The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The final installment of Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of The Hobbit opened earlier this week. It picks up where the Desolation of Smaug left off.

After recovering their gold and their destroyed homeland of Erebor under the Lonely Mountain, Thorin (Richard Armitage) and his band of dwarves have inadvertently unleashed Smaug on Laketown. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the dwarves now watch in horror as Smaug burns the town to the ground. But Thorin has concern only for his vast treasure of gold.

In Laketown, with death and destruction all around, Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) frees himself from the town jail and with his arrows makes his way to the bell tower where he tries repeatedly to kill Smaug, but his arrows simply bounce off the dragons scales. His son, in an act of outstanding bravery, brings his father the iron arrow. Smaug, angered at Bard's attempts to kill him, tells Bard he now will die. Remaining calm, Bard with the help of his son, lures Smaug in and his arrow hits Smaug in the part of his body that is missing a scale. This finally kills Smaug. With Laketown in ruins, Bard organizes the townspeople and they head to the mountain for safety and to seek their share of the dragon-gold to rebuild Laketown. They make camp at Dale opposite Erebor.

Meanwhile in the mountain, Thorin Oakenshield has the dwarves search for the Arkenstone. His obsession with the gold and the finding of the Arkenstone indicate that he has been afflicted with the "dragon sickness". Unknown to the dwarves and to Thorin, Bilbo has found the Arkenstone. Wanting to give it to Thorin, Bilbo speaks to Balin who tells him that if Thorin should possess the stone he will likely get sicker. Not finding the Arkenstone, Thorin has the dwarves block the entrance to Erebor so they can more easily defend those who will come looking for the gold.

Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman arrive at Dol Guldur to rescue Gandalf and to banish Sauron who has returned, although he does not yet have a physical form. The three fight off the Ringwraiths and free Gandalf who is carried to safety by the Brown Wizard, while Saruman tells Elrond and Galadriel that he will deal with Sauron. Meanwhile Sauron has sent Azog and his army to the Lonely Mountain to destroy the dwarves and capture the gold.  Azog learns from Bolg that Thranduil and his woodland elves are massing near the Lonely Mountain. Bolg is sent to Gundabad to bring a second army of Orcs to Erebor.

In Dale, Bard meets with Thranduil who tells him he has come to fight Thorin to reclaim what is rightfully his, a white necklace. Bard tries to dissuade Thranduil from making war and offers to negotiate with Thorin. He is unsuccessful. Bard agrees to fight with Thranduil so they can both claim what is Thorin has promised them. However, Bilbo arrives on the scene and shows them the Arkenstone and tells them that Thorin has the dragon sickness. They decide to use the Arkenstone as a bargaining piece, but when Thorin see it he does not believe it is the real gem. At this point Gandalf who has arrived in Dale to warn Thranduil about the approaching Orc army, tells Thorin that Bilbo found the Arkenstone.

Just before Bard and Thranduil are to attack Erebor, Dain, Thorin's cousin arrives with his army. As the three armies are about to go to battle, Azog's army of Orcs arrives. Dain and the Elves and Men realize that they must now join together to fight a common enemy or they will all perish.

Discussion

Although director Peter Jackson's third installment of the film adaptation of The Hobbit differs from Tolkien's novel, this is still an exciting movie to watch. Viwers just need to keep in mind that this is movie based on The Hobbit but is not faithful to the story. Great casting, incredible CGI, good editing and a beautiful soundtrack all work together to make The Battle of the Five Armies a visual feast. Like the first two movies, it tells the story of Thorin's quest to reclaim Erebor and the Arkenstone from Bilbo Baggins point of view.

The Battle of the Five Armies features many suspenseful epic battles beginning immediately with the attack on Laketown by Smaug and the courageous confrontation of the dragon by Bard. This is well done, with Bard using his young son to help him aim the deadly arrow properly so as to take down Smaug, who in his smugness does not realize he has exposed his weak spot to the bowman. Smaug is brilliantly voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch who in combination with the use of incredible CGI captures the dragon's chilling desire for revenge. Opposing him is the courageous Bard, determined to save his town and his people.

Besides the epic battles involving the glorious Elven Army and the mighty Dwarve army under Dain, the one-on-one confrontations are especially well choreographed. The face-off between Legolas and Bolg was foreshadowed at the end of The Desolation of Smaug, when Legolas and Tauriel drove the Orcs from Laketown. The two battle to the death on a crumbling bridge that sees Legolas defy gravity and Bolg finally meet his end. Meanwhile above him on an ice covered waterfall, Thorin is locked in a life and death battle with Azog. In the novel, Thorin was killed in the Battle of the Five Armies (and not by Azog).

The inclusion of Tauriel (who is not a character in the novel) and Azog (who in Tolkien's world was actually killed by Dain II Ironfoot in the Battle of Azanulbizar) in particular, and the love triangle between Legolas, Tauriel and Kili offer an unnecessary romantic angle for modern viewing audiences. The Hobbit was written for children, so likely Tolkien didn't see this as necessary. The death of Kili and Tauriel's  response when Thranduil finds her with Kili's body, "If this is love, I do not want it. Take it away please. Why does it hurt so much?." To which Thranduil responds, "Because it was real."   is emblematic of the cinematic license taken by Peter Jackson with the story. 

The Battle of the Five Armies is best enjoyed on its own terms - as a movie about a grand adventure that sees the inhabitants of Middle Earth fight against evil in its many forms.