REVIEW: “The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies” lives up to the hype

Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo

By Chase Rowe,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

One legendary story to inspire them. Two films to begin the trilogy. And now, one movie to rule them all.

“The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies” is the third and final installment in director Peter Jackson’s adventure trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” Drawing from the book as well as Tolkien’s other works, the final movie concludes the trilogy with an epic finale.

The film picks up right where its predecessor, “Desolation of Smaug”, left off–with the citizens of Laketown facing their impending doom in the form of the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). While the computer-generated Smaug was impressive in the last film, his role as a merciless harbinger of fire and death is fully realized in “Battle of the Five Armies.” Though his screen time may be short, Smaug dominates the introduction to the film and will inspire nothing short of terror in audiences.

“Battle of the Five Armies” also does an excellent job of portraying Thorin Oakenshield’s (Richard Armitage) descent into madness as he tears apart the fortress beneath the mountain in search of the legendary Arkenstone. During one of his insane ramblings, Thorin’s voice briefly changes to the voice of Smaug–a creative and effective way to show the disease of greed catching on.

It’s not long before others arrive at the Lonely Mountain in order to–like the dwarves–reclaim a part of some lost heritage. It’s then that we begin to see some of the five armies arrive; the army of men from Laketown and the army of elves from Mirkwood. Both armies are prepared to fight for their treasure when a third army of dwarves arrives from the east. Finally, the war-crazed orc army charges into the fray, and the battle to which the film owes its namesake begins.

The rest of the film is dominated by the Battle of the Five Armies. The colossal struggle against the orcs is done beautifully and breathtakingly; each army is given a personality that’s clearly shown throughout the battle. The terrible grace of the elven warriors is clearly different from the brutal, direct style of the dwarves, and the ragtag army of men remains passionate in spite of everything. And, of course, the frenzied Orcs remain mindlessly violent throughout.

Surprisingly, Tolkien’s inspiration from World War I isn’t lost in the film. The elves, dwarves and men, who all share a complicated history of pacts and dislike, are thrown into battle against the two war-crazed orc armies and have no choice but to fight alongside one another. The struggle of England, France and Russia against the invading Germans and Austrians is certainly reflected in the plot–at one point, the leader of the orcs even declares “they cannot win on two fronts!”

The World War I metaphor goes beyond just a historical reference–as fantasy races become citizens of nations, the movie projects the idea of compassion regardless of nationality.

Of course, it wouldn’t be “The Hobbit” without the Hobbit, and Martin Freeman gives one of the best performances in the movie as Bilbo Baggins. The only real innocent character in the midst of kings and dragons, Bilbo Baggins’ role is played almost perfectly by Freeman.

Die-hard “Lord of the Rings” fans will also find interest in Gandalf’s separate adventures, which are filled with references from Tolkien’s other books. For all viewers, Gandalf’s fight with Sauron bridges the gap between “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” trilogies.

Despite all the positives, “Battle of the Five Armies” has its weak points as well. The end of the battle is dragged out for longer than necessary; the film could have benefited from an earlier conclusion to the fight.

Also, the “forbidden love” between the elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and the dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner) feels forced and unnecessary. It’s clear that it was there to further the “compassion beyond borders” message, but fell flat because of a weak implementation and an unlikely premise to begin with.

Still, “Battle of the Five Armies” is definitely worth watching. While many have questioned the splitting of one book into three films, the amount of work invested in “Battle of the Five Armies” certainly makes the last section of the story a worthy standalone movie instead of a cash grab.

While the first two films could have perhaps been merged into a single movie, “Battle of the Five Armies” serves as both an epic finale and a bridge to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In fact, with an ending full of references to “Lord of the Rings,” “Battle of the Five Armies” turns the Hobbit trilogy into an essential part of the “Lord of the Rings” story.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *