And so it was, after 6 films, 1032 minutes (excluding
extended editions), 36 Academy Award nominations and 17 wins (so far), we’re
finally saying our goodbyes to Middle Earth. Naysayers have been
(understandably) a bit sniffy about the Hobbit trilogy in comparison to the
original three but there is no denying that Jackson has changed the face of
fantasy cinema for the good.
If the first two Hobbit films have had their issues, it’s
that they weren’t The Lord of the Rings and the same can be said for the
conclusion of the trilogy The Battle of
the Five Armies.
We pick up almost immediately after we finish in The Desolation of Smaug (arguably the
strongest of the trilogy so far), where Smaug the dragon, after breaking free
of the Lonely Mountain tears apart Laketown sending it up in flames. This glorious
opening scene of absolute carnage is well and truly up there with Helms Deep
and The Mines of Moria in terms of jaw dropping action spectacle, making you
think if this is the first 15 minutes what is the rest of the film going to be
like?
Unfortunately it never really manages to hit these heights
in the rest of the film which is a shame as a 45 minute battle scene promised a
great deal.
The film’s title was originally intended to be called There and Back Again before switching to The
Battle of the Five Armies, making it clear where the films priorities lie.
The film suffers as of this with first half seeming a little rushed and Jackson
has crammed in as much has he physically can before the battle which forces
some scenes to be rushed. In particularly a potentially mouth-watering showdown
between the Nazgul and Elrond, Galadriel & Saruman which is almost over in
a heartbeat.
There are some spine-tinglingly great individual moments (in
particular the Elven army swooping over the Dwarven blockade to engage the army
of Orcs) but this is an all too fleeting moment. It’s not that the final battle
scene is necessarily bad, or even that disappointing, it’s just not what the
fans were hoping for and that when compared with Helms Deep, or Minas Tirith,
it just does not stand up. Jackson is arguably a victim of his own success. The
bar had been set to heights even flying eagles would struggle to reach.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Martin Freeman once
again nailed the role of Bilbo and has truly grown into the part as the three
films have gone on. He brings warmth and innocence to what could have easily
been an overly dark film. This is clearly Armitage’s film however, as Thorin
delves into madness caused by his newly acquired treasure. Armitage brings a
maniacally unnerving approach to Oakenshield particularly shown during a masterfully
shot exchange with Luke Evans’ Bard the Bowman.
Once all the carnage is over the film also ends on a great
note beautifully linking the two trilogies together which will make for one
hell of a marathon in a few years’ time.
It’s not quite what the fans were hoping and it fails to
live up to the spectacle of Jackson’s original trilogy (some will argue that it
needn’t have been a trilogy), but it is certainly a satisfying end to one of
the true unforgettably cinematic journeys or recent years. Let’s see Jacskon
give the hairy little feet a rest now and move onto new horizons.
No comments:
Post a Comment