Review : The Battle of the Five Armies

The Hobbit - The Battle of the Five Armies : The defying chapter to the middle earth legacy, After Smaug's death. The Mountain is for the taking, but who for? The dwarves? The elves? The humans? The orcs, or The Eagles? Bilbo's loyalty and friendship is tested in a task of courage and leadership which changes him, and he returns to the shire a very different hobbit.

Now before I begin this review, I should start off by saying that if you think that The Battle of the Five Armies is actually three hours of walking and fighting then your probably not going to get much out of it, however if you are willing to look at it from beyond that very narrowed perspective you are going to really enjoy this film.

The story starts again immediately Smaug is on his way to lake town to seek revenge on the dwarves and bring disaster on Lake town, which he does he burns down the town and kills innocence. In an attempt for the dragon to be stopped, the great Smaug is struck down by a black arrow and the surviving villagers are left without a home, and they form an alliance with the elves.

Meanwhile Gandalf is stuck in a cage, Thorin Oakanshield is going mad by possession and there is a darkness growing inside him, that the other dwarves don't even recognise in him. The dwarves cower and hide in the kingdom under the mountain whilst all the other armies come to eraboar because they all have something they want, each individual army has their own reason for wanting to take control of the mountain.

This film really is what is says on the tin, it IS THE BATTLE of the Five Armies, and the plot is very easy to understand as well. It's a very easy viewing straight forward storyline extended into a 2 hour and 40 minute format to draw this trilogy to a conclusion which leads into Lord of the Rings and will please the audience members and fans of the Tolkien novels.

The drama and the action in this film is non stop from start to finish, even in quitter more subtle moments, the drama is brilliant in the final cut to the finer details of the exuberant set, the darkness and shade of the inside of the catacombs of the dwarf kingdom really highlights the fact of the surroundings of where the viewer is transported to, and its better quality if you see it in 3D and or IMAX.

The Story in this one 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.

It may interest people to know that this film is 20 minutes shorter than the previous two Hobbit films, therefore it's not so much of a drag to the viewers watching it. I did think the time went so quickly watching it. So much so to the extent, the scene at the start with the dragon could of been extended in the final cut to last 20 minutes the film lacked. Other than that it was fine.  8/10

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