“The Hobbit” trilogy comes to an end, but not nearly soon enough

I can see why Peter Jackson wanted to make “The Hobbit” into three movies instead of two. Besides making 50 percent more money, much more character development happens and the story feels more complete—a beginning, a middle and an end.

But it didn’t need to be three movies. It didn’t even need to be two. Nevertheless, we got a third Hobbit movie anyway, and for the most part it was not bad.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” is the third installment of the Hobbit movie franchise and sixth Middle Earth movie co-written and directed by Peter Jackson. Beginning almost immediately where the previous film left off, the vengeful dragon Smaug is destroying the peaceful hamlet of Laketown as Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and the dwarves lay claim to the Lonely Mountain.

But their celebration is short-lived as Thorin (Richard Armitage) grows obsessed with finding the Arkenstone and keeping all the treasure inside for himself and his relatives. Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is rescued by his elven and wizard friends where an unexpected emergence of Sauron, the main antagonist of “The Lord of the Rings,” occurs.

Unfortunately for all involved the struggle has only just begun, because armies of dwarves, elves, orcs, humans and goblins converge at the base of the Lonely Mountain, all with a plan to take the treasure inside. The fight for the future of Middle Earth has only just begun.

First of all, Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins. No other actor has captured the character or what a hobbit is supposed to be except for Freeman, though Ian Holm came close. Freeman’s acting wasn’t underwhelming or over-the-top, but spot on. The subtlety and sincerity in every move he made and word he said showed a deep and vulnerable man—or hobbit—that makes these movies worth it.

However, when a movie by the same people who made “The Lord of the Rings” looks like it’s trying too hard to look like “The Lord of the Rings,” something is wrong. It may be the 48 frames per second, it may be the new cameras and 3D or it may just be the special effects crew, but sometimes this movie looked more fake than Fellowship of the Ring did 13 years ago.

The actual battle with the five armies tries to be as big and exciting as the battle in Return of the King, but it just looked like a bunch of CGI and green screen in 3D. Even the soundtrack sounded more like a parody of the Lord of the Rings scores than a serious score for The Hobbit.

The story, for the most part, is okay. Everything that was actually in the novel, or was very much in the spirit of the novel, worked wonderfully. But everything that came from the appendixes or other Middle Earth books and was shoe horned into these movies was distracting and wasteful…except for Sylvester McCoy as the wizard Radagast. He was fun.

Ian McKellen was great as Gandalf, which should be no surprise to anyone. All the actors who portrayed the dwarves, elves, Laketown men and orcs were just fine. I’m surprised that in three movies clocking in at eight hours total, I didn’t really care about what happened to any one of the supporting characters. Honestly, their stories weren’t very interesting and their motivations not very impressive. So for what script they had, everyone was good.

What we needed was more Bilbo. If we were given two three-hour movies with every scene that had no direct connection to Bilbo cut out, the movies would have been better. It is called “The Hobbit,” after all. Shouldn’t Bilbo be the central hero with the story surrounding him? He is the narrator and “writer” of the book in Lord of the Rings. He wouldn’t have known what was going on in nearly 30 percent of what we saw in this trilogy.

At least there were some short scenes with British and Australian greats like Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Smaug. The first three are extremely important in the Lord of the Rings films, so seeing them encounter Sauron does give an insight into their character in the later stories/earlier films. And Cumberbatch is a great actor voicing Smaug, an equally great villain.

If you’re a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, then you will like some parts of this movie. If you like fantasy and action/adventure, you will like some parts of this movie. In the end, it’s the final Middle Earth installment that could have been so much better, but without Peter Jackson in charge it could have been so much worse as well.

The Top 10 Movies of 2012

 

These are the top 10 movies of 2012 according to me. Although my critical side comes into play, these are more personal favorites than critical rankings. Enjoy!

**Keep in mind that I DID NOT see every movie that came out by December 31st**

10: “Wreck It Ralph”   Brilliant new idea. Love seeing the classic arcade video games. The concept of the power strip connecting all the games’ characters was genius. Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch steal the show. Great performances, great animation, great fun.

9: “Prometheus”   I loved going back into the Alien universe to see ‘how it all began.’ The story kept be interested and focused from beginning to end. Ridley Scott is still a good director. The few answers with many more questions sets up an obvious sequel for a direct prequel to “Alien.” Special effects are pretty good. Highly recommended.

8: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”   Same as “Prometheus,” I loved being back in Middle Earth. It would be higher up on the list if it were shorter and didn’t drag. But the characters are fun and kept me invested. Sir Ian McKellen plays the greatest hero of Middle Earth. Hands down. Spectacular cinematography and production design. Music is fun as well. But, seriously, cut it down Peter Jackson!

7: “The Avengers”   So the movie that has been building up for 4 years has finally arrived, and did it pay off? With flying colors! The interactions between the characters are gold. Joss Whedon has such a good eye and mind for sci-fi/fantasy/action-filled productions. Robert Downey Jr. kills every minute he’s on screen. Great action and fun. Story has some holes, but works out great in the end. A must see.

6: “Looper”   As you will soon find out, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is featured often in this list. His chemistry with Bruce Willis is hilarious and intense as hell at the same time, and I loved it. Brilliant story with brilliant production design and camera work. Amazing job for a director’s 3 picture. Fun, exciting, and keeps you guessing. See it for Joe.

5: “Les Miserables”   Although this movie isn’t as good as all the hype it received, it was pretty good. I’m a sucker for musicals, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe (who had quite a bit of auto-tune). Unless you know the musical, it can be confusing. There are also only 12 lines of dialogue in the whole 157 minutes. With that said: the acting is spectacular, the humor and emotion/drama is wonderful, the camera work is (for the most part), and the musical score is phenomenal! Anne Hathaway gave the performance of the decade. If you like musicals and great acting, see this.

4: “Lincoln”   Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, and (you guessed it) Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this epic Civil War masterpiece. I never thought a movie that is exactly 2 hours 30 min could pass so quickly. I was on the edge of my seat for two thirds of the movie and it’s all dialogue, I know how it ends: slaves are free and Abe gets shot, and it’s still thrilling as hell. The man who brought us Jaws, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan has still got it.

3: “The Dark Knight Rises”   So it’s the final installment of the Dark Knight trilogy, and boy was it worth the wait. Brilliant acting, brilliant, story, brilliant concept, brilliant look, feel, and tone. Brilliant everything! This would have been number one if it weren’t for some confusing holes with Bane and Bruce, but I’ll let it slide. Christopher Nolan was the perfect director for this series. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (again) and Anne Hathaway (again) steal the show. All around fun, thrilling, and rewarding.

Now these next 2 drove me nuts! They switched back and forth about 10 times. Hopefully I made the right choice in their ranking.

2: “Argo”   Ben Affleck has been the punchline of many jokes in Hollywood, but “The Town” quieted them down. “Argo” has ended them once and for all. Definitely one of the best filmmakers out there today. Amazing story because it’s true! Acting is phenomenal. Affleck is great. Bryan Cranston is great. Alan Arkin and John Goodman made this movie. If they were not in it, this would probably be in 6 or 7’s spot. The production design and camera work feels so real. Kept me on the edge of my seat and biting my nails for the last 40 minutes without a break. A must see.

And my personal pick for the #1 movie of 2012 is…

1: “Life of Pi”   The directors have done it again with Ang Lee taking charge in this adaption of the best selling book from 2003.  A lot of this film is some of the most original film making I’ve seen in years. Camera work is out of this world.  The special effects, colors, and look of India left me speechless. The relationship between Pi and Richard Parker is adorable and heartbreaking. Great music. Great effort in the acting. The story is so complex and simple that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since seeing it on November 24. Who knew a story of a boy on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific could be one of the most in depth and original of the past decade. One of my top 5 favorite books of all time and now my favorite film of 2012.

I hope you have all seen or will see these 10 movies and thanks for reading!

~Kellen M. Quigley