The End of a Beginning: A Movie Review of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

In 2003, Peter Jackson released the third and final Lord of the Rings film, Return of the King. Over a decade later, he released the final movie in The Hobbit trilogy, based on the book by JRR Tolkien. Die hard fans will know that The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the last Middle-earth movie that Peter Jackson can make, as the "Tolkien estate" will no longer work with him. So this is the last farewell for Peter Jackson to the magical world of Middle-earth.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was a huge success at the worldwide box office. In America, it held the top spot for a while after opening, as well as being the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2014. The movie stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman, and Lee Pace as Elven king Thranduil.

SUMMARY

   The third Hobbit film picks up right where the second one left off...literally! At the end of Desolation of Smaug, the dragon Smaug was on his way to Lake-town, with intentions of attacking the human inhabitants. Battle of the Five Armies opens with Smaug beginning his assault on Lake-town. The humans flee the town, though there are many deaths.
   From a distance, Bilbo and some of the dwarves watch as fire lights up the sky above Lake-town. However, Bilbo notices that Thorin seems to care little for the troubles of the humans.
   Bard the Bowman climbs a tower and attempts to fire arrows into Smaug's "weak spot," but fails. His children flee in a boat, accompanied by Tauriel the elf and several dwarves. But Bain, the son of Bard, retrieves a mighty black arrow for his father and Bard has one, single chance to slay the dragon.
   Refugees of Lake-town escape to the shores and make their way to the ruins of Dale, the city Smaug had attacked so long before.

   Back at the Lonely Mountain (Erebor), Bilbo sees that Thorin is becoming obsessed with the reclaimed gold and treasures of his ancestors. He has "dragon-sickness," as it is referred to throughout the film. This plays on some themes set up at the end of Desolation of Smaug. Thorin is maddened with searching for the greatest of all gems within the mountain: the Arkenstone. Little does he know, Bilbo had stolen it during his encounter with Smaug.
   King Thranduil and his elven army arrive in Dale and provide the humans with food. He tries to convince Bard to lead the humans in attacking the mountain, which Thorin has sealed off at this point. Bard wants peace before war, so he goes to speak with Thorin, but the dwarf king will not listen. The humans and elves then prepare for war.
   During this, Gandalf is still trapped in Dol Guldur, the dark fortress, holding knowledge that an orc army has left for Erebor. He is harmed by an orc, but the elves Galadriel and Elrond, along with the wizard Saruman, come to rescue their friend. After battling Nazgul ghosts (Ring Wraiths), the three must confront the Dark Lord Sauron himself. Galadriel sends him to the evil land Mordor, but she is exhausted from the effort. Saruman informs the others that he will go alone to deal with Sauron (leaving a "cliff-hanger" for The Fellowship of the Ring).
   Gandalf rides to Erebor, where he warns Thranduil of an approaching orc army. The elf will hear none of it and tells Gandalf that he will finish what the wizard began.
   The elves, Legolas and Tauriel, travel to Gundabad, land of orcs, where they see a second orc army marching for Erebor.
   At Erebor, Bilbo realizes a way to prevent fighting between dwarves, men, and elves. He sneaks out of the mountain and takes the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil, giving it as a "bartering chip." Enraged by the hobbit's deception, Thorin nearly kills Bilbo, though the hobbit escapes. He will not consent to any of the conditions made by Bard and Thranduil.
   As the elves and men prepare for war, Thorin's cousin, Dain Ironfoot, arrives with his dwarf army. But, before anything can be done, the first orc army arrives. Since Dain is greatly outnumbered, the men and elves join in the battle.
   The remainder of the film is mostly the battle (you will have to figure out the five armies for yourself!). The movie ends, however, with a perfect finish for The Hobbit series, as well as a beginning for The Lord of the Rings.

CONTENT

   The Battle of the Five Armies is, by far, the darkest and most violent of the trilogy. However, it still is not quite as tense as the Lord of the Rings films. As Smaug attacks Lake-town, buildings burn and people are killed. There are human remains in Dale, from the original dragon attack. Thorin commands Bilbo to be thrown over the wall (though he is not).   During the huge battle at the end, many creatures and people are slain: humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, etc. These warriors/soldiers are impaled, cut, and smashed, among other things. There are decapitations, but only of orcs. Women and children are shown fleeing from orcs, screaming the entire time. Some children are nearly killed (and we do see a dead child, briefly). An orc is stabbed in the head. A dwarf and an orc are impaled. An elf is tossed around, slammed into stones, walls, etc. A pair of dwarves are stabbed and one is dropped from a tower. We see his somewhat bloodied body on the ground. A dwarf makes a reference to splitting someone's head open. Also, a man is nearly executed (presumably) before Bard intervenes.
   Tauriel and Kili have some more romantic scenes, continuing from the second film. Also, a man disguised himself in women's clothing to avoid fighting. He is later seen with gold stuffed in the dress, making it almost appear as though he has breasts.
   There is little language, with one use of b***ard. The same character also calls the orc army "the hordes of h***."

   The use of magic is strong in this film. Elves and wizards use their magic in dueling the Dark Lord. Gandalf is revived magically by an elf. Most of the magic is seen in the Dol Guldur scene.
   In terms of acting, I thought Battle of the Five Armies had the best of the three Hobbit films. Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and Luke Evans shone out in their respective roles. Also, Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel and Aiden Turner as Kili were marvelous. And, as always, Cate Blanchett gave an excellent performance as Lady Galadriel.
   This film vividly portrays the struggle between good and evil, in the heroes battling the orcs. There is a very real war going on around us. It is a spiritual war, fought by angels and demons. Christians know that good will triumph in the end, just as good always has triumphed eventually in Middle-earth. Perhaps this is what Tolkien was trying to show in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. No matter how dark the world seems, we can rest assured that God's people will be the victors in the end.
   Although I knew the end of The Hobbit trilogy was coming, I was still sad to see it come to the finale. Actually, to be honest, it was a bittersweet feeling. Yes, it was sad, but I was also happy with how Peter Jackson handled his final work in Middle-earth!
   On the musical side of things, composer Howard Shore masterfully produced the music for the film. I also thought this music was the best of the three films. Billy Boyd's performance of "The Last Goodbye" during the credits was moving.
   All in all, this was a wonderful ending to the trilogy. Yet this is not a film for children. Because of the large amount of violence, I believe it is only appropriate for adults, of course, and teens who are able to handle this. Still, it is one of my favorite movies of 2014.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 144 minutes
Rating: PG-13 (for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, and frightening images)
Director: Peter Jackson
Producers: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner
Music: Howard Shore
Year of release: 2014
Primary audience: Teens, adults