would be good for you (a relatively new Tolkien fan), or the channel to feature such a controversial and (imo) terribly written show that deviates so massively from the source material.
It is absolutely non canon. If you see Middle Earth as a Kind of alternative Fantasy History - the Rings of Power is a corrupted and false Revisonist View on it.
Rings of Power was long before The Hobbit and LOTR. I enjoyed it. The problem was that it came out the same time as House of the Dragon, so it was outshined.
Awesome reaction as always! Re: _Rings of Power,_ for me it strayed from the source too much and going to a TV budget from these movies was too much. I didn't watch much of the series, but the beginning dealt a lot with Galadriel when she was younger. Some of the ideas were interesting, but it was handled in a very hamfisted way. With such an amazing character I just couldn't. If you haven't read the books you might have a different experience. But I had to bail on it.
Esgaroth was badly portrayed. It looks like some ridiculous Byzantine inspired fantasy location. Rather than the stone and timber city one would expect from a Norse-like people.
I agree. The Elf/dwarf love story was very unfortunate. Not that Kili wasn’t handsome (for a dwarf), it was just egregious all around. Now, I liked that they added Tauriel as a new character, The Hobbit definitely needed a dash of estrogen, lol, but I would rather have seen a doomed love story between Legolas & Tauriel if they were going to do that at all. 🤷♀️
These pathetic Hobbit movies are such sad grifts profiting off the marvelous LOTR trilogy… I am only here because Your reactions are so much more entertaining than the movies themselves !
I dont know what they were thinking with this Master of Laketown and hus little Alfrid. It doesnt fit Middle earth at all. These Hobbit films have a lot of issues. The Rankin Bass version is better.
Rings of Power is badly written, characters are completely stupid and act completely the reverse of what they should (Galadriel goes from ethereal to revengeful and angry Joan of Arc stereotype). Dialogues make no sense and can't capture the essence of what Tolkien has written because he never wrote that part of the story, at least not in the details. They confused several eras together. Not recommanded. A waste of potential and money.
