100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 152: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Director: Peter Jackson

Genre: Adventure/ Fantasy/ Action

Runtime: 144 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Manu Bennett, Aidan Turner, Graham McTavish, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Stephen Fry, Billy Connolly, Mikael Persbrandt, Dan O’Gorman, Bret McKenzie, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Ryan Gage, Sylvester McCoy, William Kircher, Peter Hambleton, Adam Brown, Jed Brophy, Stephen Hunter, Lawrence Makoare, John Bell, Mark Hadlow, John Callen

Description: Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the terrifying Smaug from acquiring a kingdom of treasure and obliterating all of Middle-Earth.

Review: Finally the last chapter of Peter Jackson’s take on the book “The Hobbit” has arrived. After the two previous movies, which were successes, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” has turned into an adventure spectacle. It didn’t manage to involve the audience as much, because the story isn’t as good as the other two films.

It was frustrating to see “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” end so abruptly, but understandable for Jackson to leave the confrontation with the dragon for the final movie. The story picks up exactly where we were left. We see how dragon Smaug is destroying Laketown. With that, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” has the best opening scene of the three films. The action is spectacular and sometimes filmed from Smaug’s perspective, as if you were on his back. I wouldn’t mind for this sequence to take a bit longer.

The big battle looks amazing and is again filled with new great looking creatures. The battle itself could feel meaningless for viewers, because it’s all for a big amount of gold. Only the people of Laketown have a relatable motive for fighting in the war, because they want to rebuild their lives. When the Orks join the battle, the stakes change.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” had an emotional component, because the dwarves wanted to recapture their home. Because Thorin has changed and he becomes greedy, it’s hard to sympathize him when he changes his mind. You actually understand the decisions Bilbo makes. I also liked that Bard’s role was bigger, who probably is my favorite character of the series.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” is a good conclusion to the trilogy, which emphasizes more on the action then on the emotional journey Biblo and his dwarf friends are on. Even though Peter Jackson has done this many times before, it’s amazing to see how creative he can still be. I think Jackson’s creative mind has no limits. And the ending, that is the beginning of “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy, brings back warm memories. It’s my least favorite of the trilogy, but again entertaining as hell.

Rating: 3,5/ 5