BOX OFFICE: THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY To Surpass $300M Domestically Today

Good work, Jackson. Forget the reviews. You did a great job.

Good to hear, thought the film was great

@invalensname5, Warner Brothers is an American company.

I thought it was really good. I'm frankly not sure how it compares to Fellowship for example, which probably means that it's on par.

Garbage film...

I'll take this opportunbity, because it is probably my last, to say that Skyfall just feels like a hollow retread of other Bond and Batman stories. It just feels "fake" through most of it's running time.

The opening is good, classic Bond fun. Other than the fact that we find out they are using the plot from Mission: Impossible in that a list of covert agents is being stolen. The opening credits are very well done and Adell KILLS it.

Unfortunately it's all downhill from there. Very loosey-goosey plot points that definitely border on plot holes.

Immediately after the credits we are introduced to The Dark Knight Returns. He is thought dead, he's in retirement, but doesn't feel whole. He then sees on TV that a terrorist group has attacked MI6 and he gets back into the action.

He shows up in M's office and (as we discover it is 3 months later) is pissed about "Take the bloody shot". For 3 months he has stewed on this. James Bond? If anyone knows the game it's him. So she tells him this and he's instantly ok with it, apparently because this had not occurred to him.

He fails miserably at his shooting test, and it suddenly occurs to him that maybe he should dig the lead bullet out of his shoulder that he's let fester and poison him for 3 months.

They analyze the bullet....and this somehow comes up with 3 possible people that could have fired it. Riiiiight.

Bond finds the guy immediately somehow and follows him as he sets up an assassination of some guy. We are never told who the guy is or why he is being shot. Bond waits for him to shoot the guy, and only fights him after the guy reels around to fight Bond.

Good thing the guy just happened to have a poker chip to a casino in his bag. You know, in case he was caught so the cops would know where to find his employer.

So Bond goes to cash in the chips. The teller knows it is for payment of the assassination (somehow, was it marked? They didn't show that) so they give him a big bag of money....even though they know he isn't the guy they should be paying. Wouldn't they just give him the $500 or whatever the chip was actually worth? At the very least invite him into the back to see what the [frick] happened?

So this woman shows up and starts talking to Bond, a woman who saw him kill the shooter. Does she work there? Then she quotes The World is Not Enough and says "he" is just too scary and powerful. Bond then sneaks into her shower in a weird rapey moment. Definitely don't try that at home!

Then we arrive at an island we are meant to believe was handed over to Silva because he had a computer geek tell the people on the island that a chemical plant there leaked. Yeah because that's what happens in those emergencies, everyone just leaves. There's no cleanup crew, no emergency workers, nothing. And why does the place look like it's been through WWIII if they just left?

Silva meets Bond and tells him sort of an intriguing rat story. Then he gets all gay on him. Apparently to throw him off...Bond plays gay back. Awkward.

Then we have the shooting competition where Bond is WAY off. The girl is killed and Bond's comment is that it's a waste of good scotch. Pretty cold thing to say about a woman you just came in. He then kills everyone around him with perfect aim in seconds.

SO now Silva is in the stereotypical transparent cell we've seen several times since X2, including The Avengers in theaters at the same time.

This is when we discover that that weird overbite isn't just bad makeup, that it's actually a bridge that covers up horrendous facial damage. This is when we start to realize that Silva is a Joker ripoff. He's got colored hair, flambouyant dress and a mutilated mouth. *sigh*

We also learn that the plot is now fully The World is Not Enough. M made some decision early in her career which resulted in Silva suffering, so he wants revenge. But his revenge is never clear or focused like it was in TWINE.

And of course, he wanted to get caught and put in that specific prison, but unlike TDK where Joker wanted access to Lau, there is no reason why Silva wanted to get caught. He doesn't accomplish anything by doing this. The only thing that happens is that when his computer is hooked up to their network (I don't even know why they did that), it opens the doors so he can escape. And he does this by overpowering and killing 2 heavily armed and body armored guards....offscreen. Soooooo....he broke in so he could escape? Yeah....that makes sense.

At this time, he dresses like a beat cop so he can make a public assassination attempt. You know, just like in TDK.And then he remotely sets off a bomb which distracts his pursuer so he can escape. You know, just like Joker did in TDK.

So then Bond gets the brilliant idea that to fight off Silva's army of mercenaries, he should take M way out into the boonies, WAY FAR AWAY from any help...and kill them all himself. He just calls the computer geek kid and tells him to somehow leave a trail that only Silva can follow. Okaaaaay, whatever.

So we are way out in the Scottish highlands at a big mansion sitting by itself on a lake. Nobody around for like 20 miles. Yeah that's a perfect place for a large house that needs a lot of supplies to run!

And surprise, surprise...somebody's there! Apparently he was a caretaker when Bond was a boy. Why the [frick] he's here now is anyone's guess. By the completely rundown look of the place he certainly hasn't been caretaking. How the hell did he even get there? There's no vehicle around.

So they start setting up their Nightmare on Elm Street/Home Alone booby traps when the attack helicopter and army show up, a la Schwarzenegger's Commando. Oh Bond, this is your best plan yet!

So the Bond family manor is on fire, what to do, what to do? Oh that's right, Batman Begins had a special smuggling tunnel, so it shows up again here!

Now here's the laugh-out-loud part. The director of MI6 decides the best thing to do when getting out of the tunnel...is to start waving a flashlight around! You know, to make sure the bad guys know exactly where she is! Talk about a DOH moment! I could not believe my eyes when I saw that. I thought "It must be a trap or something", but nope. They were both actually that stupid! It's not like it was pitch black out, there was a pretty big building on fire right behind them!

The hilarity continues as Bond CHOKES A GUY OUT UNDERWATER! You know, so he couldn't breath....UNDERWATER!

Then Bond kills Silva by sneaking up and chucking a knife into his back. Killed him like a cowardly bitch *shakes head*.

It's at this point when they secure the list right? You know, the thing that started this whole thing going? Nope, nobody seems to give a crap about that anymore. Screw all the agents. Some might say "Hey! He already uploaded it to Youtube!" First of all, that's how Bond villains operate? [frick]ing YOUTUBE!? Secondly, he only released the first 5 names. So the probably hundreds of names are still out there, God knows where, and the movie completely forgets about them. Did NOBODY proofread this script? Did nobody at anytime say "Question....what happened to the list?"?

And THIS is the film so many of you are saying is the best Bond film ever?

Fettastic: You raise many legitimate questions about Skyfall. I've tried asking many of the same questions about gaping plot holes in other recent movies, and was shouted down as a "hater" for daring to question the brilliance of the director and/or writer, who happen to be among the favorites of many people here.

To be on topic here, I'm glad to see The Hobbit is still in theaters and still making money. It had its faults, but it was very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the inevitable extended version coming out soon.

Saw it twice: 48fps and 2D. I'll likely see parts 2 and 3 in 2D.

"despite less than rave reviews"

Most of those reviews were utterly useless, since their main gripe (and for many - their ONLY gripe) was the 48fps that most of the world didn't even see it in.


But I won't lie. I was disappointed by this film. Solid film but doesn't hold a candle to LOTR. Not only was the source material was inferior to LOTR, but Peter Jackson also let his fanboyism get the better of him this time. Most of this film was useless fat that should've been left for the extended version. And while purists always whine about it, Peter Jackson should have made some hefty changes here to flesh the characters out a little better.

I initially supported the idea of three Hobbit films due to fanboyism of my own. But honestly, it's just gonna make for 3 solid-but-not-great films, instead of 1 or 2 epic films.

loved the movie,miles better than the 65% rotten tomatoes rating.

definitely one of the top three movies of 2012 for me.

1st life of pi
2nd looper
3rd the hobbit an unexpected journey

@ Facade I'll also only see it in 2D for the next two parts. The 48FPS Imax in 3D was weird. Jackson himself says the higher frame rate does a more realistic job of showing what the camera is filming. He's right...you realized you were actually seeing actors in costumes on a set in more clarity than anything filmed in the past 100 years. Looked fake, because you saw the fakery with ultravision. I never did get used to it. I enjoyed my 2D viewing FAR more...the 48fps pulled me out of my viewing experience again and again and again.

Movie was insane.
Loved it.

Loved the movie, and it was jaw dropping to see in 48fps.

Skyfall > Hobbit

@Shamo

Star Wars Phantom Menace (1999 + 2012 rerelease)
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (2006)
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (2011)
Transformers 3 (2011)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012, before Hobbit)


Your "zinger" was inert, considering that about half the films that have crossed the billion dollar mark received mixed to negative critical reception.

@arashini
hey, rises doesn't deserve to be there as far as we speak about quality

Jesus Warner bros is cleaning up!