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The last time that director Peter Jackson ended a trilogy was at the end of 2003. That film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, was a perfect cap on a brilliant masterpiece. For some people (you know who you are), movies like Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind, and The Empire Strikes Back, are considered to be their favorite (if not the greatest) films of all time. It's hard to dispute those works of art. For me however, it is still The Return of the King. *NERD ALERT* That film resonated with me on so many levels with its emotional tales of friendship, struggle, love, and loss, that when I had seen it, I knew that no film would ever hit me as profoundly again. So far I've been right. Does that taint my expectations for every film that I've seen since? Probably. But I do feel a sense of anticipation when hoping that another film might measure up. Stay with me. There's a point to all of this.
When reviewing the end of The Hobbit trilogy, one can't help but compare it to the end of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Will it do things right? Will it be a satisfying end to a memorable tale? Will it have twenty-seven endings (like it can't let go)? My short answer is, no. Now I will concede that maybe, just maybe, I have subconsciously convinced myself that all films (post ROTK) will inevitably come up short. But that doesn't mean that this movie couldn't have been so much better. My biggest problem, is that I didn't feel emotionally connected to anyone except for Thorin Oakenshield. The story is split between so many characters that there's no one to care about. Also, the sense of awe that I once felt, has been replaced by looking more for what was done wrong instead of just trying to enjoy it for what it is. Thank God that I saw this film twice. The first time left my high expectations drenched in underwhelming disappointment. After seeing it again, I believe my first opinions were a bit harsh. This film is still not anywhere near as good as ROTK mind you, but it is a nice companion to the whole schmear. Besides its character problems and the obvious over-stretching of its source material, The Battle of the Five Armies puts style over substance. It's kind of like Peter Jackson's version of the Star Wars Special Editions. Luckily this film's style of action is backed up by some of the best visual artists on the planet (Weta Digital).
The most important parts of this whole trilogy (The Dwarves) are mostly left in the background as disapproving servants to their wavering king. While most of them are left with very little to say, Thorin Oakenshield gets to have his moment. One of the most redeeming parts of this film, is of Thorin's fall into madness. Richard Armitage portrays him so well, that you wish that the many other good actors in this film would have had more moments to shine as well. Instead, everyone else gets spread "thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread". There I go, reverting to LOTR again. What actor teasing that bugged me the most though, was of Billy Conolly's (The Boondock Saints) dwarf, Dain. Connolly, a very underappreciated actor that livens up every scene of every film he does, gets about a few lines of dialogue and has no finality to his character. He just disappears. By the end, it felt as if even Jackson himself, had gotten tired and just wanted to end it all.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Good- The scorching of Laketown, the rescue of Gandalf, and the skills of the elves.
The Bad- Forced interspecies relationships and comedic relief disguised as this trilogy's version of Grima Wormtongue.
The Ugly (Truth)- After seeing this film in both the standard digital 24fps (frames per second) and the special 48fps, I can honestly say that the extra frames are a mixed bag. It looks great during scenes of battle but, during scenes of regular character movement, everything comes off as hyper-realistic and it pulls you out of the experience. They should use it like IMAX did with The Dark Knight Rises- for one big action sequence. Sometimes, the next level is just overkill.
Final Thoughts on The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Now I know that this review sounds like a giant knock on this movie but, my expectations were never going to be met anyway. It is most definitely worth seeing. Just try not to compare it to The Return of the King, like I did. This film was made to be seen in 3D. If you can find a theater that shows this in the 24fps 3D format, that's your best bet. Also, you might want to see it twice, like I did. For some additional reassurance, this prequel trilogy isn't even close to being as disappointing as that prequel trilogy from a galaxy far far away. Imagine, what if Sauron the dark lord was a whiny brat with the acting skills of Jaden Smith?
Rating- 7 out of 10
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