The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (UK Rating: 12A)
Almost a year to the day since part two of the Hobbit saga was released, the final instalment – and, by all accounts, the most expensive film production of all time – lands in British cinemas. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (released in UK cinemas on Friday, 12th December) marks the end of director Peter Jackson’s 13 year-long trek through Middle-earth – accompanied, of course, by millions of cinemagoers worldwide. The action starts just a split second after the end of part two.
The predatory dragon, Smaug, wreaks red hot havoc on the residents of Laketown as revenge for helping Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and his band of dwarves in their quest to regain their home and treasure. Thorin is a dwarf with a lot on his mind. Alongside the consequences of awakening Smaug, he’s trying to find the Arkenstone, an integral part of his people’s heritage, and it’s a search that brings on an obsessive madness. At the same time, Middle-earth has seen the return of the evil Sauron, who has unleashed armies of Orcs on the home of the dwarves, so they, the elves and the survivors of Laketown have to either unite to fight them or be destroyed.
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.
That said, the film gets off to a blistering start, with the brilliant Smaug soaring high above Laketown, breathing fire and destruction on the town. There is also a reminder of his previous and gloriously venomous conversations with Bilbo (Martin Freeman), if only to make sure that Benedict Cumberbatch’s voiceover doesn’t go to waste. Sadly, though, because of a nasty case of spear in the stomach, Smaug isn’t around for too long and the rest of the film then has to live up to its opening.
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.
Overall, then, it makes for a satisfying experience, which makes the downsides even more obvious. There is no way on this earth – Middle or otherwise – that anybody believes in Christopher Lee’s Saruman fighting Sauron. His body double is far, far too obvious – as is the one for Ian McKellan’s Gandalf. The CGI accompanying Galadriel’s encounter with Sauron is just plain bizarre and certainly doesn’t look like it belongs in the most expensive film ever made. Quite the contrary! The introduction of a new character in the shape of Thorin’s brother Dain (Billy Connolly) is also a massive distraction. Connolly is concealed underneath a massive helmet and beard, but there’s no mistaking that voice, especially when he tells another army to “sod off” in his usual tones. It’s a small role and certainly didn’t need to be played by a big name with such a recognisable voice. As it stands, he’s annoyingly off-putting.
