Film Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Peter Jackson’s final instalment of the Tolkien franchise, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies offers similar strengths and weaknesses to the director’s previous concluding film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves have roused the dragon Smaug, who flies out to destroy Lake Town. Meanwhile, the mountain and its riches attracts various armies…

The third and final part of The Hobbit, The Battle of the Five Armies functions as a prolonged climactic scene. The majority of the duration is filled with this action, allowing for cutaways to other key players in Tolkien’s universe.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies begins in the midst of the action, carrying on straight after the end of The Desolation of Smaug. The opening gambit is an impressive one; viewers are launched immediately into a frantic episode. The sustained nature of the film’s central battle, however, loses the peaks and troughs expected of an adventure such as this. As the fighting lasts for much of the duration, it is difficult for viewers to muster the excitement these sequences usually bring. Battle sequences are finely executed, but the duration does hinder enjoyment.

There is some appealing foreshadowing in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which should please fans of The Lord of the Rings. The characterisation in the film is decent, although Bilbo’s earnestness  is overplayed at times. Production values are up to the standard expected from director Peter Jackson.

There are some great individual sequences in the film, even though there is a lack of momentum building overall. Cate Blanchett and Christopher Lee reprise their roles with aplomb. The film maintains a sombre atmosphere, with a few breaks for humour.

Whilst An Unexpected Journey moved at a glacial pace in terms of action, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies offers an abundance of action. The Hobbit trilogy may not be as satisfying as The Lord of the Rings, but the films still offer decent entertainment for fantasy fans.

Film Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Middle chapter The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is an improvement on predecessor An Unexpected Journey, capturing the spirit of the original Lord of the Rings films.

Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, wizard Gandalf and the company of dwarves continue on their quest to reclaim Erebor, homeland of Thorin, from dragon Smaug. The group face a perilous journey through Mirkwood Forest and beyond…

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug sets a good pace almost immediately. Much of the scene-setting was taken care of in An Unexpected Journey, which allows for this instalment to brim with action and progression. There is certainly more going on in this film.

Director Peter Jackson has, as ever, created an immersive fantasy world. The locations are quintessential fantasy, as are the characters that inhabit them.

With a running time of two hours and forty minutes, there is ample time for the narrative to unfold. The world that Jackson has created is so removed from reality that it is difficult to know how much time has passed. Nonetheless, The Desolation of Smaug does not rush the journey, nor the screen time of its title character.

The dragon Smaug offers a formidable opponent to Bilbo and company. Even before any encounter takes place, there is sufficient myth-making to build a reputation and sense of apprehension. Elsewhere, Legolas makes a welcome return; his presence is particularly gratifying in the action sequences.

Production values in The Desolation of Smaug are superb. The 3D is utilised seamlessly, and effects appear authentic. The score is also effective and successfully evokes the atmosphere of the earlier Lord of the Rings trilogy. Performances are good throughout, with Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen reprises their roles with energy. Benedict Cumberbatch is a good choice for the voice of Smaug, while Luke Evans is a decent addition to the cast.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is an adventure-filled film that leaves the audience eager for the final chapter.

Film Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be exactly what fans of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy expect. This is by no means a bad thing; An Unexpected Journey is an entertaining fantasy adventure.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit living a peaceful existence in The Shire. When wizard Gandalf attempts to enlist him in an adventure, Bilbo is reluctant. A group of dwarves are determined to reclaim their homeland, and need Bilbo’s help on their journey…

Directed by Lord of the Rings helmer Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has the same look and feel of the trilogy, of which this new film is a prequel to. An Unexpected Journey spends ample time setting the scene; introducing the audience to the locations and developing new characters and reacquainting them with old ones. With a running time of 169 minutes, the film has sufficient time to do so.

Given that the film is the first of a trilogy, the time spent establishing the narrative is understandable. Moreover, the Tolkien world created by Jackson is so immersive. It is rich with mythology and visually lavish. The film has peaks in terms of plot, although the serial nature means the ending is not much of a conclusion. Nevertheless, a suitable portion of the overall story is covered by this installment, and it successfully sets up the next part.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been filmed with a high frame rate (48 frames per second instead of the standard 24 fps). Although the picture instantly appears more crisp. However, this takes some time to get used to. The appearance to begin with is reminiscent of historical reenactment on television, particularly in the daylight scenes. The 3D is seamless and adds depth to the film. Performances are good from the whole cast.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a great sword and sorcery fantasy which should leave viewers eager to watch the two forthcoming chapters.

Stuff To Look At

A veritable feast for the eyes this week, with the new teaser trailer for The Lone Ranger, excellent posters from the upcoming Frankenweenie, and more besides…

The Lone Ranger

The teaser trailer for 2013’s The Lone Ranger was released this week. Starring Johnny Depp, directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it is unsurprising that the teaser is reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean. Also starring Armie Hammer as the title character and Helena Bonham Carter, The Lone Ranger is due for release next year.

Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie will be released in the UK on 17th October 2012, and will open the London Film Festival on 12 October 2012. To promote the release of Tim Burton’s new film, these fantastic retro-style posters have been released. The others can be viewed here. They are entirely in keeping with the style of the stop-motion animated black and white film. To coincide with the release, the exhibition The Art of Frankenweenie will open at the BFI Southbank during the festival.

The Master

One of this year’s most anticipated films will be released in the UK on 16th November 2012, with a special run at the Odeon West End from 2nd November 2012. Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master has been receiving critical acclaim and recently broke the takings per screen record when it opened in the US. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

The Hobbit

Several images and features from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey have been released in the last few weeks. These include new posters featuring the dwarves and new Hobbit-related apps. But what I want to know is where are the Gollum posters and apps? Until this time comes, here is an image from the film to sate Gollum fans. The first film instalment of The Hobbit will be released on 14th December 2012.

Gambit

Written by Joel and Ethan Coen and directed by Michael Hoffman, Gambit looks like a lot of fun. Starring Colin Firth, Alan Rickman and Cameron Diaz, Gambit is a remake of the 1966 film of the same name. The film will be released in UK cinemas on 21st November 2012.

2012’s Most Anticipated

As 2012 arrives imminently, I thought I would share some of my cinematic picks for next year. Below are the films I am most looking forward to seeing next year. These do not include films that I have already seen that are due for general release in the next few months, such as Shame or Martha Marcy May Marlene.

1. The Muppets

Although The Muppets was released in America months ago, it is not due for UK release until February. It seems that we have reverted back to the 1980s in that the UK is getting such a big movie as this months after the US. I love the Muppets, so cannot wait for the film. I have tried not to read too much about it, but all that I am hearing so far is positive. The Muppets is released on 10th February 2012.

2. The Raven

From the trailer, this film seems to have everything; macabre murder mystery, Edgar Allan Poe and John Cusack. I love Poe’s work and the premise of The Raven sounds great; Poe pursues a serial killer who bases his crimes on the author’s work. Hopefully the execution will do the idea justice. The Raven is released on 9th March 2012.

3. Prometheus

Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated new addition to the Alien franchise, the teaser trailer for Prometheus has recently been released. It does not give too much away, but it looks very interesting. Hopefully with Scott at the helm, Prometheus will return to Alien‘s combination of science fiction and horror. With a cast which boasts Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace, Prometheus is very exciting on paper. The film is released on 1st June 2012.

4. The Dark Knight Rises

The grandaddy of them all, the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy will be one of the biggest movies of the summer. I recently watched the prologue, which was impressive on the Imax screen. Like others, I was concerned that I couldn’t understand Bane properly. The trailer looks magnificent, so as long as Bane’s voice becomes clearer, the film should be a fitting end to a fantastic franchise. The Dark Knight Rises is released 20th July 2012.

5. Frankenweenie

Another remake from Tim Burton, but at least this time he is remaking his own work. Frankenweenie was a live action short from the director’s time at Disney. Stills from the film were recently released; Burton aficionados are likely to find them reminiscent of Vincent, a short directed by the filmmaker around the same time as Frankenweenie. The stop-motion remake tells the story of a boy who tries to bring his dog back to life, a homage to Shelley’s Frankenstein. Frankenweenie is released 5th October 2012.

6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings was a triumphant film series, and fans of the books were no doubt pleased when it was announced that the director would return for The Hobbit. On a personal level, I am excited for the film because I love Gollum. The trailer shows the return of familiar faces; hopefully the film will be of the same quality as the earlier series. The Hobbit is released 14th December 2012.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer

Warner Bros, you little teases! It is only in the last few seconds of the trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that they give us the goods; that hot piece Gollum. Notwithstanding, the trailer looks good, with the music and lush surroundings highly reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. I haven’t read any of the books, but as The Hobbit is not due for release until 14th December 2012 I have plenty of time.