The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Review
RYAN: I’m so glad to have Brad joining me to complete our reviews of the Hobbit trilogy. We reviewed the first two together and he’s my Tolkien guru, so it has truly been helpful having him with me over the years of this franchise. Peter Jackson shot all three together and I think the second is the one I liked best, with this a close second.
BRAD: I’ve been honored to review all three of these with you. It’s been incredible.
RYAN: You like Tolkien the way I like Baum and Oz. I’m glad you’re always able to explain things to me because this movie was, once again, confusing to someone who hasn’t devoured the book as you did. I followed #2 a bit easier.
BRAD: The Desolation of Smaug made things more clear about director Peter Jackson’s vision. It’s not a literal translation of the book. The novel is a slim read and this trilogy is not. This is Jackson’s magnum opus, even better than Lord of the Rings.
RYAN: I like The Hobbit trilogy more than Lord of the Rings as well.
BRAD: It’s faster-paced, more light-hearted. There’s a nice romance added. It has epic elements but there are action scenes, plot twists and even characters added into the movies that are not in the book.
RYAN: Film adaptation take on a life of its own and you can never please everyone, especially loyalists of source material. But if you can let go of what you know and experience it for it’s own work of art, you can enjoy it along with its original work.
BRAD: Jackson takes much creative license and it’s a good thing.
RYAN: Now having seen it all, would you rather have seen a straightforward, single film of The Hobbit?
BRAD: No. If you want to literal adaptation, go see the Rankin/Bass animated version. If you want nearly nine hours of epic filmmaking that is An Unexpected Journey – these are the movies to see.
RYAN: I’ve said in our previous reviews – there’s no one better than Peter Jackson to adapt Tolkien’s stories. It’s all so lovingly, gloriously up there and the loves oozes in every detail. He’s the biggest geek for this stuff but also a brilliant adept and talented filmmaker. These movies are love letters to Tolkien.
BRAD: The Battle of the Five Armies really ties them all together nicely. Everyone comes together in this one.
RYAN: The subtitle of this movie is so fitting. Most of the movie is the Battle. I kept counting the armies to see if there were five. I actually think it turned out to be six, somehow.
BRAD: In the book, truthfully, as Bilbo recounts it, it’s the Battle of Seven Armies. If you include all the creatures.
RYAN: It didn’t seem as thought they’re fighting each other. They shift. Also, without giving anything away, I was left confused by the ending. I have question that may have been answered but went over my head or they were not addressed. The different species threw me off too.
BRAD: You have the men, the dwarves, the elves, the orcs, and the goblins.
RYAN: I confused the orcs and the elves. And I’m not sure I noticed who the goblins were. How sad for me.
BRAD: That’s one of the shortfalls in this film – they build it all up quickly and they don’t really explain who’s fighting who. That being said, there’s a lot of great fighting scenes; very fast paced.
RYAN: Yes for a long movie, it does move but about an hour of the battle is just fighting and then finally in the last 25 minutes, you get some truly original, gasp-inducing action. I always like to see cool action not before seen. The effects are brilliant and the fight scenes are well choreographed.
BRAD: It is a long fight but at the end, you see how Bilbo’s character evolves. He really grows in a great way and he’s ends as a very different symbol than he began.
RYAN: The Hobbit is a prequel to Lord of the Rings so this isn’t a spoiler, but the story ends right where Lord of the Rings begins and it’s fun and cool to see that, if you’ve seen the previous five films of Jackson’s universe. Since they came out once a year, I didn’t remember details as well. It would be great to do a marathon and watch them all in a row and really get the story that way.
BRAD: One per week. They are meant to be seen in the theater with the full surround sound and the larger than life sense of what they are.
RYAN: The 3D is a plus.
BRAD: Hearing Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug is never a regret.
RYAN: Oh – that’s the best. Hearing him voice the dragon again in this is one of the two best parts of the film. The other best part involved Cate Blanchett… I won’t say what moment it was with her, but anyone who sees this film can easily pick it out. She’s so cool.
BRAD: Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving are both great.
RYAN: I’m obsessed with Lee Pace. I wanna marry him. And I really like Evangeline Lilly in these films. She plays a character not in the books and I like what she adds and her storyline.
BRAD: I’ve grown to like her. Initially I was against her character in the first film but that has changed rapidly. Her character brought warmth and action into the series – a good subplot.
RYAN: Now this is complete, it almost makes you want more. Could Jackson now do a sequel to Lord of the Rings?
BRAD: The surviving Tolkien estate has said no more. The lid is on and no more story will be allowed.
RYAN: That’s probably smart.
BRAD: Growing up I enjoyed reading The Hobbit, with a dragon, a wizard, a magic ring – action and adventure. It all works and now as an adult, having nine hours to see it all from one side of middle earth to another, I would recommend it to anyone and see it again in a heartbeat.
RYAN: I liked part 2 a bit more but I still liked this movie more than any of the Lord of the Rings movies. See it in the theater.
