***DISCLAIMER***
The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I
encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion,
that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be
statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and
my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how
these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a
scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2,
being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And
if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog
or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and
the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching. *Sigh* Goodbye, Middle-earth. I'll miss you...and visit you again when you hit Blu-Ray.
The Hobbit: The
Battle of the Five Armies ? 4 out of 5
It?s sad to see that my three year engagement to return to
Middle-earth is now over?again. While
denizens of the internet screamed with violent rage about Peter Jackson milking
The Hobbit franchise by splitting up a film that could have easily existed in a
single film (or make two really great films that left room for the expansion
that Jackson was truly craving for this franchise), I saw this as an
opportunity to head to one of my favorite geek locales for a guaranteed three
years?so having three Hobbit films didn?t really bother me but rather excited
me and filled me with anticipation. So,
anyway, the final film?The Battle of the Five Armies?has been released and it
was a bittersweet farewell to say the least.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films "Wake up, I know you're faking." |
When we last left the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin
Freeman) and the company of dwarves he was with that was lead by Thorin
Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), we watched as the devious dragon Smaug (voiced
by Benedict Cumberbatch) was forced from the Lonely Mountain and he soared
towards Lake Town. The beginning of the
film sees Bard (Luke Evans) fulfilling his destiny and slaying Smaug but, with
the death of the dragon, word has spread all over the lands that the Lonely
Mountain and its vast collection of treasure is now left in the hands of only a
few dwarves. Quickly, armies of men,
elves, and orcs converge on the land and a mighty war takes place for control
of the wealth. Can Bilbo Baggins survive
long enough where he can pass down the One Ring to Frodo and the events of The
Lord of the Rings can happen? Actually,
that?s a stupid question because we all know he does survive and I apologize
for trying to be mysterious.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films No make-up selfies, amirite?!? I am so sorry for that terrible joke. It was in really bad taste. |
While I was one of the few who didn?t get upset when it was announced
that Peter Jackson was making the short adventure of Bilbo Baggins into three
gigantic epic films, I have to say that this final film in the series was the
first time it really felt like a needless move for the franchise. I absolutely love An Unexpected Journey and
The Desolation of Smaug but this will go down as my least favorite in the
franchise. Of course, as you can see
from the score, that doesn?t mean I don?t like it; there were just things about
this one that kept me from giving it the perfect score I gave the other two.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films Please don't hurt me for a slight drop in score, Thorin. |
I know there has been a lot of trash talking on the ?net
about the computer effects in these films but, in Journey and Desolation, I
never felt the special effects looked terrible.
Sure, the melted gold that coated Smaug in the second film looked cheesy
but, for the most part, I really dug the special effects. However, this time around I did find some
elements of the effects to be distracting; mostly the large group of battlers
in the war. Too often my eyes would
catch large groups of soldiers (whether it be orc, dwarf, or elf) all moving in
a very creepy unison. Their footfalls
all matched, the way their arms swung when running matched, and they even all
seem to be wearing frighteningly identical armor and wielding clone
weapons. It looked a little lazy to me
because you see a swarm of attackers all moving like they went for a copy and
paste style visual effect. However, this
never took me out of the film because the mo-cap and other elements like Smaug?s
complete obliteration of Lake Town were an utter feast for my old eyeballs. And since I mentioned the battle?
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films All battles should be fought while riding an armored ram, in my opinion. |
The battle of Gondor, the fight at the Black Gates, and
Helm?s Deep in LOTR has become icons.
They were huge, exciting, amusing, fun, and kicked all kinds of
ass. It?s hard to top that because these
battles happened with characters that you cared deeply for and you weren?t just
watching the battle, you were experiencing it because you were a part of the
Fellowship. The Battle of the Five
Armies isn?t any of these battles but felt like a lackluster spectacle of
gratuity. The core dwarves that have
worked hard to reclaim Erebor don?t come in until the end, Bilbo and Gandalf
only have a minor presence in the fight, and the only character that you really
care about in the skirmish is Bard. Aside
from this, the film is mostly just faceless dwarves, elves, and orcs battling. Too many elements of the battle, as well, are
quickly thrown in and done nothing with.
For example, when the eagles arrive we see the good Doctor Radagast the
Brown (Sylvester McCoy) riding one and we get to see the Skin-Changer Beorn (Mikael
Persbrandt) rain down death as a bear but they are only shown briefly and so
much more could have been shown with them (hopefully, the extended cut has more
action with these two). Sure, some of the
sequences are really cool and there?s even some humor thrown in but, for the
most part, it just felt empty. However,
it did allow us to finally see Billy Connolly as the dwarf Dain and his scenes
in the battle were very entertaining?of course, it would be hard for them not
to be because it?s Billy Freakin? Connolly and if you don?t like him I don?t
want to know you or have your negativity infect my life.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films Also, Billy Connolly rides a pig...somehow reality didn't collapse from such awesomeness. |
My final negative I have about the film is the fact I didn?t
like how they changed the process of Bard eliminating Smaug from this mortal
coil. I?m not going to get all fanboy
and whine about how it wasn?t true to the book because I?m a realist and
understand that direct translation will never happen 100% because it just doesn?t
work that way. Often changes have to
happen and sometimes I think the changes are better than the source
material. For example, I really like the
inclusion of the brand new character Tauriel.
Evangeline Lilly was fantastic as the newly created elf and the budding
romance she has with Kili (Ardan Turner) was a source of great drama,
amusement, and entertainment. However, I
just didn?t dig the new way Bard took out Smaug. Yes, he still kills him with an arrow to the
scale-less portion of Smaug?s chest but it just wasn?t the same. I?m trying to be vague here because I know
how freaked out people are about spoilers (shit, me just saying that Smaug dies
at Bard?s hand might piss some off even though it?s from the book that is now
nearly 80 years old) but they added Bard?s family into the mix and, while this
may illicit a decent emotional reaction to it, the end product came off a tad
silly.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films Still...how silly can it be when you have a dragon that badass? |
Now, enough of the bad and let?s get to what I loved about
the film!
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films What I loved? The undeniable sex appeal this one had. |
Like the previous two journeys, sets, costumes, and locales
are once again spot on and made me feel like no time had passed between the
moments Frodo tossed Gollum and the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom and
when Bilbo first told Gandalf ?good morning? when the wizard came wandering into
Hobbiton. The locations are so
breathtaking and gorgeous and the attention to detail that is done with the
costumes had me trying to take in every single aspect of the surroundings and characters; it made for a, once again, very
engrossing theater experience. Also, it
allowed me to catch a glimpse of Gloin (Peter Hambleton) sporting the armor we
will later see Gimli rocking in LOTR. And that's just fun and possibly a spoiler for the whinier types on the 'net.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films "Bilbo, I've called you hear to tell me the truth...is gold a bit gaudy? |
Again, the film has a very impressive cast and all of them
are bringing their lovable fantasy characters to life and really making the
pages feel like they came to the screen seamlessly. The
insanity that Thorin goes through and his realization of how wrong he is was
done perfectly by Richard Armitage, Lee Pace is absolutely captivating as the
Elf King Thranduil, Evangeline Lilly is once again amazing, the entire cast of
the dwarves (although not as prevalent as in the previous films) as still a fun
group, and old favorites who have had the privilege of being in this trilogy
and the other trilogy?like Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett,
Christopher Lee, and Hugo Weaving?come off like they?ve never taken a day off
from being Gandalf, Legolas, Galadriel, Saruman, and Elrond. Hell, even the completely mo-capped actors
like Manu Bennett and Lawrence Makoare as Bolg the son of Azog are incredible
to watch because they are a great marriage of talented acting and incredible
special effects. Then, of course, there?s
there likes of Stephen Fry and Billy Connolly in the film?neither are around
long but the two men are unforgettable.
And, finally, you can?t NOT talk about Martin Freeman as Bilbo.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films "Guys, check it out! Those wargs are doing it!" YES!!! Re-used that joke for all three reviews of The Hobbit! |
I?m a big fan of Martin Freeman. Loved him in The Office and Sherlock might be
one of the greatest shows ever produced in history?plus, he was in the film
adaptation of one of my favorite books!
Actually, make that two of my favorite books! (In case you?re wondering, I?m talking about
The Hobbit and The Hitchhiker?s Guide to the Galaxy.) Freeman had some big hobbit feet to fill when
he took over playing the role from Ian Holm.
Yes, the character is younger but Ian Holm is an amazing actor and was
incredible in his short appearances as the hobbit in LOTR. Since the first film, Freeman really proved
he had what it took to play the role and make him sympathetic and a joy to
watch. There?s no denying the charm that
Freeman has as an actor and he brings that to Bilbo and he continued to use
that in order to make Bilbo the person you wanted to be with on this
journey. Finally, he really made for
some amazing tender moments in the film when he is forced to say goodbye to not
only someone who became his good friend but to say goodbye to the adventurer?s
life. Not bad for a people who aren?t
known for their adventures! Also, this happened and made me love him more.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films Poor Bilbo just realized he left all the lights on in his hobbit-hole when he left. |
Now, while I admit the big battle itself wasn?t that
exciting for me, the final fight scenes were incredibly amazing in The Battle
of the Five Armies. When the fights
rolled away from being army against army and ended up being Legolas versus Bolg
and we got to see the final brawl between Thorin and Azog (granted, these
battles were not canon but who cares?
Not I.). These fights, which also
included Kili and Tauriel (to further move away from canon, I guess) were
fist-pumpingly good and were all kinds of flashy and fun. They were everything the main battle wasn?t
and it really saved the film from a mediocre and kinda boring middle.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films Not to take away from the fight but check out that codpiece. |
While The Battle of the Five Armies might not be my favorite
in the series, it did provide a great closure to the trilogy and fantastic
start up to LOTR. Seeing Bilbo say
goodbye to Gandalf with the One Ring in hand and seeing the beginning of the
events that would see the king return to the realm of men was very satisfying
and pretty emotional. The images of Bilbo
returning to his home and trying to settle back to the easy life of a hobbit
were very bittersweet and I?d be lying if I said that a few tears didn?t escaped
my eyes. This also made up for an intro
that, ultimately, felt like it should have been the end of the second
film. But that complaint isn?t that bad
because I still got to see some Smaug action in this one and that?s enough for
this geek!
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films You know one of them has an itchy nose right now. |
Okay, sure, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies isn?t the best one in the series and it
didn?t get my perfect score like the other two but it was still a great
movie. It had its shortcomings that I
couldn?t overlook but the film is still fun, funny, exciting, entertaining,
and, most of all, another great excuse to take a vacation to Middle-earth. It?s shorter running length came as a bit of
a surprise and might have made the argument that this franchise could have been
easily edited into two films if some elements were eliminated (like all the
Sauron set-up, maybe) but it didn?t let itself drag out too bad or suffer from
having too many endings (like a lot of people complain about in The Return of
the King). Overall, the film was a great
closure to an eternal story.
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| New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/WingNut Films Yep, that's how I looked when I realized I won't be seeing a Tolkien film next year. |
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