Hobbit: Fire of the Dragon, The

I mostly echo kellenpure. Overall there's a lot to like about this and it is certainly an improvement over the theatrical cut. That said, deeper cuts ARE needed IMO and, I'm happy to say, Ranger has provided those deeper cuts in his soon-to-be-released Into The Fire cut. That is my preferred version, but if you like the more over-the-top action, this is the one for you. I have never read The Hobbit, so I am not a "book purist," but I want these movies to work with the LotR trilogy and I'm afraid, for me, those scenes just don't fit the tone. I'm not an editor, but I didn't perceive any technical issues. Narratively, I'll stick to Into The Fire (and that one will get higher marks from me when posted), but that is merely preference and I do believe many will prefer this version. I was very happy to contribute in my small way. Great job!

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.

This was a pretty great streamlined version of The Hobbit Part Deux. I'm not as hardcore a LOTR fans as some of the other reviewers, so I don't have any nitpicks or complaints about what was and wasn't cut. All I can say is that this was much more enjoyable than the theatrical cut, it was a brisk 2 hour ride and a worthy sequel to something like Menbailee's edit of AUJ.

I very much look forward to the 90-minute Purist Cut when that's ready.

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...