{"id":9235,"date":"2015-03-23T19:20:47","date_gmt":"2015-03-24T02:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=9235"},"modified":"2015-03-23T19:27:57","modified_gmt":"2015-03-24T02:27:57","slug":"review-hobbit3-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2015\/03\/review-hobbit3-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em><\/strong> ends one of the more mundane trilogies and although certainly the passion was there, Peter Jackson and company turned what should have been a 5 hour two-parter into three movies with unnecessary filler to go along with characters, new ones specifically, that were utterly forgettable.<\/p>\n

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/span>
\n(2014)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama
\nWarner Bros. | PG13 \u2013 144 min. \u2013 $44.95 | March 24, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n <\/b>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/span>Directed by: <\/strong>Peter Jackson
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>J.R.R. Tolkien (novel); Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo Del Toro (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Dean O\u2019Gorman, Aidan Turner, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, Billy Connolly, Ryan Gage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:
\n<\/span>Features: <\/strong>Featurettes, Music Video, DVD Copy
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>5<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 7.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.40
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>29.3 GB (3D BD 1), 24.4 GB (3D BD 2), 31.5 GB (2D BD)
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


\n** Click Here to Purchase The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em> on 3D Blu-ray from Amazon.com<\/a><\/strong> **<\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 2.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Note: <\/strong>This review does contain spoilers<\/strong> concerning the plot, so please skip if you don\u2019t want story elements revealed.<\/p>\n

And so it ends. The Hobbit<\/em><\/strong> trilogy is over and all this reviewer can say is: \u201cWhat\u2019s on next?\u201d This has to have been one of the more mundane trilogies to be released as it never delves to the levels of, say the Star Wars<\/em> prequels yet it pales in comparison with Jackson\u2019s own Lord of the Rings<\/em> either. With The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em><\/strong>, it\u2019s even clearer that Jackson and company spread an already thin story even thinner and should\u2019ve been at the most a five hour epic than going on eight hours.<\/p>\n

The conclusion of our story begins where Desolation of Smaug<\/em> left off: the fire-breathing dragon Smaug (voiced by BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH) has escaped from the Lonely Mountain, in spite of the efforts of the dwarves, and is set to wreak havoc on the townsfolk of Lake-town, literally setting it on fire, killing hundreds including the Master of Lake-town (STEPHEN FRY) as he and his kiss-ass deputy Alfrid (RYAN GAGE) try to escape with the town\u2019s gold. Greed (gold) and war is a common theme throughout Five Armies<\/em><\/strong>. And a not-so-subtle theme either.<\/p>\n

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In any case, Bard (LUKE EVANS) escapes from his jail cell in creative fashion and gets to work to stop Smaug and restore his family name as his forefather failed the last go around. With the help of his son, Bard manages to take down the dragon using the Black Arrow, striking in the one vulnerable spot on its scales. With the dragon slain, Bard is soon crowned as Lake-town\u2019s savior and his name all across the land will be known as the dragon slayer. With the dragon gone, however, the amass of riches held in the Lonely Mountain is up for grabs and the mountain itself prime real estate for the more nefarious elements including Sauron who is gathering power and, if not for Galadriel (CATE BLANCHETT), most certainly would\u2019ve killed Gandalf (IAN MCKELLEN) whom he had captured in the last chapter.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, inside the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves celebrate the dragon\u2019s demise though Thorin (RICHARD ARMITAGE) is more concerned with not only reclaiming his throne, but retrieving the Arkenstone and it is immediately apparent to Bilbo (MARTIN FREEMAN) that Thorin has gone mad with greed to the point where he will not honor the promise he made to the people of Lake-town.<\/p>\n

Make matters worse, the Elves, headed by Thrandall (LEE PACE), wants to retrieve a priceless heirloom and willing to go to war to do so (army #1) and in spite of Bard\u2019s best efforts, is unable to sway Thorin even after Bilbo hands over the Arkenstone to Bard as a bargaining chip. However, Thorin isn\u2019t without reinforcements as dwarf King Dain (BILLY CONNELLY) and his troops (army #2) are willing to take on the elves. But the dwarves and elves have bigger problems as evil forces are at work when the orcs (army #3) organize an attack to take control of the Lonely Mountain while also destroying any opposing forces including the humans who have formed their own little militia (army #4). The fifth army is a flock of crows bred for one purpose: WAR! What in evil elements Middle-earth isn\u2019t<\/em> bread for war?<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s little doubt Peter Jackson has a great eye and a passion for subject, but the issues I had with An Unexpected Journey<\/em> and The Desolation of Smaug<\/em> remain and is magnified even more so in The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em><\/strong> which draws plenty of comparisons with The Two Towers<\/em> yet one thing remains prevalent and why The Hobbit <\/em>trilogy pales in comparison to Lord of the Rings<\/em>: we don\u2019t really have many characters to care about save for Bilbo and Gandalf though neither are in immediate danger considering we know both will survive. We are then left with the dwarves who, except for Armitage\u2019s Thorin, are either indistinguishable from the others so when, spoiler alert, one is killed, it did not nearly have the impact Jackson and company wanted in spite of Howard Shore\u2019s sorrowful score playing over the death.<\/p>\n

One other problem is, present in Desolation<\/em>, was shoehorning in Legolas into the trilogy. His appearance not only felt unnatural but, and this is no slight to Orlando Bloom, but he looks older and worse yet, sounds older; it was a glaring issue that I had a hard time ignoring especially when his voice went down to a near Bale\/Batman growl (ok, maybe not THAT bad).<\/p>\n

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The performances by the ensemble cast were OK, although I can\u2019t say anyone stood out. Luke Evans performed valiantly as the human leader; Martin Freeman is seemingly MIA outside of a couple scenes bumped for the basically endless battle scenes; Armitage probably has the more nuanced character but what he\u2019s given really is laughable and comes off as one-note; and as much as I like Evangeline Lilly, wow she has some bad line reads including one that\u2019s supposed to be emotional and instead is a bit cringe-worthy and empty. You do get the LOTR<\/em> regulars making cameos like Cate Blanchett who probably has the best scene of the entire Hobbit<\/em> trilogy while Christopher Lee and Hugo Weaving make token appearances for the Sauron B-plot to tie into the LOTR<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As I said earlier, I can\u2019t question Peter Jackson\u2019s passion but it was a big mistake expanding what should have been a two-part movie into a trilogy all for the studios (Warner and MGM) to make a few more bucks as it was their final dip into the J.R.R. Tolkien well. With that in mind, The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em><\/strong>, in spite of impressive costumes and sets, and in some instances visual effects (others were a bit iffy), just never works on an emotional level and instead came across as a generic Hollywood action-fest.<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 5-disc set is housed in an HD Keep Case and comes with a slip cover<\/strong>. Inside is a redemption code<\/strong><\/span> for the Digital HD and a standard DVD Copy<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Recruiting the Five Armies (11:39; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 We get to hear from those who served as extras dressed as Dwarves, Elves, Orcs and Men on the set for the epic battle scene.<\/p>\n

Completing Middle-Earth (TRT 19:59):
\nA Six-Part Journey (9:54)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 A look at the narrative threads and connections the filmmakers wove into The Hobbit<\/em> and The Lord of the Rings<\/em> trilogies to make them one complete, cohesive story.<\/p>\n

A Seventeen-Year Journey (8:59; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This follows the 17 year journey the filmmakers undertook to bring Middle-Earth to the screen, not once, but twice.<\/p>\n

The Last Goodbye (TRT 15:39):
\nBehind the Scenes Featurette (11:18; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 A look at the writing and recording of the final end credit song for the Middle-earth films, performed by LOTR<\/em> alum Billy Boyd.<\/p>\n

Music Video (4:21; HD)<\/span><\/strong> for \u201cThe Last Goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also included is Trailer #2 (2:33; HD)<\/span><\/strong> for The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em> and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug \u2013 <\/span><\/em>Extended Edition Trailer (1:34; HD)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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2D VIDEO \u2013 4.75\/5 | 3D VIDEO \u2013 5.0\/5
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em><\/strong> marches onto Blu-ray presented in the film\u2019s original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture, as was the case for the previous two installments, looks absolutely incredible with sharp detail levels, a nice blend of balanced colors that move more toward darker tones and there are no signs of aliasing, artifacts or other flaws. Now, thanks to high-def, you can certainly see Jackson\u2019s use of digital color timing but even so, this is a fantastic HD transfer.<\/p>\n

The 3D transfer meanwhile is just as flawless. The 3D presentation provides good depth and utilizes the battlefield landscape while avoiding the hokey \u201cobjects flying through the screen\u201d and instead makes this an immersive experience. Colors are also quite good keeping it light enough where you can discern details even in the darkly lit shots.
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AUDIO \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The film comes with a robust and resounding 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio track. Everything from Smaug\u2019s roar and fire spray to the more nuanced moments come through very nicely through each channel. Dialogue levels are crisp and clear while the battle sequences help provide excellent depth making this a dynamic and demo-worthy lossless track.<\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em><\/strong> ends one of the more mundane trilogies and although certainly the passion was there, Peter Jackson and company turned what should have been a 5 hour two-parter into three movies with unnecessary filler to go along with characters, new ones specifically, that were utterly forgettable. The Blu-ray set released by Warner has excellent audio and video and a decent selection of bonus features to tide over until the eventual extended edition release later this year.<\/p>\n


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Brian Oliver, The Movieman
\n<\/em>Published: <\/strong>03\/23\/2015<\/p>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n