SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Theo Robertson This is a short film written and directed by Chris Bouchard that cost £3,000 to produce which begs the question how does the average Hollywood cost thousands upon thousands of times thus ? Okay it's an amateur film with a run time of 38 minutes but even so if it was three times longer this would mean it would cost £9,000 . There's shockingly good about a bunch of amateurs getting together to make something so impressive or the other school of thought is it's absolutely disgraceful that Hollywood productions are so expensive in comparison and seems to illustrate how over paid a great number of people are over at the LA dream factory . The technical merits of THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM are every bit as impressive as those seen in the Jackson movies Of course there's a serious fly in the ointment and that is if you're having a film with Aragorn and Gandalf , even if it's a fan made non profit film for the internet then it's going to be a major disappointment if you can't get Viggo Mortensen or Ian McKellen in the roles . Aragorn and Gandalf aren't James Bond or the Doctor from DOCTOR WHO and no offence to Adrian Webster or Patrick O'Connor but they're not in the same league and you're fully conscious that Aragorn is played by an entirely different actor from the Jackson movies . Likewise there seems to be a contrived element that the audience don't get to see Gollum fully until the end of the film since he spends much of the story bundled inside a sack and one suspects his one full appearance at the end is courtesy of a clip from Wingnut Films Not to be too scathing and cynical THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM shows what can be achieved on an absolute shoestring budget and the entire look of the film totally convinces it was shot on location in Middle Earth . I'll repeat it again - what have Hollywood producers been spending their money on if a small fan made film like this that puts Hollywood to shame ?

carl_patten I was immediately surprised by the quality of the production in this film. The detail in the finished production on such a miniscule budget is fantastic and an inspiration to amateur film makers out there. The sets and location choices are extremely well selected, and the top notch costumes does this film a lot of favours. The 3D digital visualisations were on the whole well composed and complimented the scenes well. I found there to be a good balance between digital and on-site shots as its easy to make the digital aspect too adventurous or severely underwhelming.The acting on the whole was largely very good despite the obvious comparisons that are going to be made against the trilogy's actors. Strider's portrayal was strong, and reflected the quieter, withdrawn Aragorn from The Fellowship of the Ring almost perfectly (I just wish he didn't have Elijah/Frodos eyes).The choreography of the fight scenes was one thing that really made me smile in this film. At the build up to the fights I thought this may be an area that would let the film down but I couldn't have been any more wrong. I truly felt the choreography was up there with that of Peter Jackson's productions and the acting of some of the orcs may even surpass some of those in the trilogy.One area i do feel that did let the film down was the plot. Having been so strong in every other aspect of the film, the film did not really take off. I had expected some sort of twist or glimpse of originality in the story but none came which was a shame as the quality of the film continuously raised my expectations with the passing of scenes but was very predictable throughout. Had as much thought gone into the plot as the rest of the film this would be a definite 10/10. I would however recommend watching this film for its production quality and shows that low budget films can be produced to outstanding levels with sufficient thought and care.Tolkien would be proud.

tooltoter I was skeptical of this film at first, fearing that a LOTR wannabe had gotten hold of a camera and had put together a less-than-stellar movie with a title that would rope in many fans of the classic trilogy. Upon reading a few reviews that lauded the film, despite its meager budget, I decided to watch it. I was not disappointed. In fact, I was very impressed. I thought the story was well-written (duh, it was written by J.R.R. Tolkien), the cinematography was excellent, the make-up authentic, and the acting very plausible. The film was worth every minute of my time. The special effects crew did an outstanding job. And the score was something that would have made Howard Shore proud. Hats off to the entire cast and crew.

white_phoenix-2 This was awesome. I've seen movies with a budget of millions of dollars and they are many many levels under this production. This was made for 3k dollars! Just imagine what can do these enthusiasts with a budget of 300k dollars or 3 000,000,000 :). I really hope someone to invest money in project like this ( lord of the rings ) with these "fans" who are in my opinion on professional level. It would be awesome! I am sure that all fans of Lord of the rings expect a new movie of J.R.R. Talking's books and I wonder why it is not made already 6 years :).I really hope that soon we 'll watch the next full movie with these guys and a bigger budget , with more CG and actors. P.S. Sorry for my bad English