The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies Movie Review

Reviewed by Lynn Barker on Dec 18, 2014

Rating:

The Hobbit films come to a close with Battle of the Five Armies and Kidzworld jumps into the action with our review.

By: Lynn Barker

Poor little hobbit Bilbo Baggins! He’s dragged on a quest, roughed up, betrayed and more. So how can this little guy manage to become a major hero?

Should Bilbo use the Ring?Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Back to Lake Town

We pick up the action where we left off in the “Smaug” movie. Bard the bowman (Luke Evans) is in jail and his kids are defenseless as giant dragon Smaug roasts the town. Elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) takes the kids to the river for escape. Bard executes his own clever escape and sets out to kill the dragon.

Bard (Luke Evans) with this oldest sonCourtesy of Warner Bros.

Looking Down on It All

Dwarf king Thorin (Richard Armitage) won’t let his men help save the town. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is horrified. Down in the village, Bard and his son team up to kill Smaug while Thorin’s caught a lust for gold disease that makes him evil. He’s mad to find his legacy the Arkenstone which Bilbo secretly carries. We see that Gandalf is imprisoned in a cage hanging over a cliff. Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), aided by Saruman and elf royalty Elrod, exhausts her power helping the wizard survive and escape the evil Sauron.

Elf king Thranduil (Lee Pace)Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Tauriel and Legolas

Tauriel is tempted to leave Lake Town with Kili (Aidan Turner) the dwarf she loves. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) arrives to tell her they have work to do. The surviving Lake Town people are led by Bard toward Erebor in the mountain where they can take shelter. Legolas warns Bard that others will come to the mountain to claim the gold inside. It isn’t safe. We see that a huge Orc army is approaching. Legolas and Tauriel head north.

Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) worries about KiliCourtesy of Warner Bros.

Elf Army

Elf king Thranduil (Lee Pace) has led his own army to the mountain to get back stolen Elf treasures inside. They feed the starving Lake people but are determined to fight the dwarves. Bard can’t achieve a truce. Another dwarf army led by Thorin’s cousin arrives to demand their share of the treasure. The battle begins.

Elf armyCourtesy of Warner Bros.

Orcs are Coming!

While Legolas and Tauriel discover that a secret army of orcs from the North will surround the mountain along with deadly giant bats, Gandalf arrives to tell Bard that an orc army is approaching from another direction. No escape!

Terrifying Orc leaderCourtesy of Warner Bros.

Outcome?

Will Legolas and Tauriel be able to warn everyone about the northern army in time? Will Bilbo have to be brave yet again? Will he use the all-powerful “Ring” he carries? Who will live and who will die?

Dwarf king Thorin with KiliCourtesy of Warner Bros.

Wrapping Up

This final installment in the Hobbit trilogy is all about greed and finally bravery and redemption. We saw the film in IMAX 3-D and it was pretty awesome-looking and sounding.

It’s a bit difficult to tell all the armies apart at times but major characters share personal moments midst all the chaos and you will laugh a little and might shed a tear or two. Martin Freeman as the sweet Bilbo is both funny and emotional and Freeman plays his reluctant hero side very well. Tauriel may have been added to the epic by the filmmakers but you do care about her and the dwarf she loves, giving us a few soft, romantic moments midst all the armor-clashing ruckus.

Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) to the rescueCourtesy of Warner Bros.

Lots of very effective stuntwork is achieved, especially with the Bard and Legolas characters. It’s amazing how director Peter Jackson can get all these moves out of his actors when they are actually on set fighting……nothing!

Gandalf talks peaceCourtesy of Warner Bros.

It’s cool to see the elf king basically send Legolas on a mission that will lead him to Aragorn in the “Rings” trilogy and great to watch Bilbo return home to the Shire to some unexpected but finally resolved chaos. This film is the “Act III” of the trilogy so it’s where the heroism, dying and fight, fight, fighting takes place. The film moves along and resolves some character arcs but might lose younger audience members in all the who is fighting who chaos. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies is such an eyeful that we have to go 4 stars.