The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Bilbo and company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising darkness.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Fran Walsh (screenplay), Philippa Boyens (screenplay)

Stars:

Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 53 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian McKellen	...	Gandalf
Martin Freeman	...	Bilbo
Richard Armitage	...	Thorin
Ken Stott	...	Balin
Graham McTavish	...	Dwalin
William Kircher	...	Bifur
James Nesbitt	...	Bofur
Stephen Hunter	...	Bombur
Dean O'Gorman	...	Fili
Aidan Turner	...	Kili
John Callen	...	Oin
Peter Hambleton	...	Gloin
Jed Brophy	...	Nori
Mark Hadlow	...	Dori
Adam Brown	...	Ori

Storyline

After the Dragon leaves the Lonely Mountain, the people of Lake-town see a threat coming. Orcs, dwarves, elves and people prepare for war. Bilbo sees Thorin going mad and tries to help. Meanwhile, Gandalf is rescued from the Necromancer's prison and his rescuers realize who the Necromancer is.

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Plot Keywords:

middle earth | orc | hobbit | elf | army | 

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Taglines:

The epic conclusion to 'The Hobbit' trilogy.

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, and frightening images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Azog's weapon-arm is redesigned for this film. In the first two Hobbit films, he has a thin spike-like claw made of iron-like metal to replace the arm Thorin sliced off at Moria's gates. In this film, it's a curved blade that is almost Elvish in its design.

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Goofs

When Thorin's company uses the stone dwarf head to break the bridge, and prior, there is a moat with a frozen river underneath, far below. However, Bilbo later jumps out of the mountain where a river is beneath him, and the walkway remains intact.

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Quotes

Bilbo Baggins: [From trailer] When faced with death, what can anyone do?

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Crazy Credits

The film's opening title is divided into two parts: "The Hobbit" appears at the beginning of the film, and after Smaug's death "The Battle of the Five Armies" appears.

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Alternate Versions

2015 Extended Edition Blu-ray contains twenty minutes additional footage, including more graphic violence, increasing the run-time to 164 minutes. Due to the extra amount of violence, this version has been rated R by the MPAA.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Dwayne Johnson/Barbara Walters/Rick Ross ft. K. Michelle (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Last Goodbye
Written by Billy Boyd, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh
Performed by Billy Boyd

User Reviews

A reasonably satisfying conclusion to the Middle Earth saga !!!

I personally love the original Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson, but only as commercial blockbusters. I never viewed them as anything deep or anything which demands too much analysis. However from a technological and visual standpoint, the original trilogy was almost revolutionary. They were epic, visually exhilarating thrill rides. But I do think Jackson should have left Middle Earth after the Return of the King. There was no need to go back to that world and make prequels by breaking one book into 3 movies. I didn't like the first 2 movies of the Hobbit trilogy that much. They were mediocre summer popcorn films with too much melodrama and shiny CGI and green screen. This 3rd and last film, although not being anywhere near as good as the films in the original trilogy, is certainly better than its predecessors.

This film opens with an absolutely mesmerising action set piece which is visually spectacular. From then on it has its ups and downs. The battle scenes and action scenes are very well directed, but the non-action scenes leave you extremely underwhelmed. There are attempts made by Jackson to make extremely dramatic scenes and also to continue a love triangle which started in the 2nd film, but they all look and feel cheesy and not at all convincing. So without a doubt, the fighting scenes are the ones that make this film.

The acting is okay, nothing special or remarkable. To be honest, a film like this is more about the spectacular visuals and action, and less about acting skills. Most of the characters are black and white. There is no grey area. Except a few, every other character is just there to say a few lines and start fighting.

This new trilogy uses a lot of CGI and green screens. One of the most important aspects why I liked the original trilogy was the fact that the orcs in the original films were real people wearing costumes. That's not the case here which negatively affects the convincing factor as far as I am concerned.

So all in all, this last film of the trilogy is flawed. But I will be lying if I say I didn't have fun with it. This is a very watchable summer popcorn flick with great fight scenes, visuals and fantastic action. Just don't expect anything more in terms of character depth and narrative layers, and you will find yourself satisfied.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

New Zealand USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hobbit: There and Back Again

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$54,724,334, 21 December 2014

Gross USA:

$255,119,788

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$956,019,788

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), WingNut Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 164 min (Extended Edition)

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby SR Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1