LibriumArcana.Games

First off we have the added characters that did not appear in the Hobbit book proper. Azog and Radagast the brown wizard. We also have Sarumon and Gladerial putting in appearances in Rivendell with Elrond. But let me discuss Azog and Radagast and their roles in the movie.

Azog is the great white ork (literally) he and Thorin threw down at the gates of Moria after he murdered Thorin's dad. Thorin didn't take it very well and unleashed a torrent of dwarven crazy hacking off Azog's arm. The great thing about this? They don't tell us this, they show us this. This is covered in the Return of the King Appendix although there are some changes (Azog in the books was killed at the gates of Moria). So what's Azog role? He's Captain Ahab and Thorin is moby dick (amusing role reversal earns the movie 1 extra credit point). Thorin beat him in battle using an axe and a chunk of oak, he took his arm and left Azog to die! Throughout this movie Azog is hunting Thorin and makes the difficulties and conflict more personal and in some ways more intense. This isn't some random Ork/Dwarf violence spawned by racial hatred, it's something driven by the personal vendetta between two characters (... and racial hatred). Azog is also well done and most importantly not overused (he's an ork and frankly not a deep or complex character but he doesn't have to be, some people are just simple). I look forward to seeing what Jackson does with him in the next movie.

I wish I could say that about Radagast, his scenes (rabbit sled) jerk you out of the movie and force also whiplash inducing changes in the tone. The character design was frankly taken to far in the wrong dimension. Radagast is suppose to be like Gandalf and Sarumon, WHICH MEANS HE'S A BLOODY ARCHANGEL NOT A SIMPERING MORON! We don't get much of a grip on Radagast and while I think he was suppose to be funny, I didn't find myself laughing like I did at the scenes with the dwarves in Biblo's home. He's easily the character I dislike the most and the weakest part of the movie. Which is a shame because he's a led into the the bigger plot. I hope now that he's done that, he goes away. Back to your hedgehogs you hedgewizard!

Second off we have the expansion of the book characters, although most of the dwarves aren't developed as individuals, Thorin gets some heavy duty character expansion. They show us a dwarf who takes his duty as leader of his people seriously. Who will literally throw himself into danger to protect those in his charge. Even ones like Biblo who aren't dwarves, who he doesn't know and frankly throughout most of this movie shows that he doesn't even like Biblo that much. For all he says that he won't be held responsible for Biblo's fate... Thorin puts himself on the line more then once to keep Biblo alive and whole. Thorin's nobler and better qualities are on full display in this movie. As are some of his worse ones. He is constantly suspicious of others, he hold grudges against all elves for the actions of one elf kingdom. He's prideful and disdainful of people who don't measure up to his standards (Hey, Lucas? This is what Anakin should have been!). Frankly, this Thorin is well done and you find yourself rooting for the dwarf.

The dwarves as a group... Alot of effort is make to make them as least semi-distinct but even then expect for about 4 or 5 of them, they blur together for me. Their motivations as a group are well done in the movie as are their feelings about this quest. Some could read the book and come away with the feeling that it was only revenge and gold lust that prompted the dwarves on their somewhat lunatic trek across miles of ork infested wilderness to fight a fucking dragon with only 13 troops and a hobbit adventurers. The movie without hitting you over the head with it, makes it clear that there's more going on here (although there's revenge and gold lust to, they are dwarves after all). They have no home. They have been reduced to little remarked tatter of a great and glorious culture that made art, science and trade across the north of middle earth. They are constantly roaming with no safety, no surety and nothing to call their own that they cannot carry. This isn't just about getting back at a giant lizard for killing some of their family and friends. This isn't just about getting their grubby hands on the biggest pile of gold on the planet. This is about reclaiming a home, about retaking their past and reclaiming that corner of the world that is theirs by right! And they be damned if they let anyone, be it wizard, elf, ork or dragon stop them from doing so!

You also get to see Biblo grow into his role as an adventurer and thief. From his actions in the Troll dust up and beyond. This Biblo is alot more reluctant and homesick, but it's because of his homesickness that he decides to hobbit up and throw all in with the dwarves. This is a very modern take on Biblo, which stems I think from our need to crawl into everyone's skull and figure out why they do something so insane as to go pick a fight with a fucking dragon. I don't oppose this however. This is after all for a modern audience.

Let me talk about Gladerial and Saruman real quick. They show up in Rivendell and have a meeting that some are gonna find confusing. But it boils down to this. Radagast has found out that Sauron may have returned as the Necronmancer, a being who can call forth the dead (hey, Aragon can do that... Does that make him a necronmancer to?). Sarumon being a dick discounts this because Radagast is a hippie moron (to be fair, Sarumon does have a point) Gladerial runs interference with Gandalf (we also seriously see that Gandalf is her favorite. I mean like completely her favorite. No wonder Saruman is annoyed.).

Until we get to Goblintown.

More specifically, the Goblin King. I loved the visuals of the entire place, and how they differentiated the Goblin King from everyone else, but I feel they played him up, and his death, to much for laughs.

The Goblin King was immensely well spoken for a Orc/Goblinoid, even better spoken than the Dwarves I found. And his death? That was just slapstick. While I did laugh, I almost wished they had taken that slightly less "has to be funny" and a little more to the "kinda serious danger here" bit.

Gandalf's reason for supporting this venture: Smaug. Alive, Smaug would be a weapon of Terror for Sauron. The White City, Rivendell, even Lorien would all have fallen to DragonFire.

Why the Dwarves want Erebor back: In the book, it seemed very greedy. Just the Gold. In this movie, there's so much more to it. A homeland. A place to belong, something they've not had in decades. Also, Thorin is more of a leader by actions, not just by lineage.

Sarumon the White, at the council. Now just why is he scoffing at the Necromancer? Why so adamant it's merely an (upstart) human? Even when shown the WitchKing's own blade? Yeah, you're already falling, aren't you Sauron Multi-hued.

The Ring.
Oh, it chose to break free. It felt Bilbo nearby and knew It had a way outta the underground, and It took it. It sprang onto Bilbo's finger at *just* the right moment to keep him alive and able to escape; just as 60yrs later, the Ring will reveal Frodo to the spies in Bree. The Ring holds most of Sauron's power, but also just enough awareness to find a way back. We know it never gets back to Sauron, but if the Ring had been found by anyone else...

Once he realized that the massive death in Mirkwood was the result of witchcraft, he slipped into Archangel mode and ressurected a dead hedgehog, and frightened off giant spiders in the same move. He then proceeded to head to that scary old fortress, wherein he annihilated the spectral Witch King of Angmar, then ran the fuck away in a rabbit sleigh to find Gandalf and leads wargs on a merry chase (which was too drawn out IMHO). He also arranges Galdalf's moth-mediated liaison with giant eagles--though that is not present in the film, it is implied pretty well.

We see an ill hedgehog go still and then move a minute later after being fed a potion and a spell is chanted. Their is no "archangel mode" and there is certainly no evidence of death and resurrection. That's magical CPR and healing, not raising the dead. There is no evidence that he was involved with the moth and the eagles, although that's at least plausible. You reach past the likely and supportable evidence for healing and sharing magic to full on resurrection secret salvation. And then you state something which you know to be categorically untrue.

And now the spirit. Is it the Witch King? It might be, or it might be a spirit associated with him. If it is the Witch King, the Nazgul are almost totally powerless without a physical body so defeating it isn't a big deal. Annihilated? Possibly, but maybe just repelled. And if it was the Witch King, he definitely wasn't annihilated because the Nazgul are all still around in Lord of the Rings. In fact the one thing we can absolutely state is that Witch King was not annihilated.