The Battle Of The Five Armies

Inevitably, we caught the final Hobbit movie on the day of its release here in Australia.  Matt, my nephew, suggested we see it together so I thought we should make it as eventful a movie trip as possible (you only have your first Sydney Christmas once and I want him to remember it as fun because he's a long way from home and his family).  I got tickets for one of the screenings at the IMAX at Darling Harbour.  It claims to be the largest IMAX screen in the world which may or may not be true but it hardly seems worth arguing the point.  It's a massive screen.  We were sitting at the rear of the steeply raked auditorium, where the wheelchair spaces are located.  When I booked the tickets I was told the space would be at the farthest left position but, as it turned out, we were directed to the centre of the row, the very best viewing position for such a large, curved screen.  I was pleased indeed at that change.

As for the movie, well what can one say?  First, of course, you have to tip your hat to Peter Jackson and his team for pulling off a remarkable cinematic achievement.  We can quibble - if we must - about stretching out one small children's book into three more or less three hour films but to do so seems churlish. We've been entertained splendidly and at times genuinely excited by the series of Tolkein films; never less than good, always visually sumptuous, arresting and sometimes excellent.  This last Hobbit episode was enjoyable and entertaining.  It avoided the worst excesses of bombast and pretensions that sometimes detracted from story telling in other parts of what is now a six-volume epic. And, it's fair to say because this was an improvement on its predecessors, it is the shortest of the three Hobbit films (although still a good bit over two hours).

So, a tighter script is a definite plus.  The performances were all good, although I doubt any of the actors felt particularly stretched by the task. Martin Freeman is a wholly believable, charming Bilbo Baggins; rounded, three-dimensional, genuinely moving and, when it's called for, witty.  Ian McKellan doesn't have a great deal to do but every time he appears on screen it's Gandalf that we see.  Lee Pace, as Thranduil, is and has been for me the outstanding presence of movies 2 and 3.  I believe that's a King of woodland elves I see before me, one who knows loss and cares for those he leads and who can rise above the bitterness he feels for past injustices and wrongs.  Beyond the performances I was relieved that the battle scenes were not interminable as some have been in all previous five films. In this area, I firmly believe, less is definitely more.

There isn't much more to say about the movie, oddly enough. The entire trilogy was rather underwhelming I feel, its coherence undermined by the unnecessary three film structure.  Peter Jackson brought home the mammoth project he started maybe 20 years ago with an entertaining romp but not a film anyone will rave about to friends.  I'm glad we saw it on the giant 3D screen of the Sydney IMAX and I'm glad my nephew got to see it with us.  There are many, much worse ways to spend a Boxing Day.