“Will you have peace, or war?”
Swift shot: The final film in a wonderfully created Peter Jackson Middle-earth. Bilbo will return “back again”. His long journey to restore the King Under the Lonely Mountain (Erebor) will be realized, and his contract as burglar obligated. But the most vile evils yet conjured up by J.R.R. Tolkien amass and the forces of darkness are literally everywhere! The bloodshed is epic and battle sequences are visceral and tactile; all your senses are needed to appreciate the full range of combat and carnage. Heroes will fall and new legends of song will be sung.
Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), now King Under the Lonely Mountain at Erebor, thanks to brave Lake-town hero Bard (Luke Evans), has fallen under a sickness . . . dragon sickness. Whenever a dragon has horded gold, the riches become tainted and drive the new possessor mad with greed. It consumes Thorin, but nothing drives him more than the exhaustive search for the coveted Arkenstone. This stone is the pinnacle crown jewel to the Dwarvish race and his birthright. Without it, King Thorin is incomplete.
He is convinced, someone is keeping the stone hidden from him.
Now that the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) is gone, people from all over Middle-earth have decided to return to the mountain to reclaim their stolen treasures. In Thorin’s maddened eyes, they are thieves and should be dealt with accordingly. King Thorin prepares for war.
First “Man” comes, after the displaced folk of Lake-town were forced to seek new shelter in Dale, adjacent to the mountain. For their earlier shelter and assistance, Thorin promised them a cut of the treasure, but he has changed his mind. King Thorin has become dishonorable.
Next the Elves approach Dale and form a loose alliance with the Lake-town stragglers, now occupying the town. Led by the majestic Thranduil (Lee Pace), who rides a giant moose-like stead. Meanwhile Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) set out on a separate quest to scout out the North. Legolas fears the great Orc horde is preparing to strike from the North. Tauriel is devastated to leave her dwarf flame Kili (Aidan Turner) behind, but she must remain loyal to her elven engagements.
With the return of Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) a negotiation begins between the elves, man and the newly crowned Dwarf King Under the Mountain, Thorin. Because he is insane, Thorin refuses to meet any of the demands from the approaching armies. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) can’t bear to watch his friend decline into darkness and comes up with a dangerous gambit to secure peace across the valley.
Before the battle begins, another army joins the fray, this army stands against the army of men and elves. Terrible bloodshed awaits them all, as Thorin refuses to budge from the mountain. But these armies were once allies, now greed and entitlement threaten to destroy the loose bonds they shared in the past. Luckily, and in true Tolkien form, just in the nick of time, a more deadly threat approaches and demands the humans, elves and dwarves unite!
Orc general Azog (Manu Bennett) is determined to wipe Middle-earth clean of man, dwarf and elf in one massive attack on the mountain using an ancient, forgotten, evil. Azog’s orcs attack and force the humans, elves and dwarves to rally. King Thorin does nothing.
While his company begs and pleads to join the fray, Thorin, King Under the Mountain descends further into madness. But all spells fade eventually, and Thorin does indeed lead an exceptionally dramatic charge through the orc battalions that should arouse something primal in you. From that moment on, the original company is once again stalwart in their intentions for true valor, not merely riches. As they battle, some will fall, some will barely survive, and all in all, you get to witness almost an hour of non-stop combat! That’s the way a finale should be.
I saw this in IMAX 3D with the higher frame rate, which started off giving me a headache, but I got used to it shortly into the first act. Once I was able to get past the off-putting frame rate, the same problems H-Man mentioned in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey came to mind. I could see things a little too clearly, and the murkiness of Middle-earth was lost. Only a few times, I was transported directly in New Zealand, and taken out of my immersion. Saving that; however, this was an exceptional film and worthy of all Tolkien fans.
At its heart, The Hobbit has always been a story about how a man is drawn into war seeking adventure and gets more than he bargained for, but returns home to a simple life. Nothing has changed, but maybe with the final sequence there was a bit of an homage to our current combat veterans returning “back again”. Bilbo has changed from a simple Hobbit to a warrior, and it will be many many years before Frodo will bring his old friend back to the shire. Enjoy this greatest adventure in theaters, because it is the last.
