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HOBBITFAN13
Lorien
Nov 26 2016, 2:07pm
Post #1 of 55
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Movie Marathon Review: The Battle of the Five Armies Review
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Ok. So I've finished the Hobbit trilogy and yes I still do think the Hobbit films should have been two. I think all of us can agree with that. But I haven't seen the Battle of the Five Armies, the final film in the trilogy, in years. I hated this movie when it first came out. Actually this was the first time I watched the EE as a whole. I hated this movie so much that when the EE came out, I only watched the Extended Scenes and not the movie. So this was really a new experience for me watching the EE as a whole since I hated the TE so much.
Man was I wrong. I apologize to all those people out on this website that love this movie from my past post. This movie was freakin' great!
Every single time I look up a review of this movie, it says it's a bloated ending to a bloated trilogy. But really you should just look at the movies individually. The Battle of the Five Armies is a good movie. I still don't think its the best Middle Earth movie ever (far from it) but this movie hits the right chords and there are so many amazing things in this movie like Thorin having dragon sickness and Bilbo with the Arkenstone and Thorin's death at the end is heartbreaking cause really Agog succeeded ending his bloodline. But this movie has many flaws such as the following: the overuse of CGI; the movie felt rushed but it was never rushed up to a point like DOS was rushed up to Erebor and then the movie settled there, this movie was rushed all the way too the credits; Alfrid wasn't as bad as he was in the TE but still he is annoying; and the romance could have been better.
Overall, I am beginning to love this movie . It's the most emotional of the three. Is it the best of the Hobbit trilogy? I still think DOS is the best of the trilogy, just because the cohesion of the film was better. Is it a bad movie? Not even close. Is it as good as the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Nope. But this was still a fun ride and yet it felt like a third act to the previous and not really a film on its own. But its one good third act. So I've really found this movie thrilling and I have begun to love this movie (the EE of course) after seeing it again in a long time. I give it an 8/10.
So what are your thoughts? Do you agree with me or disagree? What do you think of the Battle of the Five Armies? Check out my movie marathon review on the topic on there for the LOTR on Movie Discussion: The Lord of the Rings to see my reviews on those films.
(This post was edited by HOBBITFAN13 on Nov 26 2016, 2:07pm)
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Elarie
Grey Havens
Nov 26 2016, 2:41pm
Post #3 of 55
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I'm glad you like the movie now that you've viewed it again and hopefully you'll now enjoy it with many future viewings. 
One thing that has struck me about all of the Hobbit movies is that, for me at least, they kept getting better with more viewings. I think with each one I came out of the first showing with an incomplete impression of the movie because so many scenes are just so packed with details going by so fast. Going back for more viewings always added to the richness of the movie for me and made me feel more immersed in the world.
__________________
Gold is the strife of kinsmen,
and fire of the flood-tide,
and the path of the serpent.
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DainPig
Gondor
Nov 26 2016, 3:12pm
Post #4 of 55
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PJ should have done the battle in a real location, like he did in LOTR (Morannon). Why not? It would have looked more real.
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dormouse
Half-elven
Nov 26 2016, 4:28pm
Post #5 of 55
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But the Morannon isn't a real location...
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Nor is Pelennor fields. Everything you see except the ground under their feet is added or changed in the computer, and the Morannon Gate itself is a scale model.
I doubt if there's a real location in the world that would match the layout and geography of the Lonely Mountain.
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood and every spring
there is a different green. . .
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LSF
Gondor
Nov 26 2016, 4:43pm
Post #6 of 55
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Even if they had filmed the valley part of the battle on a real field, they still would've had to cgi in everything around them, since they wouldn't have built an entire city of Dale within visual range, and a mountain not within a range is rare to find in nature. Seems quite feasible to me to just film that in studio. Not to mention that since the entire battle was done in pick-ups, they weren't really able to go to locations at that point in filming.
Most of the fighting in Dale was on a real location set. Some of Ravenhill were on a real set.
As for LOTR, Pelenor Field does not exist in real life. They filmed the Rohirrim charge on a real bit of field (probably because there was no way to film 200 charging horses anywhere near the studio), but most everything else was filmed in the backlot on a greenscreen, or on a real but heavily cgi-modified field. The battle at the Black Gate was a real field, but once again needed to have a lot of cgi to make it look like Mordor.
(This post was edited by LSF on Nov 26 2016, 4:55pm)
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Ardamírë
Valinor
Nov 26 2016, 5:38pm
Post #7 of 55
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The absolute best part of this movie. Hands down. There are other great parts, but this is my favorite. I don't like "dark" Galadriel, but everything before that is brilliant. The glimpses we get of her hand and ring before seeing her gliding wraith-like, alone, through the ruins... just magic.
And on top of that, the scene is so reminiscent of Lúthien in Tol-in-Gaurhoth, which is one of my favorites in The Silmarillion. And as I don't know that we'll ever get to see that scene on film, I'm glad we got this.
"Behold! the hope of Elvenland,
the fire of Fëanor, Light of Morn
before the sun and moon were born,
thus out of bondage came at last,
from iron to mortal hand it passed." -The Lay of Leithian
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Nov 26 2016, 9:04pm
Post #8 of 55
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No, not all of us agree on two films vs three.
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BOFA in my opinion...again EE only....was much improved. I would not call it "freakin great" but the EE certainly helped. My opinion has evolved with time. My initial TE movie opinion was "wow" that was really good but with a few flaws to "well, it could have been better" to, well, some things really annoy me.....but the EE helped move it back up to compete with AUJ....I would still rate DOS the best overall if viewing as individual movies. Being able to watch them back to back really shows them as one movie - so overall, they were uneven...from "really brilliant" to "No!"....more of the "No" than LOTR....I give LOTR a solid 9.5/10 and I give The Hobbit trilogy a 8/10.
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Nov 26 2016, 9:09pm
Post #9 of 55
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I just wish we would have seen "strong Galadriel" throughout that scene...the shift from
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her being unafraid to suddenly acting fearful with the Nine is off putting to me. I wish to have seen more of her in action as well as a greater conflict (but I know the movie did not want to compete with the BOFA scene). As I have noted...these movies range from Brilliant to Meh to No.
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Ardamírë
Valinor
Nov 26 2016, 9:34pm
Post #10 of 55
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I think it would have been better if she'd started getting fearful after trying to fight the nine alone rather than just giving up right away. But overall, I love the scene.
"Behold! the hope of Elvenland,
the fire of Fëanor, Light of Morn
before the sun and moon were born,
thus out of bondage came at last,
from iron to mortal hand it passed." -The Lay of Leithian
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DainPig
Gondor
Nov 26 2016, 9:47pm
Post #11 of 55
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Galadriel shouldn't even be on this film
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I don't like the dark Galadriel too, the Fotr version is much much better.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Nov 26 2016, 10:15pm
Post #12 of 55
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Galadriel and the White Council
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Galadriel shouldn't even be on this film On the contrary, the addition of Galadriel and the White Council is one of the alterations that makes perfect sense, although I can understand how you might have preferred to see it in a 'bridge'film instead of a direct adaptation. We know from JRRT's Council of Elrond that it was the White Council that drove Sauron as the Necromancer out of Mirkwood. So what, that it wasn't clear in the original book? Tolkien had not developed the Council beyond a vague "great council of white wizards" until after he started work on the sequel. As the Company of Thorin stayed in Rivendell for two weeks or more it also makes sense that Gandalf would have conducted some sort of Council-related business while he was there--at least something involving the arranged meeting for later that summer.
"He who lies artistically, treads closer to the truth than ever he knows." -- Favorite proverb of the wizard Ningauble of the Seven Eyes
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Nov 26 2016, 10:26pm)
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lurtz2010
Rohan
Nov 27 2016, 9:19am
Post #13 of 55
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BOFA is the best Hobbit film for me by far
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I honestly think it's one of the best movies ever made and I can't believe how underappreciated it is. Call me crazy but I'd even say it's worthy of 11 Oscars just like ROTK.
I'm serious.
I've never understood why so many people are so negative about it.
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Nov 27 2016, 3:32pm
Post #14 of 55
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Do you prefer the TE or the EE?
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Kilidoescartwheels
Valinor
Nov 27 2016, 4:44pm
Post #15 of 55
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Yeah, that acting kind of frightened didn't seem to fit her character very well - however, with Tauriel playing the kick-butt knife fighter I was really pleased that Galadriel used magic as her power. And I totally get the "Dark" Galadriel, because Phillipa said she had to fight fire with fire, so to speak, and use some dark magic. Plus her ring is the water ring, so they were trying to give her a drowned look. Even without knowing this I thought it was a great scene. And I like that they explained where Gandalf went, because his disappearance always bugged me in the book. In fact (and I've said this before), this movie has made me appreciate the book better than I did before, which is that I didn't much care for the book. Still don't like that both nephews died, though - don't get me started on Thorin
I'd say I've entered my second childhood, but I never left the first!
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Kilidoescartwheels
Valinor
Nov 27 2016, 4:58pm
Post #16 of 55
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Well we're all entitled to change our minds
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and to be honest, the TE was pretty disappointing to me as well, mostly because it felt choppy and incomplete. I mean, I was expecting battle rams and an ice chariot, URGGGHHHH!!!! And what happened to the Wind Lance, and the funeral? Despite this, I still saw it 5 times in the theater. You said it, the acting was SUPERB! And Smaug's attack on Laketown was worth the cost of admission alone! And then there was the acorn scene, and Dwalin confronting Thorin, and Thorin talking to Kili. I know not everyone liked the gold floor scene, but to me it captured Thorin's realization perfectly - due in no small part to Richard's acting. I still love the ice fight scene, it was so unique and well-choreographed. All the people who complain about overuse of poor CGI should really appreciate that scene, because PJ used 2 actors for Azog (one was a 7-ft tall guy) and three actors for Thorin - scale double, stunt double & Richard. And yeah, that death scene You know, there's an alternate take in the Appendices and I can't decide which one is more heartbreaking. You see the crew standing around, knowing full well this is a take, and getting teary-eyed anyway, really powerful stuff! And the decision to have Bilbo & Gandalf just sitting there, no dialog, probably the best decision PJ made, with two of the finest actors you could hope for.
Of course in the EE we got the Ice Chariot scene, which I think is a BLAST! But also Bofur at the ramparts, probably the best new scene. And the funeral.... I feel a strong urge to go watch it now.
I'd say I've entered my second childhood, but I never left the first!
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lurtz2010
Rohan
Nov 27 2016, 8:30pm
Post #17 of 55
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The EE is a masterpiece imo. It's a real shame that the majority of the audience didn't get to experience the true epicness of this movie. I wish PJ had at least kept in the extended Dain arrival and the battle between the elves and dwarves, that sequence alone took this movie to a whole new level.
In saying all that though I was actually impressed by the TE, maybe the battle itself wasn't too spectacular but I was satisfied by the movie overall.
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Nov 27 2016, 8:38pm
Post #18 of 55
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Yep, that scene was one of those Brilliant moments in an uneven trilogy
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"And the decision to have Bilbo & Gandalf just sitting there, no dialog, probably the best decision PJ made, with two of the finest actors you could hope for."
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Nov 27 2016, 10:19pm
Post #19 of 55
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and to be honest, the TE was pretty disappointing to me as well, mostly because it felt choppy and incomplete. I mean, I was expecting battle rams and an ice chariot, URGGGHHHH!!!! And what happened to the Wind Lance, and the funeral?
Yes, after so much attention was given to the windlance we should have at least seen it destroyed in the theatrical edition. And the funeral scene should have been present in the t.e. as well; it wasn't long, this was the shortest of the three films (wasn't it?), and it established Dain as King under the Mountain. The scene carries narrative weight.
Of course this is also the director who didn't give closure to Saruman (and Wormtongue) in the theatrical cut of The Return of the King.
"He who lies artistically, treads closer to the truth than ever he knows." -- Favorite proverb of the wizard Ningauble of the Seven Eyes
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Valinor
Nov 28 2016, 3:42pm
Post #20 of 55
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Why do people say things like that?
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I am genuinely puzzled by why anyone would want to make a statement about what "everyone" believes, particularly in a place where it is so clearly and consistently demonstrated not to be true. Perhaps you can help me understand this weird quirk in human nature, as you consistently seem to be have far more patience and understanding than I do.
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Nov 28 2016, 4:03pm
Post #22 of 55
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You would be surprised, some people do because they are shorter.
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dormouse
Half-elven
Nov 28 2016, 4:23pm
Post #23 of 55
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Why would you assume that no one does, simply because you don't?
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For what it's worth, I don't either. I love the EEs and haven't watched the theatrical versions since the EEs became available.
But I'm happy to believe that some people do. Maybe they prefer the theatrical versions, or like some theatrical and some extended or - well, any combination you can think of. It may be that they like a shorter film, or that the EE has added scenes which they really dislike and don't want to see - or that an EE scene has replaced or changed a scene they like. Can't think of other reasons but I'm sure there are some.
In the same way, I believe that some people like football, enjoy mud wrestling, keep spiders as pets, eat pickled onions, because..... we're all different!
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood and every spring
there is a different green. . .
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dormouse
Half-elven
Nov 28 2016, 4:25pm
Post #24 of 55
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It puzzles me too. If I ever fathom it, I'll tell you!
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood and every spring
there is a different green. . .
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Darkstone
Immortal
Nov 28 2016, 7:15pm
Post #25 of 55
(1938 views)
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"My dear, young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Cut a few and it will be perfect."
-Amadeus (1984)
******************************************
Fimbrethil, Warrior Entwife
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