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MOVIES - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Review

Dec 14, 2014

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Note: Beware, spoilers ahead.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching the third installment in The Hobbit series, the final chapter of the epic Lord of the Rings saga that began all the way back in 2001. As a note, I thoroughly enjoyed the first two entries of the Hobbit series, including Desolation of Smaug which I know ruffled a lot of people's feathers but I thought it was an enjoyable adventure. The Battle of the Five Armies takes a different approach from the first two films as the action stays pretty much rooted in the same area rather than the endless trailing through forests and mountains etc. This actually works in the film's favour as we have a film with a tighter structure and shorter running time.

The running time has been mentioned a lot by critics and they have approached it favourably. I was only grateful of a shorter running time because when I went to see Desolation of Smaug, I kept thinking the film was going to finish as I desperately needed to use the toilet (emphasis on desperately) but I didn't want to miss anything so I had to wait until the end credits and my God, was I grateful when those credits rolled. Fortunately that didn't happen with The Battle of the Five Armies, I mean for one I didn't drink as much (sounds obvious but a large drink at the cinema is a necessity) and two there was less drawn out.

Firstly though, the film begins right off the bat from the ending of the second film. Smaug has flown from The Lonely Mountain and has spotted the very vulnerable Lake Town. I have to admit, this was one of the most exciting opening sequences of a film in a long time. The music building, the townspeople running and screaming, several of our heroes and heroines are among them - we just know shit will hit the fan straight away. It's what we all anticipated as soon as our heroes failed at the end of the second film and Bilbo's words "what have we done?" still echoing in our ears. It was fair to say that anticipation for this moment was fairly high. The sequence was really well done with Smaug DEMOLISHING the town with his fire breath. From that first wave of fire, we just knew that the situation was very, very dire. We have some comedy balanced out with the Master of Lake Town and Alfrid trying to escape with as much gold as they could carry (but obviously karma is a bitch). Instead of our main heroes taking a stand against Smaug, it was Bard who challenged the mighty dragon. Atop a bell tower, Bard takes aim with useless arrows and realises at just the right time where Smaug's weak spot is. He aims, fires, and bye bye Smaug.

Even though the huge climax at the end of the second film was resolved in ten to fifteen minutes in the third film, it was actually a truly great way of opening the film. Before seeing the film, I kind of expected Smaug to last a lot longer, maybe even half the film, but he was taken down with some difficulty by Bard. Smaug's problem was that he talked too much when he could have just swooped up and obliterated Bard before revealing his weak spot. Villains always talk too much before they die, giving the hero too much opportunity to save the day. I am glad Bard took Smaug down though I was a little surprised our other heroes didn't do it. But Smaug's death was glorious as he flew upward with a scream before perishing.


I wish I had the film with me to rewatch as I'm going from memory here. Afterwards, the people from Lake Town wash up on the nearby shore with four of our dwarves and Tauriel and Legolas. There was a sweet romantic moment between Kíli and Tauriel. The four dwarves reunite with Bilbo, Thorin and the other dwarves in Lonely Mountain where they realise that Thorin has lost his mind because of the gold. I wasn't exactly taken by this storyline in the film as Thorin turned against the other dwarves and became pretty unreasonable but they probably did this to make his eventual "return to good" all the more satisfying.

On the side, we still have Gandalf's story to deal with. He's saved by Galadriel who is just so badass! I loved her in this film, and she carried Gandalf with some hidden strength, I mean wow I was impressed. Elrond and Saruman show up and help with some epic fighting moves against the Nazgul wraiths. It was a shame Gandalf couldn't unleash his power at this moment but it worked better that the scene really goes to Galadriel who steals the show. She turned scary when Sauron appeared and she became this pasty ghostly being and banished Sauron far, far away. Now that's what I call girl power!

More of the story progresses when Thranduil's army arrives at Dale and he and Bard sort of clash before coming to a mutual agreement to try and reason with Thorin. But as expected, Thorin doesn't appreciate the peace that would come from giving them what they want so an anticipated war looms. Even more so when armies of orcs are on their way. I love it when the audience knows of impending doom when the characters don't. Legolas and Tauriel have quite the burden to warn them all.

I loved that Bilbo snuck out being the little sneak that he is, even without the Ring, to give Bard and Thranduil the Arkenstone. Gandalf, who arrives at Dale at this point, is very impressed with his little Hobbit, as am I. He definitely did the right thing as the Arkenstone would have just made Thorin worse and at least now they have leverage for peace. I expected Bilbo to never tell Thorin and the secret would have been found out some other way but when Bilbo confessed straight away, it was a pretty poignant moment for him. It showed his progression since the first film and even the dwarves appreciated it. All except Thorin who got really mad and almost killed him.

Now this is when the review gets tricky as all hell breaks loose with all these different armies beginning to fight. Without the movie on hand, I can't remember specifically what army attacked who at what point and in what order, but let's just agree that it's chaos. I remember that the dwarf army led by Dain Ironfoot II came first to attack the elves but I think the orcs arrived before they could go to war, so the charge shifted to attack the orcs. I don't know about you guys but I love when all-out war happens in films. So much excitement but fear that our favourite characters are going to perish.

The fight scenes were superb. There was so much happening at once but it wasn't hard to keep up with the action at all. It was very easy to follow while watching. I can remember chunks though not in chronological order so I don't want to say specifics and get them wrong. I love the fights within Dale, especially when Bard rides that wagon to protect his children. I was also laughing out loud (along with the rest of the cinema) when Alfrid dressed as the beggar woman with gold tucked into his bosom. He was very convincing as an old lady. He was such a coward but he provided some light entertainment comic relief amongst all the death and destruction.

Fortunately Thorin comes to his senses and the dwarves inside the Lonely Mountain join the fight. When they realise that Azog is in Ravenhill he takes Kíli, Fili and Dwalin. It's a trap though and the first major death with Fili happens. It was such a touching moment to see as Azog kills him right in front of them and then drops him from a great height to Kíli's feet. As soon as this happened, I kind of knew Kíli would die. I've read the book and he does anyway, but since the film series had diverged so greatly, I thought maybe there was a chance for him and Tauriel to live happily ever after.

Tauriel finally comes into the battle with Legolas and sees Kíli in trouble. She goes to help, only to get herself into a fight with Bolg. This was it. I knew this was it. I had no idea what was going to happen to Tauriel as she doesn't appear in the Lord of the Rings films so whether she makes it or not, it was hard to say at this point. I actually panicked during this scene. She was really getting her ass handed to her. Then Kíli joined the fight (by jumping onto Bolg and putting his sword to his throat when he really could have ended the fight straight away by putting the sword right in Bolg's head when he descended on top of him). Kíli doesn't last very long and we have that heart-breaking moment when Kíli dies.

Legolas has a great fight sequence with Bolg and honestly, the logistics are just not possible but since this is a fantasy, I'll let it slide, but man it was a great fight. This meant that Tauriel would live to see another day, but I think I would have preferred her to have died with Kíli. I mean, now we don't know what happens to her next and at least if she had a death with Kíli, it would have been the end of a tragic love story amongst an epic battle. But never mind, I am glad she was still breathing and to see Kate get off the island.

Then we have Thorin's battle with Azog. Again, it was a great fight sequence and it wasn't the most memorable for me until it seemed like Thorin won by drowning Azog. Instead, we get this creepy moment when Azog floats under the ice underneath Thorin and then stabs him through the foot. I gasped haha. The fight continues leading to a pretty hopeless situation where Thorin would only be able to kill him by getting mortally wounded in return. I wasn't sure whether I was expecting Thorin to die in the film series or not but it was very touching when Bilbo found him. So sad to have that, especially regarding the tree that Bilbo wanted to plant outside his house.

Bilbo bids farewell to his dwarf friends and I was both laughing and crying. He tells them that they are welcome any time and they don't need to bother knocking. That was so touching. Damn, I hate when I feel things for fictional characters. It was so rude of the other Hobbits to auction off Bilbo's stuff, even if it had been 13 months since Bilbo was last there. I loved the ending, having that flashforward to Bilbo's 111th Birthday which, as we all know, was a very important birthday for Bilbo and Frodo.


I can't believe a year passed for the journey as I can't believe only 2 years ago the first film came out. Seriously, time has flown for the film's releases and I just can't believe that's another film series I love over. Now I am seriously needing to rewatch the original Lord of the Rings trilogy extended along with An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug extended when the third film's Blu-ray comes out. I just love this world and I want more.

As a review of the Hobbit film series, I must say that it was probably more accessible to watch than Lord of the Rings. I really can't say if I prefer one film series over the other until I've had a major rewatch but let me know in the comments if you guys have preferred one over the other. Also, let me know how you guys enjoyed this film, I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV on August 9, 2014 and will be reviewing 2 Broke Girls, Mistresses, Orange is the New Black, Pretty Little Liars and Salem in the 2014-15 season. Gavin's favourite shows include Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Scandal and much more. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
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40 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this film but I'm usually easily entertained. Who else enjoyed it?

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  2. I loved the first two hobbit movies, so have been waiting for this for a while, unfortunately I didn't get round to seeing it this weekend, but I will be watching it sometime during next week! When I have watched I will come back and read your article, and share my thoughts!

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  3. Great, thanks. I think if you loved the first two Hobbits, you'll love this one too. I know a lot of people were critical about the 2nd one but I actually loved it, so if you did too, then we must have the same taste :D It will be great to know your thoughts about this once you see it so let me know :)

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  4. I found this one to be the best of the three even despite the shortcomings of turning the story into a trilogy and abandoning the original two movie plans. Despite the title it is very character oriented which is a welcome thing these days from a blockbuster movie.

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  5. I was worried about them turning 1 book into 3 films but I agree, I think this one was very character oriented which was a positive from splitting the book, allowing us time to care for these characters. They have been great to watch so when people died, I actually cared. I really was sad a lot during this one :(

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  6. If, I can be candid, I hated this movie. So much so I wasted an entire year devoting myself to it and waiting for the day to come. My reward was utter disappointment.

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  7. i have been reading about a lot of people not liking this movie but no real details..i havnt seen it yet and regardless will see it sometime in the future when i get a chance just b/c ive seen the others..what are the probs that people are having w/ the film??

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  8. Of course you're entitled to your opinion. I'd love to know why you were disappointed though.

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  9. Wait, whaaaaat ? How can that be? Drat it, Sauron lives.

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  10. I have no idea why people are disliking the film to be honest but I guess my taste must just be different to some other people's who hated it. I really think if you enjoyed the first 2, you'll enjoy the 3rd.

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  11. I've seen a lot of negativity from book fans towards this series and I'm not entirely sure their thoughts of the LOTR film series but, for me at least, I prefer The Hobbit trilogy. It was the perfect balance of action, adventure, comedy and drama. I found it a lot easier to follow and I don't care if its an unpopular opinion but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, as I did with An Unexpected Journey and Desolation of Smaug.


    I loved the reference you made with Tauriel as Kate (thanks to the wonderful Evangeline Lilly), I too was slightly gutted that she didn't die. I don't mean because I disliked the character, I really loved her character but I hate how we now have no clue what becomes of her because she didn't exist in Lord of the Rings so I'd have loved to find out what happened with her character between the end of The Battle of Five Armies and the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring. I really would have loved her and Kíli to have died fighting side by side so that they could be together in whatever life comes after that one, but I guess its just a tragically beautiful lesson for Tauriel to learn with love.

    I also loved the opening and I'm not too bothered about Smaug dying after 15 minutes or so because the sequence in which he dies was so intense and exciting, his downfall was all his own doing, instead of destroying Bard while he had the chance, he waited around to brag and gloat as many movie villains do and its a fatal flaw that usually leads to their demise. The destruction of Lake Town was a brilliant sequence and I cannot wait to rewatch it all.

    Bring on the blu-ray!!

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  12. yea ive liked all the others so far thats why ive been assuming i'd like this one...i hear people everywhere talking about how its the worst one but like i said no one really explains why..the movies are the greatest of all time but by far not the worst either..just something thats quite entertaining in my opinion...

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  13. I saw the movie about a week ago and I had mixed feelings about it. Overall I did like it, but there were some parts of it that left me slightly dissapointed, including the ending. While I liked it as a bridge between the two trilogies, as the end of a series it felt rather abrupt. But I did like parts of it.

    So yeah, like I said: conflicted.

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  14. I was a little disappointed by this movie. I was expecting the epicness and bigger scale of the battles. With Galadriel banishing Sauron and the other two fending off the Ringwraiths, I felt excited. The whole trilogy have I watched once whereas I watched LOTR at least twenty times.

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  15. The thing is, LOTR was done more by the book, there was no Tauriel in LOTR, because there simply was no Tauriel anywhere.I like the Hobbit movies and I like the book, I just have to see them as different ....stories.
    I will never understand how Galadriel made it into the Hobbit, maybe that comes from the Unfinished tales?
    All around, very well done

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  16. your just like me l don't like analysing stuff too much it makes tv harder to watch its supposed to be fun ,not add stress.

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  17. I havent watched it yet but lm sure l'll enjoy it sounds really good and you were so right the desolation of smaug was really long.

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  18. I have to wait till January 2 that is the premeire in my country. Im exited for it!

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  19. I watched it yesterday and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I expected. It started off really strong, but then it seemed to drag, particularly the fight scenes near the end. Also, the ending wasn't nearly as lighthearted as in the book. I can sort of see why, as they made this as a prequel to the LOTR trilogy, but it still felt unnecessary. Personally, I think if they'd cut out a lot of the filler from the second and third movies, they could have told this story in just two movies.

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  20. I agree that it started off really strong, and I kinda do agree with you that parts definitely dragged. I haven't read the original LOTR books but I have read the Hobbit book (it was actually 1 year ago today I finished it) so I kind of treasure the film series over the books, so I quite liked the ending and how it came full circle. But you could definitely be right about cutting the filler and just combining the 2nd and 3rd films, though that wouldn't make the studios nearly as much money and as we all know, it's all about the money haha.

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  21. Aw I really hope you enjoy it! Let me know when you see it!

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  22. I can definitely see your point about bigger scale of battles. I definitely felt excited with the entire Gandalf / Galadriel sequence, that was cool. Hopefully when you rewatch the Hobbit films you'll go into them with lower expectations and hopefully enjoy them more.

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  23. Totally understand your point. It was great as a prequel series to LOTR and acted as that bridge but I guess if you take the trilogy by itself as its own entity, then I can see why the ending would feel abrupt. Maybe with a few more rewatches your feelings might be more clear.

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  24. Yes! To be immersed in Middle Earth was the main reason why I love the Hobbit films, and that the series is a bit more light than the LOTR films. I've just loved the ride. I'm waiting for the Extended edition of the 3rd one to come out on Blu-ray then watch all 3 of them in a row, then the three extended LOTR films and have one long mega-marathon. Gonna be awesome, cannot wait! But I hope you will enjoy the 3rd film!

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  25. Yes! I loved seeing this with you as we just share the exact same opinions about this trilogy and movie. It's crazy but it's like we have the same mind. Glad we can agree on a lot of the points there. I definitely agree that the Hobbit series was easier to follow than LOTR. We just love to be part of a minority don't we Adam haha but it seems a lot more people are coming forward with their love of the movie which is good. I'm not too sure why people found this one disappointing but I'm taking everybody's opinion on board :)

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  26. Yeah I read the Hobbit book and I'm treating the trilogy as a separate entity so I can enjoy both without having to compare. I do wish Tauriel had of been in LOTR now so we can see what happened to her but never mind, all is done :( Let's hope for ANOTHER Middle Earth trilogy haha. I'm totally up for it if it's done well.

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  27. I definitely don't think this one is the worst one. For me it would be the first one but even saying that I still enjoyed the first one. I don't think any of the films in the Hobbit trilogy are bad at all but I guess people are just harder to please. I agree with you about the trilogy not being the greatest but definitely not the worst. Definite entertainment that I could rewatch for years to come :)

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  28. Exactly, I don't sit there thinking "that's not right, that's impossible, I don't like that" I just sit back, relax and enjoy. It has to really suck for me to dislike something. I can appreciate a lot and enjoy a lot and this film was definitely entertaining.

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  29. Thanks for this Gavin, I went to see this movie the other day and really enjoyed it, enjoyed your review.

    On a side note, a couple of months ago I visited the Hobbiton movie set in Matamata, New Zealand which is not far from where I live. It was a really good tour, and enjoyed seeing some of the filming locations for the movies.

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  30. Thanks for reading Ben! So glad you enjoyed it too. Ahh man I am so jealous! The locations look stunning so not only am I jealous you visited the filming locations, but also because you live nearby! Always wanted to visit New Zealand, I'll let you know when I come around haha.

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  31. Saw this today and thought it was incredible. Don't know if I'm easily pleased too but I'm like a lot of people here, it entertained me so I liked it :)

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  32. Yay glad to have another on Team Hobbit. It was very entertaining. Thanks for commenting!

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  33. Sorry my internet has been ad blocking disqus. It was a huge disappointment because I was expecting glory for the dwarves. In the book Kili and Fili defended their Uncle on the battlefield with all their might to save their Uncle and that was noble and it also changed Thorin. He saw it happen, he was a broken dwarf, unable to move due to his injuries, he sees his kin fight their very souls for his and they pay. So much so it brought about a turning point, Thorin was sorry for everything he did, he was blind to his greed and the wealth he sought that the only time he knew it was worthless was when he lost his Nephews. It was all about glory and the ability to triumph over evil by no matter the odds, you still try. It was an honourable death(s). Here come the move, oh lets just kill Fili, just kill him, no guts no glory. Oh and remember that she-elf, yeah lets make it all about her and not about Thorin, yeah so Kili dies a useless death too, then there's Thorin, He kills Azog...why do I have a problem with this? Because you introduce Dain in the movie and you don't use him, he killed Azog not Thorin, again in this case it's not about glory, it's about a broken man in more ways than one, he was smashed by Azog in the book and Dain took over and Fili and Kili guarded his body. Again why do I have an issue with Thorin killing Azog? Because he never got to see his Nephews dies, he saw Fili die but he will never know that Kili died because he was saving a she-elf. In terms of Thorin seeing his kin die he knew that his line had gone in that moment.

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  34. Because the guts and glory wasn't there that was in the book. I can't go into details if you've not seen or read the book.

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  35. It's possible since the book Frodo took over does go into some details about what happened afterwards which some were included in the Lotr Trilogy's. With the additional 10 years added to the actors then it's possible to do the after years and show what happened to them and end it with Frodo going West with the rest of the elves.

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  36. Ive actually seen it since the last time i posted and i have to admit that this was my least favorite one, as well, in the series..it lacked character depth to me and by the end i just really didnt care who lived or died..seem'd like they just wanted to throw as much action towards you as possible w/o having a script..was ok, but like i said earlier not the greatest but not the worst ever..still liked the LOTR series much better though..

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  37. It's like the movie goes way off base into la la PJ Land and it just decends more and more into this la la land that I couldn't redeem it in any way. If I did buy this I would stop it when Dain arrives because after that it's pants!

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