After the mix of reviews the Hobbit movies received (which I enjoyed even if in some places they are terribly lore-breaking) I discovered the two movies made by the actorsatwork team: this one and the Hunt for Gollum. As a long time Tolkien fan (10+ years) and well versed in all of his works, I want to say that both movies were a joy for me to watch.
The care and dedication by which they were made is visible and I terribly love how the movies succeed in maintaining the atmosphere of Middle Earth the LOTR trilogy gave us in the first place.
Concerning Born of Hope: Was there place for improvements? There always is, no matter which franchise we're talking about, but director Kate Madison and her team made a wonderful job with the limited resources they had. The characters are well casted and well written and I enjoyed the original characters immensely, mainly Elgarain whom I consider canon and is now one of my favorite Tolkien characters alongside Beleg Cuthalion, Erendis, Luthien or Elendil let's say.
I would have liked more character development scenes, the little things that charm the audience towards liking a character... like Elgarain and Gilraen interacting more, or Evonyn having a bigger role and a few more lines, or a quiet family scene with little Aragorn, the sons of Elrond and Gilraen and Arathorn. But I am perfectly happy with the movie as it is.
I've seen complaints about the camera work or the decors that I would like to completely dismiss. Last time I checked, this is not a Hollywood funded movie, but one made by fans for fans. The small mistakes are easy to pass over and for someone who truly loves Tolkien's work and wants to see the two movies with an open mind, the way to do this is easy.
My opinion? Give it a chance, you won't regret it. Were they available to buy on solid DVD I would do it in a heartbeat. (Also what wouldn't I give for a Weta-statue of Arathorn or Elgarain in the likeliness of the LOTR ones) I have downloaded the soundtracks of both movies from the site of the team and I listen to them as often as I listen to the Howard Shore ones. The two movies as a whole are the perfect add-in to the original trilogy.
Why "the movie the fans always needed"? Because there is as much potential for fan-work as both PJ trilogies give us.
The care and dedication by which they were made is visible and I terribly love how the movies succeed in maintaining the atmosphere of Middle Earth the LOTR trilogy gave us in the first place.
Concerning Born of Hope: Was there place for improvements? There always is, no matter which franchise we're talking about, but director Kate Madison and her team made a wonderful job with the limited resources they had. The characters are well casted and well written and I enjoyed the original characters immensely, mainly Elgarain whom I consider canon and is now one of my favorite Tolkien characters alongside Beleg Cuthalion, Erendis, Luthien or Elendil let's say.
I would have liked more character development scenes, the little things that charm the audience towards liking a character... like Elgarain and Gilraen interacting more, or Evonyn having a bigger role and a few more lines, or a quiet family scene with little Aragorn, the sons of Elrond and Gilraen and Arathorn. But I am perfectly happy with the movie as it is.
I've seen complaints about the camera work or the decors that I would like to completely dismiss. Last time I checked, this is not a Hollywood funded movie, but one made by fans for fans. The small mistakes are easy to pass over and for someone who truly loves Tolkien's work and wants to see the two movies with an open mind, the way to do this is easy.
My opinion? Give it a chance, you won't regret it. Were they available to buy on solid DVD I would do it in a heartbeat. (Also what wouldn't I give for a Weta-statue of Arathorn or Elgarain in the likeliness of the LOTR ones) I have downloaded the soundtracks of both movies from the site of the team and I listen to them as often as I listen to the Howard Shore ones. The two movies as a whole are the perfect add-in to the original trilogy.
Why "the movie the fans always needed"? Because there is as much potential for fan-work as both PJ trilogies give us.