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How entertaining? ★★☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 7 December 2014
This article is a review of THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES. |
"Will you follow me, one last time?" Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage)
THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES is the LOVE, ACTUALLY of fantasy movies: Just some endings cobbled together - little investment in the characters' fates. Three films, at over two hours each, really? Pacing problems have plagued THE HOBBIT franchise. And this final instalment ends with a damp squib, ignominy skirted by actually having some tragedy.
Continuing immediately on from THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, Bard (Luke Evans) is imprisoned as the malevolent dragon turns Lake-town into a furnace. Amid a cacophony of computer generated imagery, the vibe of video game intercut scenes dominate. Fakery removes any impressiveness of destruction. Where are the New Zealand landscapes? Dreary visual effects saturate the screen. Not being adroitly deployed heralds a so-what response to the set-pieces.
THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES is the LOVE, ACTUALLY of fantasy movies: Just some endings cobbled together - little investment in the characters' fates. Three films, at over two hours each, really? Pacing problems have plagued THE HOBBIT franchise. And this final instalment ends with a damp squib, ignominy skirted by actually having some tragedy.
Continuing immediately on from THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, Bard (Luke Evans) is imprisoned as the malevolent dragon turns Lake-town into a furnace. Amid a cacophony of computer generated imagery, the vibe of video game intercut scenes dominate. Fakery removes any impressiveness of destruction. Where are the New Zealand landscapes? Dreary visual effects saturate the screen. Not being adroitly deployed heralds a so-what response to the set-pieces.
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Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) makes for a formidable foe. His early benching leaves a hole that orc leader Azog the Defiler (Manu Bennett) cannot fill. The Lonely Mountain, and the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor inside it, now squatter free, has all of Middle Earth wanting a piece; hence the five armies of the title.
Query: Hobbit, dwarves, elves and humankind working together to overcome heinous adversity; why is inter-racial teamwork not reflected in the casting? It is an issue that has dogged all six movies.
Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is kept hanging in his own prison by the Necromancer (also Benedict Cumberbatch); needing to be rescued by Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman (Christopher Lee). Sauron's reveal and retreat is fudged. Bridging the two trilogies is as clunky as the STAR WARS prequels. Dialogue falls from mouths leadenly: Gandalf, “The battle for the mountain is about to begin.” Blaring signposts, and patronisingly stating the obvious, begs where has the artistry gone?
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Wow inducing action sequences were rife in THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Their absence is noted in the prequels. AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY had one: The Goblin kingdom escape - though there is a dubious tone to it. THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG of course had the barrel melee, and Legolas’ martial arts fisticuffs. THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES is parsimonious in this department. Both characters and filmmakers give off the air of just wanting it to be over with.
Urgency and end of days dread are not felt. When you get your elf leads to act scared at the prospect of war bats, your movie is in trouble. One element to thank the trilogy for is the birth of a striking female action star in Evangeline Lilly.
Those effing giant eagles make a tiresome entrance. Perhaps they are a metaphor for writers' block?
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