Welcome back!
Well yet again it's been a long drought of no activity on here. I'm a terrible blogger, I don't know why you put up with me!
Anyway I have a doozy of a review for you today. The Final Hobbit Movie, Battle of the Five Armies. Now as with any sequel there will be spoilers abound in this for the whole series. Even the Lord of the Rings series if you haven't seen that yet. Yet I don't think theres a person on the planet who hasn't.
Anyway I just figured I'd warn you now before you get into the review. If you're here for the Score only buzz on down to the end and check it out, then go see it and form your own opinions!
Now onto the review!
Review:
I'm going to do a bit of an in depth review this time around. Lately I've been just doing acting and shots and all that kind of Rudimentary stuff. For Hobbit 3 I have to Get a bit more technical and critical.
Characters:
The Hobbit is an interesting property as far as acting goes. It's assembled some of the best actors on the planet into one giant epic, much like Lord of the Rings before it. but they all kind of blend together. sure there are some stand outs like Bard and Thorin and Bilbo but for the most part all of the rest of the dwarfs just blend into one big mass.
This movie was very much Thorin's from the beginning. Richard Armitage was brilliant throughout the movie. Even if I wasn't all that interested in his overall arc.
Martin Freeman yet again played Bilbo perfectly. The perfect balance of meek and fragile but courageous. He's a great character and I feel this movie really did him justice. I honestly was surprised he kept the Arkenstone but I guess I shouldn't be.
Balin was one of the stand outs of the group. He was basically the only other dwarf. aside from Kili who had any real dialogue in the whole thing. He gave off an air of intelligence while surrounded by mutes.
Then there's Kili. He at least had a storyline to get through. It didn't really end up having any impact on the overall story and I guess that should please the Book purists that have been harassing this series for a long time.
Legolas is back to his usual shenanigans in this one as well. he's like the spiderman of this series. Jumping onto bats and running on falling rocks. it's a bit much and a bit over the top but he manages to toe the line between absurd and fun. At least this time he was a bit less White Walker looking.
Tauriel is there as set dressing again. I'm sure the feminists would have attacked this movie all over if they went another three movies without any female heroines.
Thranduil was great. I loved how Lee Pace got to actually do things in this one. He had some really good fights amidst the battle and he got to do a bit of exposition at the end which was cool.
Bard was pretty cool. He peaked early with the amazing scene with Smaug. That whole scene was brilliant for him. and the rest of the movie was him kind of just watching the battle or punching orcs in a town.
Action:
This movie felt more like an action movie than the previous two. This one had some amazing action scenes from Smaug to the Necromancer battle to the Five Army battle to the Ice Plateau. I'm calling it the Ice Plateau.
The Smaug battle made me stare, mouth agape, marvelling at it's sheer awesomeness. I was absolutely blown away by it. absolutely everything about that scene was amazing. The fire tearing through the buildings, the great effects of smaug taunting Bard. It's Brilliant. My only gripe with it is the death of Smaug. it felt almost like he died then the movie moves on without ever really dealing with him or the fact that he's dead. it's like the movie knew it had a big battle to get to so it skimmed over the aftermath. I would have liked to see Bard trek back into the burned city.
The Necromancer fight was phenomenal as well. Finally getting to see Elrond Saruman and Galadriel in a fight was great. Saruman and Elrond were complete badasses throughout and seeing them blast through the shades reminded me of some of the best video games. It was also really cool to see Galadriel Go into spectral more again to shun him away. But this scene made me wonder why they were so surprised when Sauron regained power in Lord of the Rings. they know he's back so why do they wait so long to kill him?
The Battle of the Five armies was a bit of a letdown honestly. I mean don't get me wrong, I loved the giant battle scenes and finally seeing Dwarves in Rank and fighting as a unit was cool. but overall it felt short and expedited. it didn't have the enormity of the battles in LOTR. This is basically just a complicated Helms Deep Battle. Yet helms deep felt hopeless and overwhelming and tangible this one felt more like a really big Warhammer fight with some cool moments added in here and there.
I wanted there to be more of an actual fight. it mostly devolved into orcs running up to one person and getting cut down. How did all of the main dwarves survive that fight? there are plenty of non combat dwarves in there. Yet each and every one of them survive the battle. How is that possible? Also why do we never see any of them outside of that initial charge. We see Thorin and Dain in batle but then Thorin Dwalin Fili and Kili head off and none of them are seen again. Until they all magically show up on top of the mountain on the Ice Plateau
The Ice Plateau was a pretty cool fight. Thorin and Azog have a very cool fight on the ice. I loved the idea of the ice breaking because of the heavy rock flail. the whole thing was really cool. Tauriel and Kili fighting Bolg was Ok, nothing amazing there. Didnt actually see Kili get stabbed though. it only insinuated it. Also the problem with Fili's death. no actual blood or Definite proof of death. except maybe the fall.
Dwalin just kind of disappeared. I mean, Legolas showed up and kicked Bolg's ass and wreaked all sorts of havok. Yet poor dwalin got less to do in the battle than even Bilbo, who got some kills in with rocks. I felt bad, Dwalin could have had a damn good scene after thorin died.
Cinematography:
The Middle Earth Franchise has always been one of the best shot series in history. the way they blend New Zealand with the fantasy landscapes is absolutely amazing. I never once thought a shot was ugly or imperfect. the only thing that really bothers me is some of the blur in the scenes that make the shots seem laden with CGI. Even when some of them probably have none in them the movie has a certain look to it, probably something to do with the 48 Frames per second shooting style.
Also, as always, the 3D didn't add a whole lot. It made for some interesting little shots but overall it felt unnecessary as always.
Production Design:
The lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are my favorite movies ever from a production design standpoint. the Armor the sets the props the costumes. Absolutely every single thing in this franchise is done perfectly. I would give up my life to go to new zealand and work for Weta Workshop. They are gods among men and this movie is no different. I one day hope to visit new zealand and never come back.
Music:
I'll be honest, Throughout this whole movie I didn't notice the music. Hmm.
Direction:
What can I say? Peter Jackson is a wizard when it comes to this kind of movie. I hope he's able to return and make his own tale free from expectations and stupid book purists.
Final Thoughts:
Ok here's my biggest grip I had with the movie. It had a feeling of being a long movie they cut stuff out of to make it shorter than the others. it lacked the impact of previous films and it had odd gaps where I can see The extended edition adding cool little scenes. I look forward to that version.
Also. where was the cart on the ice scene? and about half of the trailer? There seemed to be a lot missing.
Anyway I loved this movie but it had some flaws. I highly recommend it and I'll be seeing it a few more times. This review has gone on long enough so do me a favor and share it with your friends if you've made it this far!
Final Verdict: 76
Beautiful to look at and a lot of fun but it was missing story and character.
Well yet again it's been a long drought of no activity on here. I'm a terrible blogger, I don't know why you put up with me!
Anyway I have a doozy of a review for you today. The Final Hobbit Movie, Battle of the Five Armies. Now as with any sequel there will be spoilers abound in this for the whole series. Even the Lord of the Rings series if you haven't seen that yet. Yet I don't think theres a person on the planet who hasn't.
Anyway I just figured I'd warn you now before you get into the review. If you're here for the Score only buzz on down to the end and check it out, then go see it and form your own opinions!
Now onto the review!
Movie Review:
The Hobbit, The Battle of the Five Armies
Review:
I'm going to do a bit of an in depth review this time around. Lately I've been just doing acting and shots and all that kind of Rudimentary stuff. For Hobbit 3 I have to Get a bit more technical and critical.
Characters:
The Hobbit is an interesting property as far as acting goes. It's assembled some of the best actors on the planet into one giant epic, much like Lord of the Rings before it. but they all kind of blend together. sure there are some stand outs like Bard and Thorin and Bilbo but for the most part all of the rest of the dwarfs just blend into one big mass.
This movie was very much Thorin's from the beginning. Richard Armitage was brilliant throughout the movie. Even if I wasn't all that interested in his overall arc.
Martin Freeman yet again played Bilbo perfectly. The perfect balance of meek and fragile but courageous. He's a great character and I feel this movie really did him justice. I honestly was surprised he kept the Arkenstone but I guess I shouldn't be.
Balin was one of the stand outs of the group. He was basically the only other dwarf. aside from Kili who had any real dialogue in the whole thing. He gave off an air of intelligence while surrounded by mutes.
Then there's Kili. He at least had a storyline to get through. It didn't really end up having any impact on the overall story and I guess that should please the Book purists that have been harassing this series for a long time.
Legolas is back to his usual shenanigans in this one as well. he's like the spiderman of this series. Jumping onto bats and running on falling rocks. it's a bit much and a bit over the top but he manages to toe the line between absurd and fun. At least this time he was a bit less White Walker looking.
Tauriel is there as set dressing again. I'm sure the feminists would have attacked this movie all over if they went another three movies without any female heroines.
Thranduil was great. I loved how Lee Pace got to actually do things in this one. He had some really good fights amidst the battle and he got to do a bit of exposition at the end which was cool.
Bard was pretty cool. He peaked early with the amazing scene with Smaug. That whole scene was brilliant for him. and the rest of the movie was him kind of just watching the battle or punching orcs in a town.
Action:
This movie felt more like an action movie than the previous two. This one had some amazing action scenes from Smaug to the Necromancer battle to the Five Army battle to the Ice Plateau. I'm calling it the Ice Plateau.
The Smaug battle made me stare, mouth agape, marvelling at it's sheer awesomeness. I was absolutely blown away by it. absolutely everything about that scene was amazing. The fire tearing through the buildings, the great effects of smaug taunting Bard. It's Brilliant. My only gripe with it is the death of Smaug. it felt almost like he died then the movie moves on without ever really dealing with him or the fact that he's dead. it's like the movie knew it had a big battle to get to so it skimmed over the aftermath. I would have liked to see Bard trek back into the burned city.
The Necromancer fight was phenomenal as well. Finally getting to see Elrond Saruman and Galadriel in a fight was great. Saruman and Elrond were complete badasses throughout and seeing them blast through the shades reminded me of some of the best video games. It was also really cool to see Galadriel Go into spectral more again to shun him away. But this scene made me wonder why they were so surprised when Sauron regained power in Lord of the Rings. they know he's back so why do they wait so long to kill him?
The Battle of the Five armies was a bit of a letdown honestly. I mean don't get me wrong, I loved the giant battle scenes and finally seeing Dwarves in Rank and fighting as a unit was cool. but overall it felt short and expedited. it didn't have the enormity of the battles in LOTR. This is basically just a complicated Helms Deep Battle. Yet helms deep felt hopeless and overwhelming and tangible this one felt more like a really big Warhammer fight with some cool moments added in here and there.
I wanted there to be more of an actual fight. it mostly devolved into orcs running up to one person and getting cut down. How did all of the main dwarves survive that fight? there are plenty of non combat dwarves in there. Yet each and every one of them survive the battle. How is that possible? Also why do we never see any of them outside of that initial charge. We see Thorin and Dain in batle but then Thorin Dwalin Fili and Kili head off and none of them are seen again. Until they all magically show up on top of the mountain on the Ice Plateau
The Ice Plateau was a pretty cool fight. Thorin and Azog have a very cool fight on the ice. I loved the idea of the ice breaking because of the heavy rock flail. the whole thing was really cool. Tauriel and Kili fighting Bolg was Ok, nothing amazing there. Didnt actually see Kili get stabbed though. it only insinuated it. Also the problem with Fili's death. no actual blood or Definite proof of death. except maybe the fall.
Dwalin just kind of disappeared. I mean, Legolas showed up and kicked Bolg's ass and wreaked all sorts of havok. Yet poor dwalin got less to do in the battle than even Bilbo, who got some kills in with rocks. I felt bad, Dwalin could have had a damn good scene after thorin died.
Cinematography:
The Middle Earth Franchise has always been one of the best shot series in history. the way they blend New Zealand with the fantasy landscapes is absolutely amazing. I never once thought a shot was ugly or imperfect. the only thing that really bothers me is some of the blur in the scenes that make the shots seem laden with CGI. Even when some of them probably have none in them the movie has a certain look to it, probably something to do with the 48 Frames per second shooting style.
Also, as always, the 3D didn't add a whole lot. It made for some interesting little shots but overall it felt unnecessary as always.
Production Design:
The lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are my favorite movies ever from a production design standpoint. the Armor the sets the props the costumes. Absolutely every single thing in this franchise is done perfectly. I would give up my life to go to new zealand and work for Weta Workshop. They are gods among men and this movie is no different. I one day hope to visit new zealand and never come back.
Music:
I'll be honest, Throughout this whole movie I didn't notice the music. Hmm.
Direction:
What can I say? Peter Jackson is a wizard when it comes to this kind of movie. I hope he's able to return and make his own tale free from expectations and stupid book purists.
Final Thoughts:
Ok here's my biggest grip I had with the movie. It had a feeling of being a long movie they cut stuff out of to make it shorter than the others. it lacked the impact of previous films and it had odd gaps where I can see The extended edition adding cool little scenes. I look forward to that version.
Also. where was the cart on the ice scene? and about half of the trailer? There seemed to be a lot missing.
Anyway I loved this movie but it had some flaws. I highly recommend it and I'll be seeing it a few more times. This review has gone on long enough so do me a favor and share it with your friends if you've made it this far!
Final Verdict: 76
Beautiful to look at and a lot of fun but it was missing story and character.
It's a solid end to a trilogy that, quite frankly, needed one. Good review.
ReplyDelete