THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES review by Mark Walters

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES review by Mark Walters
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Peter Jackson’s final installment of THE HOBBIT trilogy hits theaters this week, and in many ways is a fitting end to the epic film series… but now that it’s all said and done, was all the effort worth it? Will fans be happy with the way things wrap up? The first two movies garnered mixed feedback from audiences, and we’ve never shied away from our feelings on them – I found the first one to be a bit boring, and the second on felt like one long commercial for the third. One of the most common gripes is the unnecessary splitting up of the story into three films, and THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES may just be the proving phase of that sentiment for this overlong trilogy.

Picking up immediately where the last film left off, the story begins with the evil dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) descending on the helpless villagers of Laketown. Bard (Luke Evans) sits in a prison, watching as the town runs in desperation while the flying monster fries their homes. The Master of Laketown (Stephen Fry) flees with the town fortune assisted by the slimy Alfrid (Ryan Gage), and Tauriel the Elf (Evangeline Lilly) helps the injured dwarves find shelter as well. Bard eventually escapes and slays the dragon in dramatic fashion, which leads into the film’s title. It’s almost like watching an exciting pre-credit sequence from a James Bond movie, knowing the big stuff is still ahead. The first post-title hour or so of the film revolves around dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), who has claimed Smaug’s newly abandoned castle and it’s wealth of gold, and has become mad with power. His fellow warriors watch helplessly as their ruler obsesses over a missing jewel called the Arkenstone, which is being hidden away by Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman).

Outside of the castle, the Laketown survivors arrive in an abandoned city near Thorin’s castle, and are soon visited by the elf army led by Thranduil (Lee Pace). He provides the displaced folk with food and drink, but it’s soon revealed he intends to invade the castle to recover some sacred elf gems. Bard wishes for Thorin to help the poor villagers of Laketown, but both he and Thranduil soon realize Thorin is not himself. And as if this wasn’t enough, Azog (Manu Bennett) is leading his Orc army their way with intentions of attacking. The entire movie is leading up to a 45 minute battle between five armies, just as the title would indicate, and will resolve all the plot threads we’ve had to keep up with from the first two films.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES is a movie that will be lost on just about anyone who hasn’t seen the previous installments. Hollywood usually attempts to make sequels so that they can stand on their own, in the event an audience member hasn’t seen the previous outing… this is not that. The film also expects the audience to remember the previous events well, as there’s little to no recapping of what came before this outing. Bilbo still has the ring of power he found, which does come into play a bit here, but isn’t elaborated on to explain the full scope of its power. It’s also interesting how each Hobbit movie focuses on a different central character – the first is Bilbo’s movie, the second highlights Bard, and this is definitely Thorin’s story. While the concept of Thorin’s descent into madness with his new found fortune isn’t boring, we’ve kind of seen it all before, and done better in THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Richard Armitage takes center stage here, and plays it quite well, showing he can command a big movie with big things going on around him. But again, this film just feels like more of the same. The best aspects of this third installment are the resolutions to the various story elements, and the climactic battle sequence that never seems to let up. It’s also the best paced of the three movies, moving along at a brisk pace and never giving us a chance to be bored.

But as Jackson wraps up the proceedings, there are momentary feelings that we’re rushing to get to the point. Cate Blanchett shows up to rescue Ian McKellan (who seems to be sleepwalking as Gandalf here), and soon the set piece is filled with cameos of LORD OF THE RINGS alumni that feel more gimmicky than exciting. That said, it’s pretty cool to see the great Christopher Lee kicking butt with his wizard staff. Orlando Bloom returns as Legolas, who toward the end is given his best fight scene in any of the Jackson films, though like many scenes feels almost a little too over the top. Martin Freeman actually gets a modest amount of screen time here, at least until the end, where he once again becomes the story’s central focus and star. The more I thought about it, I missed Freeman when he wasn’t on the screen, which may be the biggest problem of this outing. And with everything going on, there’s a few plot threads that seem forgotten, like the unfinished fate of Alfrid – this is a character played brilliantly by Ryan Gage and built up to be a conniving slimeball, but there’s no final moment we’d all expect, no comeuppance a character like this really deserves. He just sort of disappears. It makes me wonder if this is the familiar Jackson/Tolkien method of extra footage we’ll eventually see on “extended edition” of the movie when it hits home video.

Overall THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES delivers more than it lacks, and is very satisfying in several ways, especially for those who thought the previous films were a tad boring. But it’s also all payoff and not much story, and when you take a step back and look at these movies as a trilogy of films, you begin to realize it’s just not very cohesive. THE LORD OF THE RINGS movies were great accomplishments on a cinematic level, but also work well as three connected films. THE HOBBIT movies are without a doubt a story that is stretched out to an almost embarrassing degree, and easily could have been fit into two installments. So why three? For the money? Was it done out of ego? Who can say, but it’s safe to assume making it a trilogy was ultimately the biggest mistake. In the end this third movie is safely the most energetic of the three, and gives you a lot to savor, but it’s also a reminder of just how much better Jackson’s other trilogy was. Still, the last few minutes will have J.R.R. Tolkien fans smiling in a big way, and I suppose that’s worth something in and of itself.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES opens on December 17, 2014

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About the Author

Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff.