The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies Review

Trailer

I remember reading The Hobbit when I was growing up and again later at least once or twice. I watched the Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass animated movie many times growing up. It is probably that version of The Hobbit that is most visually imprinted into my mind when I think on the novel or any movies. I own at least two different versions of each of the Lord of the Rings movies (standard and extended) and enjoyed them quite a bit. The Hobbit trilogy, however, has been a bit of a mixed bag for me and here is why.

Visually, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies and the preceding two films are amazing. The sweeping landscapes, the depth and awe-inspiring views are fantastic. Peter Jackson knows how to do a sweeping shot, such as looking up the vale from Laketown to Erebor. You can practically feel the distance and weight and breadth of the world. The sound is also exceptional and puts you right there with the characters on screen.

In addition, the source material is beloved, making me predisposed to loving the films. Unfortunately, as the Hobbit was stretched out to 3 films, so much had to be added that wasn't part of the Hobbit story that it became something different. The story grew in the telling as it were and ultimately what we get in The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies feels slow and plodding at times and rushed and incomplete in others.

Let's get through the things that didn't work for me (or my family) first. When we first see Legolas on screen my wife said, "Who's that?" and after I told her, "What did they do to him? He looks like a Ken doll." It took me another hour of the film to figure out why that was. I think it has to do with the frame rate or the way the movie was filmed, but the characters are all hyper-clear on screen and it makes everything look very odd overall. It is almost like the characters are super-imposed on the background at times (and maybe they were), but it took me out of the film at times because the world looked real, but the people didn't. They just didn't blend together right.

Another issue was the characterization. In order to build tension we have Thorin, Thranduil and others all being complete jerks. This actually drove my wife and daughter away - they left about an hour into the film to go play Chihuahua-opoly with lots of laughter ensuing. Of course the tension and characterization was in the original book - things are going on with these characters that cause them not to get along, but a lot of screen time is given to it that would have been better suited to use later in wrapping up the battle itself or giving others their due. For instance, we don't get enough of Beorn or wrap up of the overall battle. Also, why do dwarves gear up for battle and then take off a lot of the armor before actually going out to fight? Crazy.

Okay, deep breath, there are good things here as well. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Bard (Luke Evans) shine as good people in a bad situation. Both of them actually carry a lot of the real emotion in the movie (okay, Tauriel - Evangeline Lilly - does as well), but we get to spend a lot more time with Bilbo and Bard and none of that time feels wasted. Again, the visuals and sound are amazing - just what you would expect given the high bar that Peter Jackson has set with earlier films in Middle Earth. In addition, the very end of the film at Bag End is a lot of fun and much like I pictured in my mind.

Is The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies a great film? Not quite. Is it a decent film that gives us one last go-around in Middle Earth - absolutely. The film links up well with the Lord of the Rings in a way and getting to go on the journey with Bilbo has been nice. While I would have wanted more in some areas and less in others, I think the trilogy would have been best served by being 2 films, There, and a sequel, And Back Again. Maybe someday it will be tried or edited from the 3 films we did get. Three Mickhappies.