The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 9, 2015

The extended editions of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films are widely considered superior to their theatrical version predecessors. You'll find few fans who'd argue otherwise. The opposite has proved true of The Hobbit trilogy, though. The extended cuts of An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and now The Battle of the Five Armies take three bloated, over-stuffed movies and make them even fatter. With Armies' 164-minute cut, indulgence remains the driving force, extra snippets far outnumber full scenes, and bloodshed -- of the distracting, detached-from-the-series R-rated variety no less -- is really the only addition of note. A few decently strong character beats and touching moments have been tacked on, particularly during the new and improved battle with Sauron and at the end of the film, when several heroes are laid to rest. But this isn't LOTR. Opinions will of course vary, but the theatrical version of The Battle of the Five Armies strikes me as a bit better than Jackson's latest, and likely last, foray into Middle-earth.

The Battle of the Five Armies is fine, I suppose... in a dutifully but dully entertaining sort of way. Its flaws are far more apparent than previous Hobbit entries, Jackson's love of cartoonish hijinks is at an all time high, and everything from the plotting to the pacing to the hurried finale feel less and less like a Lord of the Rings prequel as the film trudges along. But it's hard to out and out hate a movie made with the level of sheer, increasingly silly joy Jackson invests here, even as he teeters into self-parody, ramping the action up so high that the whole of The Hobbit saga nearly comes tumbling down. Unfortunately, that self-parody is arguably made even more apparent in the strangely hyper-violent 164-minute Extended Edition cut.

When last we left dear Master Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin (Richard Armitage) and his dwarven kin had entered Erebor, only to inadvertently unleash the deadly dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) on the nearby human settlement of Laketown. Meanwhile, half a world away, Gandalf (Ian McKellan) had been captured by the Necromancer (also Cumberbatch), who was revealed to be that ancient evil, Sauron. As The Battle of the Five Armies lurches off the starting line, Jackson makes all too quick work of both storylines; pitting Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) and his last black arrow against Smaug the Magnificent in a fight atop a burning Laketown tower, and assembling Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman (Christopher Lee) to Dol Guldur to rescue the Grey Wizard from the clutches of Sauron and the ghostly Nazgûl.

The problem is both subplots are resolved so hastily that the film begins its first-act run on a bad ankle, stumbling into an anticlimactic hitch from the get-go. It's clear Smaug should have been dealt with -- to completion -- by the end of the second film. Not tacked onto the opening of the third as a notably truncated ten-minute vignette. Also clear: the Sauron fight Jackson has been building towards since An Unexpected Journey was (mostly) for nothing. Wrapped up with a poorly realized light show and a shrug of the shoulders, it begs the question: why was the Necromancer presented as such a threat when his defeat would be handed to our heroes so easily? (Although perhaps more pressing a question is this: was the Sauron showdown left on the shelf until the last minute? The Weta Workshop visual effects are uncharacteristically weak, looking like the product of a throwback '80s fantasy rather than a film with a multi-million dollar budget.)

With Smaug and the Necromancer out of the way (among other developments, like Bard's semi-reluctant rise to leader of men), it's on to the protracted second act of The Battle of the Five Armies. Or rather, the remainder of what's essentially a sprawling action scene spread across an hour and a half of screentime. The spectacle feels thin. Sort of stretched. Like butter scraped over too much bread. And the final word in what was once a heated debate -- should The Hobbit have been split into three films? -- is now practically certain. No. Jackson should have stuck with a lean, mean two films, shaving the fat, ditching the filler, and sticking with the core of everything that makes J.R.R. Tolkien's original book the breezy, delightful adventure it is. Interestingly, Jackson visibly suffers the consequences of his decision, finding himself in a predicament he's never encountered on a Rings project. There's very little ground left to cover in The Battle of the Five Armies and plenty of time to cover it, making it the most bloated film in The Hobbit trilogy despite having the shortest runtime of any entry in the six-movie Rings saga.

The story doesn't unfold, it explodes. Thorin continues to spiral into madness, and the dwarves prepare for war while contemplating a mutiny of sorts. Bilbo is further relegated to the proverbial bench, with almost nothing of significance to do beyond delivering the Arkenstone to Lee Pace's Thranduil. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) finally makes his full transformation into a videogame protagonist, controlling a troll by driving a sword into its head and steering it by way of its brainy bits, running up falling rocks mid-swordfight, and performing other head-shaking feats of physics-defying godhood. Kili (Aidan Turner) and Tauriel's (Evangeline Lilly) near-romance is milked for all its worth. Ryan Gage's Alfrid is in the mix for... erm, some reason, Wormtonguing in Bard's ear. (And he pops up. A lot.) Thranduil and Bard are eventually sidelined, without the compelling closure to their arcs The Desolation of Smaug seemed to promise. Plenty of alpha-male chest-puffing consumes Thorin, Thranduil and guest dwarf Dáin (Billy Connolly, having a blast). Azog returns. The worms from Tremors make a cameo. Some rousing but repetitive violence ensues, with a few inspired details cooked up in the always attentive production lab. (The signal towers used by the orcs and goblin hordes to coordinate field movements are an especially subtle but nice touch.) And the titular battle of the five armies shifts and evolves as expected, with largely CG legions barreling headlong into opposing CG hordes.

There are several admittedly moving character beats, the majority of which prevent the film from leaping foolishly into heap after heap of Big Dumb Fun. Freeman's scenes with Armitage and McKellan are among the film's best, Pace exudes authority and fury with unnerving focus, the Company actors seize a number of sequences and declare them their own (Turner, Graham McTavish, Ken Stott and Dean O'Gorman chief among them), and Lilly flexes her dramatic muscle, even as Tauriel remains one of Jackson's more controversial additions to the story. The rest of the cast is terrific as well, no matter how questionable some script and story choices might be, but the war is what you paid for, and the war is what Jackson delivers. The same could be said of The Return of the King I suppose, but its stakes were higher, sacrifices greater, villains more captivating, heroes more magnetic, and its battles more grounded and invigorating.

Bottom line? The Battle of the Five Armies is a decently engaging three-star amusement park ride, but be warned: the more you scrutinize, the deeper you look, and the closer you examine all the moving parts, the more dissatisfied you're likely to become. And it isn't long before that dissatisfaction breeds disappointment. Movie magic gives way to cheap tricks, character drama is often minimalized, and too much heavy lifting is left to the always excellent cast, who aren't given much to work with in Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens' grunt-heavy screenplay. Just over the course of penning this review, my trigger finger has been itching, tempting me to drop my movie score another half-point. So why so much contempt? The trajectory of The Hobbit films has been clear since the dwarves faced the Goblin King in An Unexpected Journey, as has Jackson's relative lack of real passion for Tolkien's text.

With The Lord of the Rings trilogy, every effort was made to honor the books, barring several widely discussed changes the filmmakers' acknowledged countless times as necessary evils. Jackson didn't have a burning desire to make The Hobbit trilogy, though; signing on only after Guillermo del Toro bowed out. That initial reluctance seeps into The Battle of the Five Armies. It's not that Jackson isn't passionate about the film he's made. He is, and his joy oozes out of each shot, scene and delirious clash of the Tolkien titans. It's just that his passion isn't in the original story. He loved Tolkien's "Rings." He merely had a fondness for "The Hobbit," and the difference becomes fairly obvious when comparing both trilogies.

Be it the theatrical version or the new R-rated Extended Edition cut, The Battle of the Five Armies is more successful when viewed solely as a conclusion of Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. And even then it has big problems and bigger disappointments in store for fans; particularly fans of Tolkien's original book. As the sixth and final piece in the Rings saga, as a bridge between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films, or simply as an action drama, it undermines too much of what Jackson has spent fifteen years working to build.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Extended Edition release of The Battle of the Five Armies includes three BD-50 discs: the first featuring the new R-rated, 164-minute cut of the film (with no intermission or disc swaps to be had), while the other two are devoted to more than ten hours of high definition bonus content. Moreover, the quality of the Extended Edition's 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation is virtually identical to its March 2015 theatrical version counterpart. There's some minor but noticeable crush here and there, as well as a few anomalies born from Jackson's at-times aggressive digital color grading and green-screen trickery, but none of it proves all that distracting. Even the darkest scenes look great, without much to nitpick or criticize. Colors are largely bleak and wintry, with searing skies and ominous shadows framing a rather stark image, gray, blue and purple tones dominating the palette throughout the film's titular battle, and high contrast whitewashing a number of overcast scenes. Several sequences offer richer, warmer hues -- Smaug's attack in particular -- but these are the exception rather than the rule. Still, it's perfectly in step with Jackson and cinematographer Andrew Lesnie's intentions and quite stunning on the whole, not to mention free from significant artifacting, banding, aliasing and other issues. Detail is terrific too, with crisp, razor-sharp edges, refined textures and revealing close-ups. All told, like the two films before it, the third and final chapter in The Hobbit trilogy delivers the high definition goods.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like the theatrical version of The Battle of the Five Armies, the Extended Edition features an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, bolstered by the deafening chorus of war Jackson and company wholeheartedly embrace at every turn. Dragons roar, fires rage, arrows fly, magic surges, swords clash, axes fall, iron meets steel, trolls crash through walls, towers topple, buildings collapse, Were-worms erupt from the ground, wargs snarl, dwarven shields form walls, elves leap into the fray, orcs and goblins charge to their deaths, and Thorin and his allies go toe to toe with all manner of beast, monster and villain. And every arrow shunks into place, every piece of armor shink shinks with weight, every strike carries strength. Low-end output is hearty and powerful, lending heft and presence to anything and everything that requires oomph. Rear speaker activity is engaging and absorbing, complete with precise directional effects, slick cross-channel pans, and an enveloping soundfield that's as inviting as it is immersive. Add to that dialogue that never fails or falters -- thanks to intelligible, convincingly grounded voices and flawless prioritization -- and you have a 7.1 lossless track that's armed to the teeth and ready for battle.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary: Filmmaker Peter Jackson and co-writer Philippa Boyens deliver an engaging, frank dissection of the film, revealing both the joys and heartaches of the production.
• New Zealand: Home to Middle-Earth Part 3 (HD, 6:07): The third and final overview of the various New Zealand locations used to bring Jackson's Middle-earth to life on screen.
• The Appendices Part 11: The Gathering Storm (HD): The Battle of the Five Armies appendices, "The Chronicles of The Hobbit - Part 3," is spread across two additional BD-50 discs, with an enormous collection of bonus content that covers every aspect of the production. Five hours of featurettes and documentaries are included on the first bonus content disc and break down as follows:
  
  
  • Opening (HD, 3:46): The cast and filmmakers offer a brief glimpse at the fun, family, adventure and challenges of making the third and final film in The Hobbit trilogy.
  • In the Dungeons of the Necromancer (HD, 30:08): "Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett form a special bond on set, the Gandalf dummy gets a star turn, Benedict Cumberbatch puts a unique spin on Black Speech, and producer Zane Weiner unveils his 'Wacky Wheel of Wonders.'"
  • Fire and Water (HD, 30:02): "Peter Jackson puts Luke Evans through his paces on the Lake-town rooftops, Weta Workshop and John Howe create the iconic black arrow, Weta Digital kills Smaug, and it snows in Wellington for the first time in forty years."
  • Under the Shadow of the Mountain (HD, 18:03): "While on location, cast and crew helicopter to the South Island's remote Rock and Pillar Range. But when clouds and fog unexpectedly roll in, they quickly realize that getting off the mountain is going to be a real challenge."
  • In the Wake of the Dragon (HD, 27:28): "While filming at Lake Pukaki on the South Island, the rugged local extras get a bit too enthusiastic, Ryan Gage has a wardrobe malfunction, and Luke Evans earns the first Victoria's Cross, an award given for 'Courage Under Fire.'"
  • The Gathering of the Clouds (HD, 30:10): "As filming nears its end, the Dwarf actors play a practical joke on William Kircher, Lee Pace's horse upstages his performance, Jackson has a 'golden' epiphany, and almost every department finds itself in an inevitable time crunch."
  • Many Partings (HD, 30:02): "Bilbo's farewell leaves the Dwarf actors in tears, filming the funeral scene is surprisingly irreverent, Jackson presents a very special gift, and after 266 days of filming, principle photography wraps."
  • The Clouds Burst (HD, 29:49): "As 2013 pick-ups begin, Luke Evans gets his Orcs mixed up, local senior citizens are enlisted, Evangeline Lilly and Orlando Bloom mount up, Jackson directs an unused payoff to the Acorn Scene, and a fire interrupts shooting."
  • A Last Desperate Stand (HD, 30:12): "Jackson surprises Orlando Bloom on his last shot, Evangeline Lilly commemorates her team and almost gets KO'd by an Orc, Richard Armitage shoots the scene he's been waiting for, and Ian McKellen gives his final performance as Gandalf."
  • Out from the Gate (HD, 30:10): "The Dwarf actors are encased in real armor and get psyched up to charge out of Erebor, Bifur and Bombur finally speak, Weta Workshop creates a Dwarven Hot Rod, and Martin Freeman says goodbye to Middle-earth."
  • The Last Stage (HD, 34:05): "The final day of pick-ups 2013 sees Jackson blogging on Facebook, Richard Armitage fighting on an oscillating platform, a race to the finish between Main and Splinter Units, and an appropriately quirky and heartfelt wrap ceremony."


• The Appendices Part 12: Here at Journey's End (HD): The film's appendices conclude on a second BD-50 disc devoted to another five hours of additional bonus content. The extras break down as follows:
  
  
  • Beneath the Thunder: Forging a Battle of the Five Armies (HD, 1:30:00): "Chronicles the creation of Peter Jackson's final battle in Middle-earth, from the designing of armies and military strategies, to the groundbreaking advances in digital filmmaking utilized by Peter and his team to bring the battle to life." Segments include "A Master Plan: Long in the Making" (30:18), "On the Front Lines of a Virtual Battlefield" (30:08), and "Turning the Tide" (29:49).
  • The People and Denizens of Middle-earth (HD, 1:28:08): "Focuses on the design, casting and creation of three major characters who personify the Woodland Elves and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills." Segments include "Tauriel: Daughter of the Forest" (27:55), "Thranduil: The King of Wood and Stone" (30:17), and "Dain Ironfoot: Lord of the Iron Hills" (30:16).
  • Realms of the Third Age: From the City of Dale to the Halls of Erebor (HD, 1:30:28): "Follows the completion of the creative journey to bring Middle-earth to life as the Art Department and Weta Digital design and build three of The Hobbit Trilogy's most important locations." Segments include "Dale: The City of Men" (30:18), "Dol Guldur: The Hill of Sorcery" (30:14), and "Erebor: The Lonely Mountain" (30:16).
  • Farewell, Friends! (HD, 32:56): "The fifteen-year journey of the Appendices editions concludes with what it means to come to the end of our fellowship, and bid farewell to Middle-earth at last."
  
  
  
• Butt-Numb-a-Thon 2011 Greeting (HD, 11:43): "On location in 2011, Peter Jackson, Ian McKellen and Ain't It Cool News on-set reporter Eric "Quint" Vespe put together a surprise birthday video for Harry Knowles, host of the annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon film festival held in Austin, Texas."
• The Real Adam Brown (HD, 5:25): "An unflinching, uncompromising, hard-hitting, provocative, no-holds-barred expose on The Hobbit's Ori, actor Adam Brown."
• Music Video (HD, 4:32): "Rivers of Gold," by Jed "Nori" Brophy.
• Andrew Lesnie Remembered (HD, 5:47): A touching tribute to the late Andrew Lesnie.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Battle of the Five Armies is the weakest entry in The Hobbit trilogy, which also happens to make it the weakest film in Jackson's six-chapter Rings saga. Alas, the 164-minute extended cut doesn't help matters all that much. Neither version amounts to a terrible film. It's just all rather uninspired, with a burdensome series of showdowns that provide closure but little else. Ah well. The good news is the cast is terrific, Jackson's battle scenes are reasonably exciting, and several memorable character beats help it cross the finish line with some dignity. Warner's Extended Edition Blu-ray release is much better, thankfully, with an excellent video presentation, powerful DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, and more than ten hours of special features. (The bulk of which are stronger than the film itself.)