The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
Country: NZ/US
Technical: col/2.35:1 144m
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Aidan Turner, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving
Synopsis:
Smaug wreaks revenge on Lake Town, Thorin labours under gold sickness as he searches for the Arkenstone, and armies of Elves, Dwarves and Orcs converge on the Lonely Mountain, laying their own claim to the citadel.
Review:
With its careful interweaving and resolution of the various relationships (Bilbo-Thorin, Elf-Dwarf, Bard-townsfolk), the third chapter of Jackson's refashioned Hobbit is the most self-sufficient and complete of all. While the introduction of comic relief in the shape of a cowardly retainer grates somewhat, the addition of business surrounding Tauriel and Kili enriches the human dimension of the book. Furthermore, the makers rightly foresee that the slugging it out of wave after wave of CGI foes would lead quickly to audience fatigue and confusion, so they abandon the maelstrom in favour a more Homeric confrontation on the mountain top. And maybe Homer is not that far from Tolkien after all.
Country: NZ/US
Technical: col/2.35:1 144m
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Aidan Turner, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving
Synopsis:
Smaug wreaks revenge on Lake Town, Thorin labours under gold sickness as he searches for the Arkenstone, and armies of Elves, Dwarves and Orcs converge on the Lonely Mountain, laying their own claim to the citadel.
Review:
With its careful interweaving and resolution of the various relationships (Bilbo-Thorin, Elf-Dwarf, Bard-townsfolk), the third chapter of Jackson's refashioned Hobbit is the most self-sufficient and complete of all. While the introduction of comic relief in the shape of a cowardly retainer grates somewhat, the addition of business surrounding Tauriel and Kili enriches the human dimension of the book. Furthermore, the makers rightly foresee that the slugging it out of wave after wave of CGI foes would lead quickly to audience fatigue and confusion, so they abandon the maelstrom in favour a more Homeric confrontation on the mountain top. And maybe Homer is not that far from Tolkien after all.
Country: NZ/US
Technical: col/2.35:1 144m
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Aidan Turner, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving
Synopsis:
Smaug wreaks revenge on Lake Town, Thorin labours under gold sickness as he searches for the Arkenstone, and armies of Elves, Dwarves and Orcs converge on the Lonely Mountain, laying their own claim to the citadel.
Review:
With its careful interweaving and resolution of the various relationships (Bilbo-Thorin, Elf-Dwarf, Bard-townsfolk), the third chapter of Jackson's refashioned Hobbit is the most self-sufficient and complete of all. While the introduction of comic relief in the shape of a cowardly retainer grates somewhat, the addition of business surrounding Tauriel and Kili enriches the human dimension of the book. Furthermore, the makers rightly foresee that the slugging it out of wave after wave of CGI foes would lead quickly to audience fatigue and confusion, so they abandon the maelstrom in favour a more Homeric confrontation on the mountain top. And maybe Homer is not that far from Tolkien after all.