We went to see the final instalment in The Hobbit trilogy last night. It was good but I am conflicted and I'll tell you why in a bit.
This instalment ties The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings quite well. Before it, there seemed to be quite a gap between the two but The Battle of the Five Armies ties them together nicely and the ending was perfect in achieving this. The sketches displayed in the closing credits were incredibly lifelike and revealing of each character's attributes.
The music score, well I love it! Particularly the last song to play during the credits, The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd. It's incredibly beautiful. As is the song that plays during the trailer below.
It's been several years since I've read The Hobbit, as in junior high school, so I'm vague on details, but I recall it being more focused on Smeagol and Bilbo Baggins. Jackson has done a phenomenal job bringing the book to life thus increasing Tolkien readership and fandom. The cinematography in all three films was phenomenal, the special effects always astounding even if unrealistic. But this is fantasy, right? The casting agent should be applauded! Each character was genuine and believable as the actors portrayed them. My biggest conflict lies with the plot of this particular film. The movie is certainly enthralling, I'll give it that; however, the creative license that took The Hobbit, a children's novel, and brought this incredible work to an enormous audience, also included a battle which never occurred in The Hobbit, the book. I know it's titled The Battle of the Five Armies; it just seems superfluous and the entire book could easily have been a two film adaptation. Was an enormous battle scene the best way to tie The Hobbit to the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings? Perhaps it was, but it still irks me that this film strayed so far from the original inspiration for the series, the book The Hobbit. Opinions?
Oh, and wasn't the original title to be "There and Back Again"? I rather liked that. I guess that's the romantic in me.
#TheBattleoftheFiveArmies #TheHobbit #PeterJackson #songscore #ThereandBackAgain #LordoftheRings
Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien, January 3.
I haven't seen the latest installment of the movie, but it has been a long time since I read The Hobbit. I seemed to remember the focus being the same as what you mentioned and the book didn't even seem that long to me (so three movies seemed to be really stretching the book out considering how many movies I have seen that are longer books, but only one movie). Interesting to read your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
~Jess