The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies Review

by Keith Loh, staff reporter

Action, drama, and comedy. It has a little bit for everyone. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings, has come to its epic conclusion.

Based off the children’s book, The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit has been brought to life on the big screen. This has been split into a three part series directed by Peter Jackson, the same person who directed The Lord of the Rings.

Battle of the Five Armies is by far the most action packed of the trilogy, as the entire installment has been building up to this moment. The human town in the lake, also known as Esgaroth, had been destroyed by the awakened dragon, Smaug, because of the events in, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.

Tensions rise as the dwarves reclaim their kingdom in the mountains of Lonely Island. War is threatened to be waged as an unexpected third party joins the battle.

“Having read the entire saga, I can safely say that the movie doesn’t disappoint. Now that isn’t to say that there aren’t any flaws. Some major details are left out, and some other things are made up, but over all it’s a great film,” junior Jimmy Cressy said.

A central theme of the movie revolves around power and corruption. It makes one question what one would do if they had all the wealth in the world. What one would give up for power and how far they would be willing to go.

There are many characters included in the cast and most of them are fleshed out and have their own unique personality. Then there are those that get little to no screen time. Even those that were once important in the previous movies now seem to have been forgotten, but this is to be expected with such a large cast. Such characters are as most of the dwarves ranging from Nori, played by Jed Brophy, all the way to Kint, played by Ken Stott.

Throughout the movie, there is what seems to be forced romance. As purists of The Hobbit would say, the relationship between Kili, played by Dean O’Gorman and Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lily, was inaccurate because Tauriel did not exist in the books and thus made up and fabricated.

Some would argue The Hobbit, did not live up to its name because it didn’t follow the book exactly, but book to movie adaptations aren’t suppose to be exactly the same. There is only a slight variance and it is the director’s take on what the author has wrote. It is J.R.R Tolkien’s interpretation of The Hobbit universe.

There are multiple ways to watch the movie, six in total. 2D, 3D and imax in 24 frames per second and then 2D 3D and imax in 48 frames per second. Some select theaters even contain motion seats to enhance the experience, though the price that is paid isn’t quite worth it. It is eight more dollars than of an average movie ticket which rounds to $18. The rumbling of the seat is slight and almost unnoticeable and at times, just plain uncomfortable.

This film has something for everyone, but especially those that enjoy fantasy. Even those who are unfamiliar with the series can find something to enjoy.  Although there are some details that can confuse viewers, the plot of the movie easily explains itself.

With the movie being 114 minutes long, the film itself is of normal length, but when compared to its predecessors which is about 180 minutes, it is significantly shorter. This makes the ending of the movie feel rushed and viewers longing for more once it ends.

Overall the movie isn’t a must see, but it is definitely one of the better movies out there. The cgi effects was outstanding, making many of the characters realistic and everything was captured in a grand scale. It has a little bit of something for everyone, but for those that enjoy the fantasy aspect such as magic, dragons, elves, orcs, and dwarves, this movie is truly something else for its story telling and immersion.