The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
I really hoped that I wouldn’t have to take so long to write my review for Peter Jackson’s final film based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novels, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The reason I didn’t get it written when the film first came out was because I fell asleep during moments of it after a long day, enough so that I didn’t feel comfortable writing about it in December. Now, I’ve got time to revisit it, and complete my individual film reviews of Jackson’s epic adaptations of the Middle Earth sagas.
Before I discuss “The Battle of the Five Armies” itself, some thoughts on “The Hobbit” trilogy, and how it compares to “The Lord of the Rings.” Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is one of the towering cinematic achievements in movie history, a work of staggering imagination and intelligence that also fulfills the potential Hollywood has tried to mimic in other post-“Star Wars” franchises without quite succeeding. Of course, it helped that Jackson also had a great piece of literature in Tolkien’s fantasy tome to work from. When Jackson finally announced that he would be adapting The Hobbit, as well, fans were justifiably excited. Unfortunately, the results this time around have been considerably mixed, and I think part of that has come from his decision to turn it into not one film (which the book’s length would more than merit, since it’s shorter than any one of the Rings books) but three. To do so, Jackson has not only turned to the Appendices of Rings, as he did in the “Rings” films, but also by creating new material that fits something he wants to bring to the story. Due to the magnitude of his “Rings” movies, I understood, and appreciated, why he originally wanted to break The Hobbit into two films, but when it was decided to turn it into three films, I know I wasn’t the only one who sighed and worried Jackson would be stretching the story too thin in the decision, which also seemed predominantly motivated by the desire to wring every dollar out of audiences. Sadly, that feeling only felt confirmed by the films themselves, which have lacked the head-long energy and emotional depth of their predecessors while, indeed, spreading the central story too thin. That said, Jackson’s visual palette remains remarkable (and the work his collaborators at WETA do remains vivid and unforgettable), and the storytelling is anchored by a full-throated orchestral score by Howard Shore whose collective work rivals that of John Williams’s on the “Star Wars” films. The films have had moments when that magic that made “Rings” special is back, but for the most part, it feels more like a ceremonial victory lap than a work of passionate filmmaking.
In “The Battle of the Five Armies,” Jackson brings all of the work he’s done in bringing Middle Earth to a head in his portrayal of the titular battle, which starts at the half-way mark of the film, and marks the event the “Hobbit” movies have been building to. Yes, you would think that would, in fact, be the dwarfs taking on the dragon Smaug in their attempt to take back Erebor, but Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) is dispatched pretty early on in this film by Bard (Luke Evans) of Lake Town. Smaug is just the beginning for this film, and his unleashing by the dwarfs leads to a series of events that puts the company led by Thorin (Richard Armitage) at odds with the people of Lake Town when they come for the payment Thorin promised them. On top of that, the elvish armies of Thranduil (Lee Pace) come for the jewels the dwarfs stole long ago from his people, and the Orc armies of Azog finally descend on our heroes, along with some help from armies advancing inside Mordor, although the dwarfs get reinforcements from Thorin’s cousin, Dain (Billy Connolly), so that maybe they’ll have a fighting chance. If we thought the Battle for Gondor in “Return of the King” was epic, Jackson has some news for us– we ain’t seen nothing yet. This is apocalyptic action unlike anything we’ve seen to date in the wars of Middle Earth, and mortality is a big theme in the film.
The action is the big thrust of the narrative in “The Battle of the Five Armies,” although the character arcs we’ve watched over the past three movies are paid off in emotionally satisfactory ways. Bilbo (Martin Freeman, whose grown more interesting and rewarding in the role over the films) finds himself in the middle of the chaos, and sometimes helps facilitate it, but his motivation is always in wanting to help the friends he has made over his travels. It’s been interesting to watch the character develop over the films, and even if he hasn’t always been the focus of these movies, Freeman’s Bilbo has always been a compelling one to watch as he has moved from his doubts about his abilities to showing his true nature in the most heroic of ways as he’s gone away from the Shire, and his quiet life, to becoming more than aware of the larger world outside of Bag End. That journey makes his return to the Shire, punctuated by the humor of his being presumed dead, an enjoyable bit of business that ends the story of “The Hobbit” trilogy Jackson had made on a note that makes us ready to rewatch “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and remember where the story goes from there.
As with another trilogy of prequels that came years after a landmark trio of films, “The Hobbit” films were almost destined to be crushed under the weight of outsized expectations of fans, although the “Hobbit” movies don’t have nearly the issues George Lucas’s “Star Wars” prequel trilogy does in terms of story, writing and performance. Jackson summons thrilling sights with the ease of a master magician, who’s cultivated his craft over the years, and knows every motion that needs to be made to pull his trick off, and “The Battle of the Five Armies,” though not as strong as a whole as “The Desolation of Smaug” (which I thought was the best film of the three), is a culmination of that mastery more often than not. The titular battle feels numbing at times, given the scope and length of it, but we see character arcs pay off in surprising, emotional ways that weren’t always clear to us with the first two films. One of the big problems with “The Hobbit” movies vs. the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is how there is little concern that any of the characters are in real danger, whether they’re fighting Azog and his armies or going up against Smaug– deep down, we know they will be there for the final battle to defend Erebor. In “Battle of the Five Armies,” however, we finally feel some tension about our characters’s lives, and even though we know some of them (Gandalf, Bilbo, Legolas) will live to play important parts in “The Lord of the Rings,” there are others whose tale ends here, and Jackson does a great job bringing the same level of emotion he did to Borimir’s death scene in “Fellowship of the Ring” to critical emotional moments in this film. In moments like that, “The Hobbit” trilogy lives up to it’s predecessors. Those moments were too few at times, but when they arrived, that old Middle Earth magic was with Jackson and his collaborators. On the whole, “The Hobbit” couldn’t live up to the standard it’s successor set, but at the end of this film, it hardly matters to me, because Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth is an unforgettable piece of cinematic mythmaking, and a landmark of technical storytelling. Yes, the back three films of his six-film cycle had some rough patches, but fatigue is natural in any sustained production. The whole is all that matters, and this is still a very special whole when all is said and done.
