Peter Jackson returns to give us the third (and thankfully final) installment of his bloated adaptation of a 300-page children’s book. As with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the best things about the final entry to the franchise are Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel and Benedict Cumberbatch providing the voice of Smaug. However, Smaug’s story ends fairly quickly (despite what the movie posters would have you believe he’s on-screen for all of 20 minutes) and the series by this point is so packed with characters (five separate armies worth) Lilly gets far-less screentime than you’d want from the movie’s most interesting character.
Since the Battle of Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers Jackson’s adaptations of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien have been a series of diminishing returns with a few bright spots (such as Smaug) that are increasingly obscured by the same CGI ogre action scenes and small character moments all of which have been done better in the previous films. And the stories aren’t easily wrapped up as Jackson continues his plodding pacing to fill yet another two-and-a-half-hour film. I enjoyed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I’ve liked moments from the three separate Hobbit films, but oh my God am I thankful it’s finally over.
The final chapter of Peter Jackson‘s epic extended-beyond-endurance series now has an official trailer. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies returns the characters from the previous two Hobbit films featuring for the final confrontation with Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Battle of Dol Guldur, and the Battle of Five Armies. The film will open in theaters on December 17th.
Of all the new faces in the second of three films needed to adapt a 300-page children’s book, Evangeline Lilly stands out. In Tauriel we finally get a prominent female elf who is more warrior than ethereal plot device (Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler). The plot thread of Tauriel forced to balance here duty to her king (Lee Pace) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) against her unexpected feelings for a dwarf (Aidan Turner) is one of the film’s most-successful storylines.
“I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure.”
After several delays, including the director and the Tolkien estate both separately suing New Line Cinema and a brief flirtation with Guillermo del Toro taking over the project, Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth for J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit. Roughly one-third of the 300-page children’s fantasy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey feels far too familiar, somewhat less magical, and far more expected, than the title would indicate.
Our story, oddly, begins on the same day as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) beginning to chronicle his adventures for his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood), while waiting for Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to arrive to celebrate the Hobbit’s 111th birthday. After this somewhat awkward (not to mention completely unnecessary) sequence, our story finally beings in earnest as the younger Bilbo (Martin Freeman) meets Gandalf the Grey and thirteen dwarves for an impromptu dinner which will forever change his life.
Peter Jackson returns to give us the third (and thankfully final) installment of his bloated adaptation of a 300-page children’s book. As with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the best things about the final entry to the franchise are Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel and Benedict Cumberbatch providing the voice of Smaug. However, Smaug’s story ends fairly quickly (despite what the movie posters would have you believe he’s on-screen for all of 20 minutes) and the series by this point is so packed with characters (five separate armies worth) Lilly gets far-less screentime than you’d want from the movie’s most interesting character.
After several delays, including the director and the Tolkien estate both separately suing New Line Cinema and a brief flirtation with 
