THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES Review: The story of Bilbo Baggins comes to an end with The Battle of the Five Armies (originally titled There and Back Again, a more meaningful title). Although the book was initially going to be adapted into two films, taking parts from the appendices, a third film was also planned. While I was fine with there being two films, making three movies that run for about two and a half hours out of a 300 page book was a stretch. While they werent anywhere near the level of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the previous two films, An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug, served as good films that respected the spirit of their successors. Because of my skepticism towards the third, I wasnt so sure about the third installment. But in the end, it was a satisfying conclusion, even if it doesnt have the impact that The Return of the King had. The film opens right where The Desolation of Smaug left off with Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) flying ominously towards Lake Town, intending to decimate it. While most of the town was destroyed, the tyrannical dragon was eventually brought down by Bard (Luke Evans). But theres no time for celebration. After taking back Erebor, in his search for the Arkenstone, Thorin (Richard Armitage) has begun to descend into madness, and goes back on his promises to the people of Lake Town. Along with Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his dwarf companions, his stubbornness also leads to conflict with the elves and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is unable to help. Meanwhile, the orcs are gathering against them, leading to an all out war. The slow pacing, one of the weaknesses of the previous films, is not an issue this time around. Being the most action-packed of the three films, The Battle of the Five Armies goes at a brisk pace. The first half deals is the set-up for the conflict to come, the second has the epic battle and the resolutions. On a technical level, the movie for the most part was good. While the CGI is overused, theres comfort in that there are no cartoonish looking goblins. The attack on Lake Town as Smaug sets it ablaze is visually impressive and makes for a great opening scene. Smaug is still the most visually realized dragon ever on screen (only closely matched by Daenerys Targaryens dragons). However, those expecting a lot of scenes with him like in the previous film will be disappointed, as he is only around for the first ten minutes. But the centerpiece of the film is, of course, the battle between men, dwarves, elves and orcs. While the battle itself is impressive, its not quite up to The Battle of Helms Deep and Pelennor Fields/Minas Tirith. Those two battles were very well realized through the use of practical effects and people in costumes and makeup. The same thing can be said about the Battle of Blackwater and Castle Black from Game of Thrones, which had a more restrained budget. Here, Peter Jackson uses more CGI, and not to great effect. While its not terribly done, it would have been much more authentic if Jackson had approached it the same way he did in his previous trilogy. The actors do pretty well. Martin Freeman has done really well as Bilbo, effectively transitioning from a carefree hobbit into a selfless hero. While he didnt have as much to do, Ian McKellen has always been good as Gandalf. Richard Armitage has the most character development out the characters in this film, as he becomes selfish but comes to see his errors and redeem himself. Luke Evans is effective as Bard as he tries to do what is best for his people. The only actor I didnt really like was Ryan Gage as Alfrid, who only served as a cowardly parasite. The rest of the cast, which includes Orlando I punched Justin Bieber Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, the dwarves and a cameo from Ian Holm as an elderly Bilbo, are effective in their roles. The Hobbit movies will never be looked at as equals to The Lord of the Rings. But when considered in hindsight, that was never going to happen. Expectations just got too high, so a comparison is a little unfair. The best thing that these films could do is respect the original trilogy, and they have done precisely that. This is the end of the line for Middle Earth, and it went out in a satisfying fashion. The time of this fantasy world is over, and shall now step aside next Christmas for a galaxy far, far away. RATING: 8/10
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:07:22 +0000
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