The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) Review

So we are here, I have now re-watched all of The Lord of The Rings films and now I have watched all of The Hobbit films and here is my review for the final film in the latter trilogy The Battle of the Five Armies. The premise of the film sees Bilbo & the company of Dwarves have to engage in a war with different combatants to defend Erebor. 

Main Character

One thing that has been consistent throughout this trilogy is that Martin Freeman is an absolute treat as Bilbo Baggins, again he is just so likeable and as we get to the end of this particular journey you just see how much he has grown from the first film to this film and it has been great to see on screen. Richard Armitage is given more to do as Thorin in this film and he is the one character that actually gets something residing of an arc. His character shifts upon getting to Erebor and you see how much the quest has affected him, I mean I think the change is really quick but Armitage does a great job of conveying the change in character and the relationship between the two leads is handled really well here. 

Supporting Characters

Sir Ian McKellen is back as Gandalf The Grey and I mean no surprises to hear that he is great, once he gets into the story he is good in the role and is just such a good addition to the story being told and I think they show the relationship between him and Bilbo really well. Luke Evans is back as Bard and he is great here, it is tough to talk about his character without spoiler so all I will say is that Bard plays a more important part in this film then he did in The Desolation Of Smaug. But the rest of the cast don't fair as well and I don't really think it is their fault. Lee Pace is back in a bigger role as Thranduil and it is just that I found the character quite dull, he is just a bad guy, for being a bad guy's sake, his character is given very little development and it was a missed chance. The same can be said for Orlando Bloom as Legolas, he is barely in this film and he doesn't get any action scenes that are as good as the previous film, I just wonder why to have him in this franchise if he isn't going to be used very much in this film. I thought Evangeline Lilly did a fine job in the last film but she has so little to work with, the stupid romance is back and forced even harder this time and you can tell that she isn't really up for it and it is easily the weaker element of the story. 

Story 

Honestly there isn't a huge amount of story here, but they do certain character arcs well and give them more to do here such as Bilbo, Thorin & Bard, they are the best characters here and they do have interesting things to do here. There is also the stuff involving The Necromancer which is really interesting but unfortunately barely on screen. Something that isn't great is how they treat Smaug, after being the best part of the previous film, his whole character and story is dealt with in the first ten minutes of the film, I checked the time on the Blu-Ray and it was exactly 10 minutes, including opening credits which is a joke. Also it has to be mentioned that over half of this movie is just battle scenes, now don't get me wrong I love a battle sequence but when it is over half of the film and there is no story at all, just characters fighting where the majority of them you won't care about it makes it hard to get invested. 

Script

The script is still strong, I would say this film has the darkest script in terms of dialogue, there are very few jokes and funny moments, except for Bilbo, but it felt appropriate for the film that we are watching so I think it worked well. Some of the characters are given good arcs in the film and I liked how the majority of them end up.

Style 

The film feels pretty big in scale with huge battles that rival anything seen in previous films which is pretty cool. There are some decent action scenes, mainly the ones that are closer together and with less characters and this film is easily the shortest Middle Earth film yet which makes it an easier watch then if it had been 3 hours long. Though, I also feel like this film is a bit lifeless, there is so much CGI it is unreal and all of it is terrible, the reason the battle scenes in Lord Of The Rings are so good is because it blends CGI with practical, but this film doesn't. It goes all in on the CGI and it just feels like computer images hitting each other and it makes it hard to care, also how does this CGI look worse then films that came out 20 years ago, it is absurd. 

Overall

Overall, a good final film in this franchise that falls short of being an epic ending. I mean this is a film for Middle Earth films and is worth a watch, just when you watch this film and the whole Hobbit trilogy, set your standards a bit lower and you will enjoy them. 

Rating - 7/10

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) Review

So the next film in my Middle Earth binge is the sequel to The Hobbit: an unexpected journey - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Bilbo, Thorin & the dwarves continue their quest to the mountain while Gandalf heads on a different path towards The Necromancer. 

Main Character

Martin Freeman is back as Bilbo Baggins and he is really great in the film, he is still such a likeable character but this film shows inkling to the darkness that affects him. The film does a good job in showing how acquiring the ring in the first film is slightly affecting him, he isn't anywhere near Gollum level but it is a nice layer to his character. But Bilbo is just such a charming protagonist and you really want to see him succeed and do well because of how great Freeman is in the role. 

Supporting Characters

I'm not quite sure why but it seems that the second films in these trilogies like to side-line Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, first The Two Towers now this film. He is great when he is on screen, and his story arc is actually pretty interesting  it is just the film doesn't use him that much and that is a bit of a let down. Richard Armitage is back as Thorin Oakenshield and I thought he was better in this film, he is much more likeable and actually seems like more of a leader to the group. The relationship between him and Bilbo advances and is developed here which improves both of their characters. Orlando Bloom is back as Legolas and even though this is meant to be a prequel to Lord Of The Rings, he looks way older here obviously and it does take you out of the film for a bit, but he does a good job. He is fantastic in the action scenes and I would even argue that he does more in this film in terms of action then he did in the previous trilogy and it raises the bar so much compared to the action in the first film. Evangeline Lilly plays Tauriel and even though they take the character in some poor direction, which Lilly came out and agreed with, I thought she also does a good job here. She is also really good in the action scenes and her character is given some time to shine here. Luke Evans is here as Bard the Bowman and he is really good too, he is a really interesting character and his dynamic with the dwarves is well handled and he felt like a pretty natural addition to the cast. But then onto the show stealer which is Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, this guy is awesome and the voice is so imposing and so intimidating providing memorable moments like Gollum did in the previous film. 

Story 

The story is definitely more engaging then the last film, it is just paced faster and takes us through interesting parts of Middle Earth that we haven't seen before with a more interesting group of characters leading to a great final act. But the issue here, is that there is plenty going on here and certain elements of the film aren't really given much time to shine, it is kind of like they had a short book to adapt and they forced it into a trilogy thus adding story arcs and characters that are nowhere near the boom, plus don't get me started on the terrible romance in the film. 

Script 

The one thing that The Hobbit films have the same as its predecessor is the well written scripts and the good blend between drama and humour. This film is a more mature film and mostly gets rid of the childish humour and it makes it feel larger in scale and continues to make the main characters feel interesting and worthy of the franchise. 

Style   

The style of the film is more gritty then the previous film and definitely has more violence to it which is a welcome thing. As I said above the film moves more quickly and keeps its pace going throughout which is a vast improvement from the previous film. Though like the previous film, I thought the CGI wasn't up to scratch here, apart from Smaug who looks amazing, the rest just looks pretty poor, whether it be the gold or background it just looks like CGI which is the worst thing that you can say about CGI. 

Overall

Overall, this is a great sequel that improves most of the elements of the previous film and is more exciting. Don't expect Lord Of The Rings level of quality but if you are still on board with this franchise then give this film a watch. 

Rating - 8/10

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) Review

So now The Lord Of The Rings is over and I have watched all of them, it is now time to watch the prequel trilogy of Hobbit films, starting with An Unexpected Journey and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a young Bilbo Baggins go on a journey with Gandalf and a group of Dwarves to try and reclaim their homeland from a dragon. 

Main Character

When it comes to casting younger versions of iconic characters, Hollywood sometimes struggles. Here we see Martin Freeman play a younger Bilbo Baggins and he is perfect for this role and excels, this guy is so charming and charismatic in his role. You just instantly care about Bilbo, he has a very clear arc throughout the film and it is great to watch and lets be honest he is a more likeable protagonist then Frodo ever was and it really improves this film. 

Supporting Characters

Sir Ian McKellen is back, this time as Gandalf The Grey and he is great, I always thought this version of the character was more fun to watch and more charming and it is nice to see him back and enjoying himself. He has a great dynamic with Freeman which for me carries this film and is the best relationship in the film. Richard Armitage plays Thorin, the leader of the dwarves and I thought he gave a good performance, despite his character annoying me throughout. Thorin is just so angry throughout the majority of the film, but the film does a good job of explaining why he is like that and I appreciate the time and effort given to his character in this film. Andy Serkis is back as the ground-breaking Gollum and he looks and acts better then ever, the development in technology allows him to look more realistic then ever and the scenes between him and Bilbo are real highlights of the film. Though there is more of an issue in this film is that you won't care about the majority of the characters in the film, there is a large group of dwarves and they are given no distinctive personalities or reasons to make you care and the villains are pretty dull and underdeveloped. 

Story

The story in the film has some really interesting ideas, this film does a good job with the characters of Bilbo and Thorin and develops them well throughout and the quest is interesting and different enough from the quest in Lord Of The Rings. Also the film introduces an interesting story involving a character called The Necromancer, which gets developed more in the later films. But the issue here is more to do with the source material and the fact that this has to be a trilogy, there is so much filler here that dulls down the stories, there is clearly not enough for them to work with and is very clear that they are padding out the narrative in order to get three films out of 1 small Hobbit book, which is very clear. 

Script

The script is good though, the main characters are written well, and the dynamic between humour and drama is pretty good still, I mean the Hobbit is a more kid friendly book so there is a bit more childish humour but it doesn't take away from the overall feel of the script and the way it develops the two main characters. 

Style  

The style of the film still looks great, Middle Earth looks great and the film shows that, also with some really fun action scenes that will excite throughout. The issue is this film, like The Lord Of The Rings films is nearly 3 hours long and it has no reason to be, you could easily cut 30/40 minutes off the film for a more concise and much better film. There is also some poor CGI, that stands out and makes you want the poor practical style back. 

Overall

Overall, this is a good return to Middle Earth, that if you enjoy The Lord Of The Rings you will like, but there is a clear drop in quality. I would say it is still worth a watch but just lower expectations for this film. 

Rating - 7/10