There And Back Again: Review of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

It was a Christmas tradition for us in the last decade to head to the theater to see each "Lord of the Rings" installment.  For the last three years, it also became our tradition to see the latest episode of the "The Hobbit".  This Christmas was no different.  We headed out into the cold December air to see "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies".

I actually went to see this movie twice.  The first time, I felt disappointed and let down.  The second time, I enjoyed it.

Of course, I have read "The Hobbit".  Many. many times.  It was the first novel I ever read at age 7.  So I knew that they had taken many artistic licenses with the story.  I know that they had converted two movies into three.  But this felt really stretched thin.  In the book, the whole battle takes place after Bilbo (Martin Freeman)is knocked unconscious, and he awakens to the aftermath.  This movie deals mostly with the battle, and, as fever-pitched as it gets, it is still not as cool as any of the battles in "The Return of the King" - giant "Dune" sandworms (hey, wrong movie!) or troll-mounted catapults notwithstanding.

The first two films did a great job of building up characters, but characterization took a back seat to the the epic battle.  Some of the dwarves didn't even have any speaking parts in this movie.  Even Bilbo's character seemed sketchy in this film, taking a back seat to Thorin (Richard Armitage).  I couldn't help but feel let down.

Then I saw it a second time with my kids.  And they loved it.  Believe it or not, I enjoyed it, also.  Probably because I had fewer expectations.

The conclusion of the Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) conflict was really cool.  And the confrontation between Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and the Necromancer(also, Benedict Cumberbatch)?  Totally epic.  Scottish dwarves riding pigs?  Classic.  Legolas (Orlando Bloom) using a ginormous bat to fly?  Awesome.

This movie was all that my kids hoped for, and more.  It left me kind of sad that our Christmas visits to Middle Earth are now at an end.  Oh well.  There is always "Star Wars".