It wasn't. None of the Hobbit movies can compare to LOTR. [Cross posted from the "Rate Last Movie Watched" thread.] The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies 6.5/10 Those who care little about LOTR thought it was an entertaining 2.5h popcorn movie. The Hobbit was never meant to be that kind of superficial trash. This trilogy felt a lot like PJ's version of the Hobbit, rather than the better adapted and stronger LOTR trilogy. This means characters which I really didn't care much for like the elf warrior woman got too much screen time at the expense of Bilbo. There was too much cheesy CGI and moments of video-gameness like Legolas defying gravity (remember when he slid down some stairs and shot 10 orcs in the head in the Two Towers? Multiply that by 10 and that's this movie). Also, the good guys were too powerful. There was never a sense of danger and fear. The PG-13 hampers any real violence being shown. It's all very clean. Overall, I didn't get a sense of escapism from this film like the LOTR trilogy. It felt too Hollywood. The look was artificial. The comedic timing poor. It was only towards the end with Bilbo and Thorin's conversation on the frozen pond, when Bilbo walks to the Shire that you see some of Tolkien's magic shine through the CGI veneer. Armitage and Freeman did wonderful acting. The extended edition of the 2nd movie is my favorite, and hopefully the extended edition of this movie may redeem it. I've either become too old or jaded, but the ending didn't hit me at all whereas the Return of the King's conclusion left me depressed.
just watched it. total letdown, didn't emphasize what tolkien was trying to say in his book, instead it just turned into CGI-driven medieval high fantasy action flick with hot elves #6. meh. this is not the one film trilogy to rule them all.
This movie did not tie up any loose ends at all. I had more questions at the end than at the beginning. Cool CGI stuff though, but meh as a movie. Evangeline Lilly though...
As entertainment, it's fun. As an adaptation of a beloved Tolkien book, it's disappointing. The book isn't long enough to support three movies and this movie shows that limitation. The battles are well-choreographed, but the emotion falls flat and the jokes are lame. I can't stand the Evangeline Lily character - she isn't in the books and the romance just doesn't work. It's so forced. The conflict between the orcs is just them shouting at a generic bad guy for an hour. Check your brain, and Tolkien loyalties, at the door to enjoy this one.
So f-cking meh. I hope now Peter Jackson fades into obscurity. Because if it's not a Tolkien adaptation his movies suck massive donkey balls. ...except Heavenly Creatures. That was really good.
Is this Alfred guy the worst character since Jar Jar Binks or what? I'm pretty sure halfway through the movie, he was the second most focused/closeup character behind Thorin.
I thought it was outstanding. I was a little disappointed in "An Unexpected Journey" but I thought "The Desolation of Smaug" was really good. The Battle of the Five Armies might have been my favorite of the three movies. Just a couple of notes: 1. Bilbo is a lot cooler than Frodo. Bilbo was one of my favorite characters in the Hobbit but I hated almost every scene in LOTR that featured Frodo and Sam. Bilbo greater than Frodo by a mile. 2. At the end of the Hobbit movie I think it was the Auctioneer that told Bilbo he had been gone for 30 months but when Frodo returned to the Shire I could have sworn they said they had been gone 13 months to the day. Bilbo's adventure did not feel like it took up 2.5 years and Frodo's seemed to take a lot longer than 13 months. My last comment is that I think I enjoyed the Hobbit trilogy better than the LOTR trilogy.
I think 1 & 2 work well together and have the same root. Frodo and Sam climbing that damned volcano seemed to take more than 13 months, just of seat time in the theater. That was horrible cinema, for me at least. I was cheering for Golum at some point.
I totally know what you mean, Frodo was the whinniest character to ever exist, he had such a punchable face, and Sam was just a c*nt for no reason. Their parts dragged on soooo much, only gollum made their journey interesting. I did a LOTR marathon a couple of weeks ago and I skipped all of Frodo's parts
I don't remember those two being such pathetic, empty characters in the books, but I haven't read them in quite a while.
I didn't have very high hopes for this and it didn't exceed those expectations. The movie was entertaining and to compare it to the the Star Wars 1-3 still better. Plenty of cringe worthy and unintentionally funny moments. Peter Jackson and his crew though are still better directors and writers than George Lucas. Plus I think it is obvious they know this a just a money grab. Spoiler I find it pretty funny that one of the main ways they've been able to stretch the movie is to have about a quarter of it just slow mo close ups of Thorin Oakenshield's face. On top of that his expression doesn't really seem much different whether it is gold crazy "GOLD! GOLD!" or standing in triumph. Really enjoyed the Billy Conolly as Dain, battle goats and bear bombs the eagles dropped. I have to think that Peter Jackson and company know this is a joke and are having fun.
It was entertaining but damn...wtf was with the cheesy super poorly written dialogue towards the end?
-Why does the cheesy super poorly written dialogue hurt so much? -Because it was realllllll Lee Pace's voice and overall portrayal of the Elf king was regal as hell though.
I have seen all 5 previous movies in theaters. You guys are really making me question if I'll see the 6th : /
