Feature | Lights, Camera, Action! – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Movie Review)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (UK Rating: 12A)

That picking up from where The Desolation of Smaug left off sounds the first jarring note. For anybody who's seen the previous instalments, or read the book, it's not a problem, but newbies (or should that be latecomers?) will be completely at a loss as to what's going on and who's who. Unlike the recent The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, which smoothly incorporated gap-fillers into its script, no such allowance is made here. After all, everybody's either read or seen The Hobbit, haven't they? Actually, Mr Jackson, no they haven't, and the assumption smacks of a little arrogance.

There is much that's familiar. It's the same cast as before, with one or two returning faces. Cate Blanchette as Galadriel gives Sauron a hard time, as does Christopher Lee as Saruman. In fact, he assures everybody that he will take care of the evil enemy - and after that he disappears. The audience has to assume that he didn't: if he had, there would have been no Orc armies. Hugo Weaving's also back as Elrond, but it's really no more than a cameo, and some loose ends are tied up from part two, including Gandalf (Ian McKellan, less hammy than before) released from his metal cage, ironically courtesy of a nasty Orc.

There is also much that is an improvement on The Desolation of Smaug. For one thing, it's shorter by about 40 minutes, making it tighter and more disciplined. For another, it doesn't have the repetitive pattern of its predecessor - dwarves get into trouble, elves get them out of trouble, dwarves get into trouble, and so on. The story is stronger and the big scale battle sequences work well, making good use of the 3D. Most noticeably of all, this is the darkest of the three movies - sinister even - placing a stronger emphasis on the fact that the book, published in 1937, was clearly intended as an allegory on the imminent arrival of war.

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Although The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has more going for it than its predecessor, it only merits the same score. The opening sequence and the battles are impressive but, elsewhere, the CGI leaves more than a little to be desired. Despite feeling more rounded and disciplined, there are times when it's difficult to see how all that £464 million was spent.