Review Detail
9.6 2 10
(Updated: November 29, 2021)
Overall rating
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
8.0
Most of the cuts Q2 made here are pretty self-explanatory (just check out the Changes tab!) and so I’m not sure anyone really needs (or wants) a super in depth analysis of each one, because there simply aren’t very many. That’s not a bad thing! It was clear to me right from the get-go that Q2 very much enjoyed the original films, and being very light with the knife is simply a testament to that fact. A fact I can absolutely respect! Hobbit editing is a subjective art, and not everyone likes or dislikes the same things. If we did, there wouldn’t be 36 Hobbit edits on this site!
If you want to watch the first Hobbit movie in a way that retains 90% of its original structure (and is in 4k!) you should look no further. This edit is extremely light, as stated by Q2; they carefully (and perfectly) trim out some of the most egregious examples of Peter Jackson's (or probably the studios, more likely) desire to cram as much Jar Jar Binks into the Hobbit as they could.
I only have 2 gripes with this edit (outside of personal preferences with this scene or that, most of which I feel are irrelevant here) I personally LOVE the 4k treatment they gave LotR, but I think The Hobbit looks a bit weird with it. Your edit is the first one that I know of that’s in 4k, and I wish you had thrown done some sort of desaturation to it. A lot of people did that with the blu-ray versions, and while I didn’t necessarily feel it needed it then, I feel it really needed it here.
My only other gripe was cutting out half of Blunt the Knives; it felt a bit weird/off for me. I personally like the song, but I feel like your edit would have flowed better if it was completely removed.
Outside of those 2 small things, everything was perfect. All the cuts and transitions were done well, none of them jumped out at me and made me go “oof.” This edit was similar in quality to the originals, but with like a 20-25% boost to enjoyment, so I recommend it to people who want a SLIGHTLY different version than the one Peter Jackson provided. I personally have never really enjoyed all the Azog and the Dor Guldur that they gave us, so my scoring reflects that.
If you want to watch the first Hobbit movie in a way that retains 90% of its original structure (and is in 4k!) you should look no further. This edit is extremely light, as stated by Q2; they carefully (and perfectly) trim out some of the most egregious examples of Peter Jackson's (or probably the studios, more likely) desire to cram as much Jar Jar Binks into the Hobbit as they could.
I only have 2 gripes with this edit (outside of personal preferences with this scene or that, most of which I feel are irrelevant here) I personally LOVE the 4k treatment they gave LotR, but I think The Hobbit looks a bit weird with it. Your edit is the first one that I know of that’s in 4k, and I wish you had thrown done some sort of desaturation to it. A lot of people did that with the blu-ray versions, and while I didn’t necessarily feel it needed it then, I feel it really needed it here.
My only other gripe was cutting out half of Blunt the Knives; it felt a bit weird/off for me. I personally like the song, but I feel like your edit would have flowed better if it was completely removed.
Outside of those 2 small things, everything was perfect. All the cuts and transitions were done well, none of them jumped out at me and made me go “oof.” This edit was similar in quality to the originals, but with like a 20-25% boost to enjoyment, so I recommend it to people who want a SLIGHTLY different version than the one Peter Jackson provided. I personally have never really enjoyed all the Azog and the Dor Guldur that they gave us, so my scoring reflects that.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
S