Reviews

Too many reviewers on here are missing the point. If you want to watch the Death Note anime again, then go watch the Death Note anime again. This is an entire 40-something episode anime condensed into about an hour and a half live-action movie, so of course there are going to be a lot of changes. Light is not as smart as he was in the original, the setting is Seattle instead of Japan, and many other elements are changed or completely removed. There's no scenes where Light is held captive by the police to see if he's Kira. He never passes on the Death Note to lose his memory. L doesn't die, and neither does Light's father. L also seems much more energetic and emotional than in the anime. I could go on, there are many more changes that greatly affect the story.

Instead of watching this movie expecting it to be exactly the same in every way, try watching it on its own merit as a movie. Forget what you know about Death Note, since most things are changed.

This movie was well-made, and the acting is at least decent, even if it's not quite Hollywood blockbuster quality. Willem Defoe was fantastic as Ryuk, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought he would be great as Ryuk when watching the original anime before this casting was even announced. The actor who played L was very good as well. The score felt like a movie from the 1980's, full of synthesized beats that made the action scenes feel fast and frantic.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the live-action Death Note. I find it nearly impossible to compare it to the anime, since they're so completely different both in style and substance. But if you're a fan of the original and can watch it for its own merit rather than expecting more of the same, then you may be surprised.

For people who have not read the book: 6 stars (OK, not great) For those who have read the book: 1 star (awful)

This movie was, to put it bluntly, meh.

First of all, I'm a die-hard Tolkien fan. I've read the Lord of the Rings series several times, and the Hobbit several more. I've read the Silmarillion, and even some of Tolkien's non-canonical works that were published posthumously by his son. To me, the Lord of the Rings movie series were almost perfect. Although they deviated from the plot in (mostly) minor ways, they portrayed the spirit of the books exceedingly well, and had amazing special effects and great actors/actresses.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was very good as well. It annoyed me a bit that they added the white orc and some other (seemingly) minor details, but it's Hollywood and they have the right to take certain liberties.

However, the Desolation of Smaug was ridiculous. It's pretty good as a movie, and I'm sure people who haven't read the books will enjoy it. However, if you know anything at all about the original story, you'll know that this is not it. The vast majority of the movie had absolutely nothing to do with the book. At the very beginning, the company arrives at Beorn's house. Beorn was one of my favorite characters in the book, but I couldn't help hating him in the movie. Later, the company escapes from the elves in barrels. There was no fight in the book, but the movie takes a solid ten minutes or more as we watch Bombur bounce along the shore, killing orcs every time he lands, while Legolas, a female elf (I forget her name) and the rest of the dwarfs fight against orcs sent to kill the dwarfs. Arriving in Lake Town, the dwarfs are once again attacked by orcs who invade the city while Kili almost dies from a poisoned arrow wound. Eventually Thorin and company leave for the mountain, leaving four of the dwarfs behind in Lake Town. After Bilbo sneaks into the mountain, the dwarfs actually fight Smaug.

None of these things happened in the book, though they are a large majority of the movie. Many of the fights seem completely over the top and unrealistic, even for a fantasy movie. There is a strange romance going on with Kili and the elf lady, which seems to be just thrown in, in hopes of attracting more of the sentimental audience. The fight with Smaug never happened, and even the scene with the spiders was completely different from the book. They also left out several important parts from the book, and very little of the original plot remains.

All in all, it seemed like the movie was just haphazardly thrown together with no thought for the story or for any sort of continuity. It's as if the producers just thought "yes, we're making a movie about the Hobbit, but Tolkien didn't know what he was doing, we can write something SOOO much BETTER!!!" and then failed miserably. It would have been a ten-star movie if they had simply stuck to the plot of the book. It also appears as if they really just wanted to show off their fantastic special effects in whatever way possible, so they added a ton of random unnecessary fights, including a massive battle between Smaug and the dwarfs. Or rather, between Smaug and 9 of the dwarfs, since they left four behind. This is completely out of character, and it makes Thorin out to be a much more selfish and uncaring person than he is. The only redeeming factor in this movie is Bilbo. Martin Freeman does an excellent job portraying this little Hobbit who is slowly finding his courage.

The only explanation I can think of is that the directors and producers wanted to make this movie a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit is not a prequel, it is an almost completely unrelated story. But I'm sure they thought they could make more money from a prequel for fans who haven't read the books and wouldn't know any better.

Do yourself a favor: read the book. This movie is OK if you don't compare it to the book, but it's not great. And when compared to Tolkien's work, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug looks like a mockery. I hope they do better on the next one, but I am quickly losing my faith in this trilogy. As an avid Tolkien fan, I was severely disappointed.