Review: “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”

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Put a ring on it: 'The Hobbit' seals the deal in thrilling fashion

Article by: COLIN COVERT , Star Tribune

Updated: December 16, 2014 - 2:17 PM

REVIEW: “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” concludes Peter Jackson's film series in high gear, offering a level of nonstop tension and forward motion few other movies can equal. | ★★★★ out of 4 stars

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J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth tales of elves and men and hobbits are fittingly set in mountainous country. They reach a heroic level of entertainment with their characters and material. They are enthralling stories about the value of true friendship, the meaning of love, courage, corruption by evil and salvation by unity, themes inspired by Tolkien’s military experiences in World War I.

The “Lord of the Rings” fantasies and their forerunner “The Hobbit” are colossal, and so are Peter Jackson’s mammoth adaptations. Since their debut 13 years ago, his six-film series has richly exploited (and at times rewritten) the books’ massive resources. “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” concludes the story in high gear, offering a level of nonstop tension and forward motion few other movies can equal. It’s designed to leave the audience drained and exhilarated, and from its opening scenes of exploding awesomeness there’s no looking back.

Beginning where “The Desolation of Smaug” halted, the new film opens with the dragon’s airborne attack against Laketown, a frenzy of darkness, death and destruction. Lashing out like a flame-breathing vulture, Smaug (dastardly voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) shields its stolen wealth by scorching the defenseless men, women and children.

The selfish, cowardly leader of the watery landfill (delightfully antagonistic Stephen Fry) has no aim beyond sneaking away most of the town’s gold. The film eliminates him faster than Tolkien did, and more amusingly. Nobody makes death more creative than Jackson. Bold archer Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) battles Smaug from the city’s highest structure to save the rest, even after his longbow snaps.

Greed troubles the dwarf team, too. Their once gallant head, Thorin (Richard Armitage, disturbing and twisted), is as crazed by wealth as the fiery beast. The newborn tyrant directs his men to protect the realm’s treasure citadel from all, including the legions of orcs under Sauron’s malignant command. Soon there’s a full-fledged battle royal including the resourceful wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), gallant elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and new arrival Dain (irrepressible comic Billy Connolly).

At the center of it all is the meek, solemn, nervous, soulful hobbit Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, a canny dramatic performer whom audiences enjoy instinctively.

It’s hard to find a thing not to praise. The haunting Howard Shore score makes the already broad scope of the movie seem almost operatic. The set design is astonishing and inspired. Jackson makes us feel like we’re seeing the past in historical “found” locations; nothing seems as if it were constructed for the sake of the movie.

People have criticized Jackson for trimming back the story lines and culling characters, but here he employs dozens of players who collectively inflame the ever-boiling plot.

Freeman isn’t the most prominent cast member, but he is the best thing in the movie. He plays a runt-of-the-litter character who is interesting to watch and listen to. Most important, he keeps a straight face in comic scenes where the only straight face would have been paralyzed.

The actors do fine jobs, delivering many flashes of brilliantly ugly wit, as when Laketown’s loathsome surviving official keeps robbing everyone through the titanic climax.

Jackson keeps the personalities in the film as important as the action, even in the endlessly crammed 45-minute combat conclusion, a really, REALLY big finale that may almost be worth the cost of the 2½-hour ticket alone. The action isn’t knit together with a Michael Bay editing style so eye-attacking and unsettled you can’t track its sensory overload. It’s what you hope for from a film with a title like this.

In one brilliant attack, a humanoid behemoth opens a defensive wall with a full-speed head-butt, then collapses like a knocked-out boxer. “The Battle of the Five Armies” is a roaring blockbuster of a war movie that manages to have great thrills and be totally ridiculous fun at the same time.