Review – The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies
OLD hobbits die hard in the rousing last hurrah of Peter Jackson’s marathon commitment to the world of JRR Tolkein.
Jackson’s latest trilogy ends not with a bang or a whimper, but with an almighty clamour in which honour is defended, blood is split, sacrifices are made and not everyone lives to tell their tale.
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is a fantastic farewell to familiar characters and landscapes that blends spectacular action sequences with some touching human moments. Only the fact that we have come to take Jackson’s monumental vision for granted makes it seem anything less than amazing.
First though, there is the matter of that pesky fire-breather with the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch. The first 20 minutes of Five Armies are among the most thrilling in the whole film.
The dragon Smaug has been unleashed and now the good and bad people of Lake-town are fleeing for their lives and facing imminent incineration. The swooping, vertigo-inducing camerawork places you right in the heart of the action as Smaug belches fireballs, roars flames and destroys everything in his wake.
Meanwhile, Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the merry dwarves have secured Erebor and a stash of gold beyond the wildest dreams of any hobbit, elf or human.
Except, the gold carries a sickness that has seeped into the soul of Thorin, warping his true nature. Now, he has become as dictatorial and paranoid as a Russian ruler.
What is to become of them all when their leader is not the honourable man they once followed with pride? Especially as all kinds of hostile forces are gathering and heading towards Erebor for a final showdown.
The Hobbit- The Battle of the Five Armies - 'Fill of Death' clip - Official Warner Bros. UK
Jackson’s latest trilogy ends not with a bang or a whimper, but with an almighty clamour
Elsewhere Gandalf (Ian Mckellen) is in a spot of bother that requires some serious intervention from Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and the mighty Saruman (Christopher Lee).
It is one of the great pleasures of Five Armies that Peter Jackson has used a little movie magic to transform the 92-year-old Lee into a nimble man of action and defender of his friend Gandalf.
In the end, all roads lead to Erebor and a massive conflict between elves, dwarves and some particularly hideous Orcs.
There is a brief, feisty appearance from a head-butting Billy Connolly as Dain Ironfoot and a very impressive hand-to-hand battle played over thick ice that begins to crack and groan under the pounding.
Jackson is a past master at staging battle scenes and there are hacked limbs and decapitations a plenty. What really hits home is the relationships, including the touching love between Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and Kili (Aidan Turner) and the fond regard that has grown between Thorin and Bilbo Baggins.
Martin Freeman plays Bilbo with perfect understatement, capturing a clear sense of his modesty and innate decency.
When the roar and thunder of battle eventually settles and everyone can take stock, his Bilbo manages to bring a lump to the throat for all the adventures we have endured together and for the fact that this really is farewell to something that has been a big part of our moviegoing lives over the past 12 years.
We’re all going to miss these Peter Jackson epics.
