I have not been a particular fan of the first two films in this padded out trilogy, unlike The Lord of the Rings which I thought was utterly brilliant.
In this third and final instalment we immediately start with Smaug's fiery attack on Laketown which is quite impressive but very predictable (even if you haven't read the book). In fact it is only at the end of Smaug's assault and demise that we see the subtitle “The Battle of the Five Armies” appear on the screen.
I think what these films lack in comparison with their predecessors are interesting characters. Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins feels like a supporting character rather than the titular Hobbit! The dwarves (apart from Richard Armitage as Thorin) are all indistinguishable and to be honest I couldn't have given a toss as to who was who. Vast geographical distances seem to be crossed in the blink of an eye and there is a plethora of extra material (and extra characters such as Tauriel) that was never in the book. And what the hell were those Dunesque giant worms the orcs had access to?
The battle itself reminded me very much of the final conflict in Return of the King complete with cave trolls. Peter Jackson manages to shoehorn Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman again into the proceedings (although I'm sure that couldn't have been Christopher Lee in physical combat with the Nazgul).
To be honest I think the best character by a country mile was Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) even if he did look a bit like the Klingon warrior Gowron from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He produces the best performance and he made me feel sympathetic to his cause and to his internal conflict over failing to keep his word in repaying Bard and the people of Laketown.
The script is predictable in a lot of places and I felt as if it was lazily written. “There has been enough fighting!” Yawn.
The Battle of the Five Armies is an entertaining film... But it ain't that good.
What it missed or I should say who it missed was: Viggo Mortensen!
Rating: 7/10
In this third and final instalment we immediately start with Smaug's fiery attack on Laketown which is quite impressive but very predictable (even if you haven't read the book). In fact it is only at the end of Smaug's assault and demise that we see the subtitle “The Battle of the Five Armies” appear on the screen.
I think what these films lack in comparison with their predecessors are interesting characters. Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins feels like a supporting character rather than the titular Hobbit! The dwarves (apart from Richard Armitage as Thorin) are all indistinguishable and to be honest I couldn't have given a toss as to who was who. Vast geographical distances seem to be crossed in the blink of an eye and there is a plethora of extra material (and extra characters such as Tauriel) that was never in the book. And what the hell were those Dunesque giant worms the orcs had access to?
The battle itself reminded me very much of the final conflict in Return of the King complete with cave trolls. Peter Jackson manages to shoehorn Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman again into the proceedings (although I'm sure that couldn't have been Christopher Lee in physical combat with the Nazgul).
To be honest I think the best character by a country mile was Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) even if he did look a bit like the Klingon warrior Gowron from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He produces the best performance and he made me feel sympathetic to his cause and to his internal conflict over failing to keep his word in repaying Bard and the people of Laketown.
The script is predictable in a lot of places and I felt as if it was lazily written. “There has been enough fighting!” Yawn.
The Battle of the Five Armies is an entertaining film... But it ain't that good.
What it missed or I should say who it missed was: Viggo Mortensen!
Rating: 7/10
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