Mostly Unnecessary
(3 Shields)
The climax of The Hobbit Trilogy occurred within the first fifteen minutes of this movie and was followed by a lengthy overly emphasized battle that culminated three films worth of unnecessary added characters.
Battle
The film attempts to emulate the grandeur of The Lord of the Rings battles overplaying the aftermath of Smaug’s death. This is somewhat similar to the way that the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe greatly extended the battle sequence from what was written in the book. A difference here is that C.S. Lewis did not focus on battles in the same way that J.R.R. Tolkien did. One of the reasons that Disney acquired the rights to make The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a result of the success of The Lord of the Rings and extending the battle sequence here was trying to live up to viewer expectations. It seems that both The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Battle of Five armies have been influenced by the shadow of The Lord of the Rings. In both of these movies the battle was developed and increased in both length and intensity. In 2006 there was an extended edition of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe that included battle sequences that otherwise would have earned the film a PG-13 rating. While The Battle of Five Armies was already rated PG-13 the extended edition of this film included battle sequences that otherwise would have earned the film a R rating. Action set pieces like this battle translate well to the screen and can be more entertaining to watch than to read in book form. The battle itself had can be enjoyed for its exciting moments if you can get past the unnecessary characters and subplots.
Adaptation
If this film was watched without the context of the two previous movies viewers would most certainly be asking questions like. Why is Legolas in this movie? Where did the dwarf elf romance come from? Who is this one armed orc that Thorin fights vengeance against? Where did Sauron and the ringwraiths come from? When will this movie ever end? The true source of all of these subplots is that the filmmakers are trying to change the tone of the story and closely fit it into The Lord of the Rings. One example of this same trend is that in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader filmmakers invented an unnecessary villain to try and develop a prologue for The Silver Char. When C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia he did not have a master plan for all seven stories. He simply wrote them one at a time as the Holy Spirit gave him inspiration. J.R.R. Tolkien on the other hand was a masterful world builder who C.S. Lewis’s wrote was,”Not content to create his own story, he creates, with an almost insolent prodigality, the whole world in which it is to move, with its own theology, myths, geography, history, paleography, languages, and orders of beings.” (A Review of The Lord of the Rings included in The Reading Life, Image and Imagination, and On Stories and Other Essays on Literature). It does a disservice to the author to go back and change the stories to plant references that bridge books together. If J.R.R. Tolkien wanted to explain the origin of Sauron’s return in The Hobbit he could have done so, but that is not this story. Although some of The Hobbit trilogy’s added subplots may have minor references in the book, that history should be taken for what it is and not injecting it into an unrelated story. If it had not been for unnecessary subplots and an enlarged battle the story of The Hobbit could more suitably have been told over just one or two movies.
Redemptive Message
Like the Chronicles of Narnia there are important moral lessons to be found in The Battle of Five Armies. The climax of Smaug’s defeat was dramatized in an inspiring test of trust and bravery. Perhaps the most redeeming quality of the film is Thorin’s struggle with dragon sickness. This was thoroughly developed over much of the film and is perhaps one of the redeeming points of the story’s lengthy run time. The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit portray the symptoms of dragon sickness differently, but both share a similar moral to avoid the greed the comes from lust of dragon gold.
Production Quality
Another redeeming quality of The Battle of Five Armies is exceptional production value. The development of the world of The Lonely Mountain and Dale is extensive and highly detailed. The world created by Weta workshop is consistent with the universe they created for The Lord of the Rings and matches the quality of their workmanship for The Chronicles of Narnia. The most interesting visual experience of watching The Battle of Five Armies is not just the realism of the sets, costumes, and weaponry, but the exceptional beauty of the New Zealand landscapes that make the backdrop of Middle Earth. This film acts as a beautiful advertisement for New Zealand Tourism and The Chronicles of Narnia benefits from the same exquisite scenery.
Conclusion
Fortunately this film brings an end to three films worth of unnecessary characters and subplots that seek to change the tone of The Hobbit and closely link it to The Lord of the Rings. These changes influenced by the success of The Lord of the Rings have also enlarged the battle in both length and intensity. The film is redeemed by a few moral lessons and a well developed sequence on dragon sickness. Despite wrongdoings in story pitfalls the film is visually enjoyable with excellent production quality backed by beautiful landscapes. We can only hope that future Narnia filmmakers do not follow the same missteps that befell The Battle of Five Armies.
