Movie Review: The Hobbit; Battle of the Five Armies 2014 *The Defining Chapter*
I am sure every movie lover knows that feeling that precedes having seen the climax of a very great movie…. The battle of the Five Armies indeed did serve as a perfect long awaited climax.
This movie I am sure could possibly be the most expected movie for 2014. After two very successful prequels everyone must have been dying to see the conclusion of this trilogy. Well for me it felt more like a need than a want…. I just had to make sure I watched this title. (Check out my TOP FIVE movies to end 2014 with)
The battle of the five armies continues exactly where The Hobbit: The Desolation of the Smaug ended… such a dreadful cliffhanger that left me, and I believe, everyone else yearning for the final installment.
This particular one sees, Bilbo and the rest forced to conquer the smaug and then battle several combatants with different motives for treasure.
Of course you would have to see the first two movies to be able to fully appreciate and follow this one. (If you haven’t….Then.. You should be arrested and tortured lol). The titles are based on a book so you wouldn't be doing yourself any good seeing this one without having the first two to guide you.
Director Peter Jackson really put his all in to this…. an Epic defining chapter that perfectly sums this all. Personally I am of the view that.. The Hobbit Trilogy was a very huge step up on The Lord of The Rings Series. (Note that The Hobbit stories are set 60years before the lord of the Rings stories). I am considering watching Lord of the rings all over again just to be sure. The first two movies served as a perfect build up for this.
The battle of the five armies from the start just takes you where the second installment left of without having to bore the viewer with very much unneeded prologues. It’s almost like you are expected to know what the story is about so it just dives in right from the start. We see the Smaug descend on the Laketown to display its ferocious wrath, immediately the viewer is welcomed with a pulse of excitement, fear and suspense. This certainly prepares you for the epic battles and fight scenes that keeps the entire movie upbeat and never dull from start to finish.
The action was definitely breath taking; it is almost like they really did save all the best for the last. I was more than impressed with the sequencing of the battles. I don’t think there has ever been a perfect use CGI as compared to this. In my books, I would say it was flawless. Yes CGI is very necessary to tell an epic fantasy so it’s always evident when it goes wrong but in Hobbit’s case… It was just so perfect. (If you waste your time to watch some shitty CAMRIP don’t blame me for missing out on this visual effects masterpiece).
Besides the marvelous action scenes, the story had quite some emotional moments that really deserve acknowledging. At several points I found myself along with majority of the audience fuming, gasping or sighing to some of the scenes. Also the story did have some minor levels of wit which I believe everyone needed to sort of lighting the mood and seriousness of the entire movie. (I just laughed out loud just remembering one of those scenes). Evidently, the entire Hobbit series I believe was made to explain or broaden certain aspects of the Lord of the rings and this was made clear in this movie which I also think is huge upside. I am sure I am not the only person who wants to see the Lord of the rings again after watching this final installment of the hobbit.
Although by far this movie did exceed my expectations I did have a few minor problems with it.
I observed that Legolas the elf character played by Orlando Bloom had much smaller ears than he had in the previous movies, even in Lord of the rings. I know it might seem like such a minor unnecessary detail but to someone like me who likes to pay attention to even the minute details; it just didn't feel right. I got the impression that they just didn't take the costuming seriously enough. I also didn't like the fact the he didn't have as many fight scenes as I had expected to see.
I also felt that most of the dwarfs did not get as much screen time so they only seemed like supporting fill in cast or extras. Maybe because there wasn't anything major in the script for them but it still didn't feel right for me. Surprisingly this epic climax turned out to be the shortest of the series, I was expecting more than just 144mins for this. For me it seemed like they just wanted to get in over and done with. Not to say that it was a turn down but I just hoped that it would have lasted much longer. Certainly these are just minor shortfalls (in my view) which can in no way void the progress that this installment had capped over the span of three years.
Overall this was a very great movie and I enjoyed seeing it. The interactions from the audience made it even more enjoyable. It is always nice seeing that others share in the same thrill as you.
I would not hesitate to rate this movie 8/10 and forcefully recommend it to anyone who loves a great story.
I don’t know if there is any other book or story by the writer J.R.R Tolkien that might be linked to these great franchise but if there are I have no doubt that, they too would turned in successful screenplays.
You don’t have to waste anytime going to watch this movie, for the first time I observed a fully packed theater with an equally enthused audience. Shows how much The Hobbit has a huge following here in Ghana.
Don’t forget to catch up with the previous installments before you see this one so you can really enjoy it.
The Hobbit Trilogy box set would surely be a part of my DVD collection.
[From Trailer]
Bilbo Baggins: You’ve won the Mountain. Is that not enough?
Thorin Oakenshield: Now, we defend It.
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