Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee
Running Time: 144 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Extras: Recruiting the Five Armies, Completing Middle Earth, ‘The Last Goodbye’ Music Video, New Zealand: Home of Middle Earth Part 3.
When it was originally announced THE HOBBIT would be divided into three films, I wasn’t sure why it was necessary and after a long year wait for the finale since the vivacious Smaug outing, we head into THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES and on reflection… I feel despondently justified.
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES is not a bad movie but after the epic build-up in THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, we’re thrown bang in the middle of the action and, for me, it doesn’t work very well. It’s not that the spectacle isn’t glorious but somehow they’ve managed to lose focus on the magic of Tolkien’s work. For me, THE HOBBIT would have worked perfectly across two parts, so before we even got to Smaug they could have left it all for the second but herein lies Jackson’s qualms because if he had done that, would the first single film had enough going on to satisfy the punters (probably not) but with three films we’ve lost the connection to any characters bar Bilbo and Thorin.
What’s also strange about the Five Armies is how unreal everything looks and how CG appears to have taken over from the vast, Middle Earth-grounded reality of LORD OF THE RINGS. It bizarrely feels more dated than the original 2001 LOTR and now we’re up the minute in digital technology, it’s a little confusing. The concern that comes through is that Jackson wanted to get this out there, rather than give a two-part film a wider release schedule. But despite all this, and it being a part of my nature, let’s hit a few positives between the cluttered editing and fast-tracked scenes of confusing war, where I literally found myself trying to count the on-screen armies.
So, what’s good? Martin Freeman as Bilbo. His performance shines once again, bringing impressive brevity and gives us attachment to the story but whereas it’s Bilbo’s tale in first two films, here we lose him a little among love stories, armies and Orcs. It works in LOTR because of the Fellowship but here I longed for a little more hairy Hobbit feet. Richard Armitage is also a huge positive, playing wonderfully a gold-torn Thorin. He’s a Dwarf that was once in control but now taken over by the dragon sickness of power and starts to somewhat merge into Smaug who, might I say, looks glorious once again but I also felt we lost him too soon and so…another reason why more of his build-up and demise together would have been wonderful as a full single sequence.
There’s also praise for Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel who goes super powerful to fight off the early forces of evil, accompanied by a swift moving Christopher Lee (Saruman), back in his supposed younger years. This scene works but, again, it’s all over before we get a chance to revel in the mighty scrap. Luke Evans’ Bard and his family stay strong; as does Ian McKellen as Gandalf but in fairness the latter will never fail us. The final mention must go to Evangeline Lilly who’s been superb as Tauriel alongside Lee Pace who embodies Thranduil – with very welcome undertones of Ronan the Accuser.
Overall, THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES has huge promise but lacks in the final showdown. There’s too much CG and it’s obvious, it’s all jammed in and the barrel is at bursting beyond its means. But I will say one thing, I’m still glad I got to go on more one big-screen Hobbit adventure even if this one is rather underwhelming.
[usr=3] THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES and the THE HOBBIT 3D is out now to own on Blu-ray and DVD.
