Perfect adventure

Johnson Thomas

‘The Hobbit series gets a magnificently pumped-up and rousing epic finale with Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.  This cinematic conclusion of JRR Tolkien’s  tomes representing Adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the company of Dwarves’ takes us on a visually masterful spell-binding adventure that begins with the slaying of the Dragon Smaug and the reclaiming of their homeland filled to the brim with gold. But Thorin’s greed, arrogance and lack of foresight  sets them on a perilous path — one that pits them in confrontation with hitherto allies, the army of Elves and the men who survived Smaug’s fiery attack on lake-town. Ancient grudges and the promise of gold by the tone draw forth from the hinterland, mighty armies ready to wage war as they descend on the dwarven city of Erebor, to battle it out for wealth, power and the fate of Middle-earth.

Thorin sacrifices friendship and honour to hoard it as Bilbo's frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide — unite or be destroyed.

Tolkien’s mythical legend comes to flamboyant life in Peter Jackson’s assay of splendorous engagement. While Tolkien’s descriptive passages were not exactly a pin-point of myriad struggles, Jackson’s cinematic entreaty is just that. Everything occurs with a thumping finality and flourish — a true expanse of showmanship and aplomb. 

This is, in all effect, a stunning end to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings on screen. And to that endowment, co-writers Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens weave in several nostalgic references as a memoriam to the unforgettable nature of the characters and their outstandingly honourable arcs. Plot elements here also help connect with Jackson’s famed trilogy, so it’s all neat and well-knitted in continuum. The superior effects, camerawork and music culminate into a final hour triumph that leads the audience into dizzying depths of enrapture. It’s a superbly enacted emotional pay-off that provides excellent narrative closure to the most expansive fictional adventure series ever filmed.