"THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" (2014) Review

"THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" (2014) Review

When New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers first released the news that Peter Jackson would adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit" into three films, I had not been pleased. I thought the novel could have easily been adapted into two films or even a single film. Now that Jackson's third film, "THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES", I realized that my feelings had not changed. 

I still believe what I had originally stated . . . an adaptation of Tolkien's novel could have easily been limited to a single film. I believe I would have enjoyed it, considering my feelings for Tolkien's tale. But you know what? I do not regret that Jackson had spread the story into the three films. A single movie or a trilogy, I enjoyed Jackson's take on the story about Bilbo Baggins and his involvement with a group of dwarves under the leadership of one Thorin Oakenshield. But when I learned that this third film would feature a long, detailed conflict known as "the Battle of the Five Armies", I found myself not looking forward to the story's conclusion for the first time, since the release of the first movie. The problem is that I still had memories of the battles featured in the last two movies of Jackson's adaptation of "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" trilogy - "THE TWO TOWERS" and "RETURN OF THE KING". I did not enjoy watching them over a decade ago. And I felt certain that I would not enjoy watching the "Battle of the Five Armies".

There were aspects of this third HOBBIT that made it less enjoyable for me than the first two films. First of all, Bilbo and his traveling companions reached their destination in the last act of the previous film, "THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG". Which meant that the story ceased to be a road trip. With the exception of a few scenes that featured Gandalf the Gray at Dol Guldur and Smaug's destruction of Laketown, the majority of the film was set at the dwarves' kingdom of Erebor and the nearby town of Dale. A bit disappointing. I also found the movie's limited focus on Thorin's company of dwarves rather disappointing as well. With the exception of Thorin and one of his nephews, Kili, the screenplay focused less on the dwarves and more on the other characters - especially Bard the Bowman and King Thranduil. Another aspect of the plot that disturbed me, was that it made a big deal of Thorin's greed in the form of "dragon sickness". Yet, it barely focused on King Thranduil's willingness to go to war against the dwarves for an elven necklace of white gems inside Erebor. Worse, the movie's plot brushed aside Laketown resident Bard's own greed. Yeah . . . I said it. I believe Bard had developed his own greed for some of the treasure inside Erebor. During the movie's first half hour, he made it clear to Alfrid Lickspittle that he had no interested in the Erebor treasure (which he had regarded as cursed) and only wanted aid in the form of food, shelter and medicine from Thorin. Yet, within another half hour, he was demanding some of the treasure for himself and other Laketown survivors. What led to this turnabout in Bard's demands? Why did the screenplay fail to explain it? 

Remember when I had predicted that I would not like the battle sequence featured in this movie? Well . . . I was right. I did not like it. Let me correct myself. I did not like most of it. I found the majority of the so-called "Battle of the Five Armies" ridiculously long and overblown . . . just like the other battle sequences in "THE TWO TOWERS" and "RETURN OF THE KING". Now that I think of it, the movie's battle sequence also reminded me of "the Battle at Hogwarts" featured in the 2011 movie, "HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART II", with the constant number of interruptions that allowed the battle to last longer than necessary. It is only by the grace of God that I was able to tolerate the "Battle of the Five Armies" a bit more than the Helm's Deep, Pelennor Fields, Black Gate and Hogwarts battles. And I will tell you why.

What made the Battle of the Five Armies a little more tolerable for me? One, it had began under unusual circumstances. Instead of a battle in which the Erebor Dwarves fought side-by-side with Men of Dale and the Woodland Realm Elves against the Moria Orcs, Goblins and Wargs; the battle nearly became a conflict between the dwarves and an alliance between the Dale men and the elves over the treasure inside the Erebor mines. But the appearance of an army of orcs, goblins and wargs led by Orc chieftain Azog quickly led to a shifting of alliances. I found that rather interesting. The Battle of the Five Armies may have began with rather odd circumstances, it ended with a good deal of poignancy and tragedy that left me in tears. And I cannot say the same for the battles featured in "THE TWO TOWERS", "RETURN OF THE KING" and "DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART II".

I have never read "The Hobbit", so I have no idea if J.R.R. Tolkien had any plans to write "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy around the time when he wrote the 1937 novel. But I have to admire the way Peter Jackson and the movie's other screenwriters - Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro - set up the events featured in "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" movies, both in this movie and the previous two films. This was especially apparent in moments that featured Bilbo's use of Sauron's One Ring; his eventual reluctance to inform Gandalf about it; Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman's encounter with Sauron, during their attempt to rescue Gandalf from Dol Guldur; Saruman's doom-filled decision to deal with the fleeing and formless Sauron; and Thranduil's post-battle suggestion that Legolas meet with a young Dunedain ranger named "Strider". The movie even ended where "AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY" began - on Bilbo's 111st birthday, setting in motion, the events of 2001-2003 movie trilogy. I have to say . . . good job.

However, what really impressed me about "THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" was how the screenwriters handled the political chaos that seemed to mark the story. I am not criticizing the story in any way. I just found it rather amazing at how Gandalf's concerns over Smaug, Thorin Oakenshield's past history with Azog and his bout of "dragon sickness" brought about so much political chaos in this story. And I must say that Jackson and the other three screenwriters handled it so well. The continuing romance between Thorin's younger nephew Kili and the Silvan elf guard Tauriel is also handled well in the movie. Their time together seemed less than it was in "THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG". But thanks to Aidan Turner and Evangeline Lilly's performances, there were two scenes featuring the pair that really impressed me - Kili's plea to Tauriel that she follow him to Erebor and their efforts to save each other from the Orc called Bolg. Aside from Kili and Tauriel, one of the most interesting relationships in the movie was that between Bilbo and Thorin. In fact, their relationship has been interesting since the moment Bilbo first rejected Gandalf's suggestion that he join Thorin's companay as a burglar in "AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY". Thorin's bout with "dragon sickness" came close to seriously undermining the pair's friendship that had thrived since the company's escape from Moria in the first film. Which is why I found their reconciliation and final scene together so poignant, thanks to Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage's performances. But the one scene that really left me in tears featured Bilbo's final good-bye to the dwarves that were part of Thorin's quest. I felt surprised by how much I truly grew to like these guys. Even more so than the members of the Ring Fellowship from "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" trilogy.

"THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" only earned one Academy Award - namely a Best Sound Editing for Brent Burge and Jason Canovas. One technical nomination? One? That was it? No nominations for special effects, costume designs, or editing. There was not even a nomination for Andrew Lesnie's outstanding cinematography, as shown in the following image:



I discovered that "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING" received eleven Academy Award nominations . . . and won all of its categories. And I am appalled. Why? Despite its flaws, I still hold "BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" in a higher regard. Now I realize that I am not the last word on the quality of any movie. But I am entitled to my own opinions. I am sorry, but I simply have a higher opinion of "BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" than either the second and third films in "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" trilogy. And I cannot take the Oscars seriously if the only nomination they could give this film was for Best Sound Editing.

I certainly had no problems with the performances featured in the movie. Although I was slightly disappointed by the decreased presence of most of the dwarves in Thorin's company, they still managed to give first-rate performances . . . especially Graham McTavish as Dwalin, Dean O'Gorman as Fíli, and Ken Stott as Balin. Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Christopher Lee reprised their roles as Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman the White and gave solid, but not particularly earth-shattering performances. I could also say the same about Ian Holm, who returned as Old Bilbo in the movie's final scene and Sylvester McCoy, who briefly appeared as Gandalf's fellow wizard, Radagast the Brown. Two performances in the movie struck me as particularly funny - Ryan Gage as the greedy and imaginative Laketown official Alfrid, and Billy Connolly as Thorin's loud and sardonic cousin Dáin. Lee Pace gave a colorful and fascinating performance as the complicated and not always likable Elvenking of Mirkwood, Thranduil. And Benedict Cumberbatch continued to send chills down my spine, thanks to his exceptional performance as the voice for the malignant dragon, Smaug.

Aidan Turner and Evangeline Lilly continued to generate sparks as the two star-crossed lovers, Kili and Tauriel. I found them especially effective in two scenes I had earlier mentioned. Both Orlando Bloom and Luke Evans gave excellent performances as Elven prince Legolas and Laketown archer Bard the Bowman. For the first time, I also noticed that the pair could have easily portrayed cousins. Honestly. Ian McKellen was excellent as usual portraying Gandalf the Grey - especially in his scenes with Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman. I like to think that the latter made his mark as the reluctant adventurer, Bilbo Baggins. Freeman did an excellent job of developing his character from the prissy homebody to the clever and brave Hobbit. But my vote for the best performance in the movie would go to Richard Armitage for his complicated and fascinating portrayal of the Erebor Dwarf king, Thorin Oakenshield. Actually, I feel that Armitage had been knocking it out of the ballpark since the first film. But in my opinion, two scenes in "BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" featured his best performances as the ambiguous Thorin - namely the latter's final struggle with "dragon fever" that I found absolutely brilliant and the poignant farewell between his character and Bilbo. 

I cannot deny that "THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" is my least favorite of the three films based upon J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel. But despite its flaws, I still managed to enjoy it very much, thanks to Peter Jackson's energetic direction, excellent production values and some superb performances from a cast led by Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and Richard Armitage.