Hobbit: Fire of the Dragon, The

I have just finished watching this edit, and I must say I am very impressed.

The audio and video quality is very good, encoding is very smooth, no stutter or jerkiness any where. The audio volume is slightly on the low side but it still crisp an clear.

Visual editing is excellent, all cuts, transitions and blends are smooth.


Audio editing is good, no volume change between scenes, nothing out of sync.

Narrative - I think this is the best part of the edit. It is well paced, and the story flows seamlessly.
For any one who has not seen the original film and read the book, this would be a complete and highly entertaining film, for Tolkien diehard fans like myself, we would probably like to cut out some more and see the purist edit; however having said that, it should not detract from the quality of this edit, Kudos to ranger :-)

Enjoyment: I gave this edit a 10 for a very simple reason, I enjoyed it much more than the theatrical cut, simple as that ;-)

I highly recommend this edit for any one looking to spend two hours with a very good movie.

The disorienting introduction to the Hobbit part 2 is still present. Although I don't know how you could explain how our heroes got from the relative safety at the end of the Hobbit part 1 to the dangerous beginning of the Hobbit part 2.

The edits at the end of the film, namely the chase sequence in the Lonely Mountain and Laketown where welcome. They moved the story along at a far superior pace to the theatrical cut. The editing of the chase scene in the Lonely Mountain left me a bit spatially confused. I found it difficult to figure out where the other characters where that where off screen but obviously still running about. This was not a problem with the Theatrical cut of the film and possibly the reason for the unwanted extended chase scenes.

The only problem I had with the Laketown sequence being cut was I don't think you cut enough. At one point the action jumps from the chase in the Lonely Mountain back to Laketown. We get a scene with Bard's daughter saying something and Bard grabs his arrow from the ceiling of his home. Then the action jumps back to the Lonely Mountain chase.

As Smaug never actually reaches the town that scene could have been removed. Cutting that scene may have caused more continuity problems in editing than it was worth however. Regardless, it was a bit jarring going from the well paced action sequence of the Dragon chase to a man grabbing his arrow then back to the chase.

Overall this cut was better experience and I am happy that I had an opportunity to view it.

I loved Desolation of Smaug when I saw it in theaters. It felt more like a Lord of the Rings film than its predecessor did. I've read The Hobbit, but I didn't mind the additions Jackson made to the film, and for the most part, the film didn't really drag that much. However, as was the case with edits of Unexpected Journey, I never really noticed (or cared, take your pick) how bloated the film was until watching Ranger's cut.

Ranger skillfully cuts away the extra fat of the film without sacrificing any of the core story of the film. That's right, a little over 40 minutes cut and nothing truly important was left out. That being said, leaving out four of the dwarves staying behind in Laketown and the love triangle means that this version of the film probably won't mesh perfectly with the theatrical version of Battle of the Five Armies. Ranger has said that he intends to edit the entire trilogy, so there is certainly that to look forward to.

As a film on its own, though, this is a great edit and I can't find a reason to not recommend it to anybody. Keep up the good work, Ranger. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work. We all are!

After seeing Desolation in both 2D/3D and much lamentation, I could not heartily recommend it to any but the most devoted of Tolkien fans. The excessive use of green screen, extended drivel of a love interest and meandering motives of Thorin left me wanting. Smaug, while a lengthy portion of the tail end of the film, added some respite from the failure to tighten the script.

ranger's edit does precisely what I hoped it would do. I nearly forget the parts that were cut, helping maintain a good pace, while not overexposing some of the later mysteries. Many edits trim too much, leaving holes in your narrative that are filled by past viewings. My wife watched this cut after a single viewing of theatrical Desolation and enjoyed it far more than the original without being able to explain why. That's a high water mark for me. Helping to focus the viewer on the key story elements brought out more of the magic of Bard and the Master, which I was a bit too tired to enjoy after the first hour of orc-riding elves and pointless love connections.

Again, bravo. Looking forward to your next edit.

This is a wonderful first release by a very promising new editor at fanedit.org.

Ranger613 has carefully and skilfully removed many of the elements that weighed down the second Hobbit movie, while being careful not to overcut. This doesn't feel like a fanedit, it feels like an official release. The audio transitions are smooth, the visual cutting is well paced and the sense of narrative is strong.

For some, there are elements in this cut that will frustrate - for example, the excess of the barrels chase and the dwarves vs Smaug scenes remain intact. But those elements aside, this is a much stronger cut than the theatrical version, and gives me everything I look for in a fanedit - Namely, great technical prowess, attention to detail, thoughtful narrative work and nothing distracting that makes me think, "Oh, that's right, this is a fanedit...".

Well done ranger! I will be watching your career with great interest...