All Hope Is Not Lost

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2014)

Once upon a time, Peter Jackson was overwhelmingly lauded for translating a literary masterpiece into a cinematic masterpiece: the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Despite their immense runtimes, there was never a wasted moment—in fact, the fans begged for an even longer cut of these films (these cuts turned out to be 20-40 minutes longer, still without any hint of overstretching). There was so much to explore in that classically grim and grand tale, adapted from three separate sizable novels (the original LOTR—although once compiled into one enormous book by J.R.R. Tolkien—was split into three books by the publisher later on).
However, Tolkien's prequel, The Hobbit, doesn't have that much material in one single novel to warrant three 2 ½ hour movies, which is why this recent trilogy has honestly overstayed its welcome and presented us with a seriously disposable middle point—The Desolation of Smaug—that barely contributed to the overall narrative. Jackson, like George Lucas, has simply become so fanatically passionate about this world that he'd be willing to showcase every acre of Middle Earth if it was his choice; in a way, that's sweet (or there could be a more cynical aspect to it), but few people are asking for this much. The Battle of Five Armies immediately begins with the ultimate clash against Smaug (that last segment of Desolation of Smaug could've just been inserted here and everything else therein scrapped), which ends fairly quickly only for the situation to now center on Thorin's gradually corrupting mind—his obstinate, greedy hold over the treasure he has finally reached in the vast caves of the Lonely Mountains. A colossal war soon ensues, involving the dwarfs, the humans, the elves, the eagles, and the orcs, over this gold—lust for wealth and power has always been a motif in the tales of Middle Earth.
Entering the theater with lowered expectations following disappointment from the last entry, I actually walked out surprised with how wildly entertaining the film was throughout most of its duration. At this point, some of the more central characters and relationships were fully developed, allowing for more audience investment in their arcs and endgames. The riveting dynamic between Thorin (Richard Armitage) and Bilbo (Martin Freeman), in particular, remained the highlight, as well as the fuel to carry the film from a slower build-up to a climactic finale with satisfying pace. Aside from its ending, which was dragged out with a totally relaxed and plodding speed almost to the excruciating extent of Return of the King, there was never a dull moment that even remotely compared to the boringly prolonged sequence with Smaug towards the end of its predecessor. When there wasn't interestingly-choreographed and colossally-scoped action on-screen, the intriguing evolution of certain characters' paths was placed at the forefront. Moreover, while the orcs were as effortless to kill as ever, the primary villains (Azog, Bolg) took arduous, calculating confrontations with powered warriors like Legolas, Tauriel, Thorin, Gandalf, and more to overcome.
On the other hand, instead of putting effort into utilizing impeccable practical effects to meticulously assemble a believable Middle Earth like Jackson accomplished with the LOTR trilogy, the use of CGI this time around really makes everything appear so cartoony and cheap for such a big-budget epic. The first twenty minutes of the picture specifically exhibit The Hobbit at its visual worst with the sight of an animated-like village being ravaged by unconvincing fire effects. Perhaps, the creatures seem fascinatingly-envisioned, especially Smaug, but the whole production occasionally looks like one giant cartoon— totally unlike LOTR.