The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014 · Directed by Peter Jackson
Original language: English
- action
- adventure
- fantasy
The story
Following Smaug's attack on Laketown, Bilbo and the dwarves try to defend Erebor's mountain of treasure from others who claim it: the men of the ruined Laketown and the elves of Mirkwood. Meanwhile an army of Orcs led by Azog the Defiler is marching on Erebor, fueled by the rise of the dark lord Sauron. Dwarves, elves and men must unite, and the hope for Middle-Earth falls into Bilbo's hands.
What it’s like
Sweeping New Zealand landscapes rendered in digital grandeur: wide aerial shots of snowbound peaks, golden hoard light glinting off coins and gold, and a dark, smoky Erebor lit by forge glow and torchlight. The palette runs warm ochre and amber against cold blue-grey mountains and the sickly green of Mirkwood, while the camera swoops and cranes through huge battle choreography, often hurtling between crowded ranks in a constant rush of motion. Howard Shore's orchestral score swells with brass and choral themes whenever heroism or dread rises, and the sound design is loud and percussive, full of clanging steel, thundering hooves and roaring creatures. The vibe is epic and bombastic, with a thread of melancholy running beneath the spectacle, and the rhythm is relentless, more battle sequence than breathing room. Violence is frequent and stylised rather than graphic: large-scale combat with many deaths, some grisly wounds and impalings, and a dragon's destruction of a town, though it is bloodless and bright in its fantasy way. Its emotional register is earnest, with a few quieter exchanges between Bilbo and Thorin about greed and loyalty. Made for fantasy lovers who want a big, colourful, action-heavy finale to a familiar world.
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