Review - The Hobbit (2012-2014)

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and nine years after finishing out the Lord of the Rings trilogy with 2003's Return of the King, Peter Jackson returned to the world of Middle-Earth with The Hobbit trilogy. Released from December 2012 through December 2014, this trilogy was one I actually DID see in the theaters, and of course I own the Extended Edition box set of the entire trilogy on Blu-ray. 

         However, Peter Jackson initially wasn't interested in making a live-action adaptation of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and director Guillermo del Toro was looking to direct. Ultimately, del Toro opted out of directing in favor of making his 2013 film Pacific Rim, and Peter Jackson came in and directed the films, with del Toro being credited as a producer. 

        So, much like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, which consists of the films And Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies, features an ensemble cast, which includes Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Lee Pace, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lily, Benedict Cumberbatch, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, Manu Bennett, Sylvester McCoy, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, Billy Connolly, Mark Hadlow, William Kircher, James Nesbit, Stephen Hunter, Aiden Turner, and Adam Brown, with appearances by Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, and Stephen Colbert. 

        So, the story tells of how years before, a prosperous kingdom lay in the Northernmost part of Middle-Earth: Erebor. Seated within the Lonely Mountain, this dwarf kingdom was ruled over by King Thrór, with his line secured through his son, Thrain, and grandson, Thorin. However, while digging in the deep mines, the dwarves find something rare: the Arkenstone, also known as the Heart of the Mountain. Thrór named it as the King's Jewel, and many would come to gaze upon it. Unfortunately, the power of the Arkenstone would corrupt Thrór, consuming him with greed. Not only that, but a fearsome Beast would also come seeking the vast treasure of Erebor: the dragon Smaug. Forcing the.dwarves to flee, Smaug claims the vast gold of Erebor for himself, and the Arkenstone is lost in the vast horde. The woodland elves, led by Thranduil, opted to turn the dwarves away in their most desperate time of need. 

         The dwarves, now without a home, wander through Middle-Earth, and attempt to claim the ancestral dwarf kingdom of Moria, which is unfortunately held by Orcs, led by Azog the Defiler. Although Azog is defeated by Thorin, who took a branch of oak as a shield (gaining him the name of Oakenshield in the process), so many losses leaves the dwarf numbers limited, and Throwing takes to the dominion of men for work, ever remembering those who wronged him. And, it's here where our story kicks off. 

       So, out main protagonist is Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit of Bag-End, who is approached by the wizard Gandalf the Grey to join in on an adventure. Bilbo refuses, and Gandalf leaves a symbol on his door. That night, the Company of Dwarves arrive, led by Thorin Oakenshield. And these dwarves are as follows: Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, and Ori. And it's here where the dwarves and Gandalf reveal their quest to Bilbo: enter a secret door in the Lonely Mountain, defeat Smaug, and reclaim Erebor. Gandalf presents a map with hidden moon runes, which can reveal the location of the secret door. In addition to this, Bilbo is offered a place in Thorin's company as a burglar, which will come in handy as Smaug will not recognize the scent of a Hobbit. 

      Although initially uninterested, Bilbo eventually decides to go on the journey and is officially a part of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. On the journey, the Company heads to such places as Rivendell, the goblin caves in the Misty Mountains, Mirkwood and the elven domain, Lake-Town, and the burned ruins of Dale, which is very close to the Lonely Mountain. And, of course, there are many enemies and obstacles that they encounter, such as a trio of trolls, the Great Goblin and an army of goblins, Azog the Defiler and his Orcs, Thranduil and the woodland elves, including Thranduil's son Legolas and the warrior Tauriel, Bard the Bowman, the Master of Lake-Town, Beorn the Skin Changer, a legion of big spiders, and of course Smaug the dragon. Oh, and while in the goblin caves, Bilbo encounters Gollum and picks up the Ring. You know which Ring. 

       Gandalf, meanwhile, is warned by fellow wizard Radagast the Brown of a Necromancer in the ruins of Dol Guldur. Unfortunately, during a meeting of the White Council, Saruman the White dismisses these claims, as well as the sudden emergence of a Morgul blade belonging to the Witch King of Angmar himself. And, not surprisingly, Azog is in league with this shadowy Necromancer, which turns out to be the disembodied spirit of the evil one himself: Sauron. After a battle involving Elrond, Saruman, and Galadriel, Sauron's spirit is banished back to Mordor, and Saruman decides to deal with keeping an eye on Sauron personally. 

       So, after a scuffle through Erebor, Smaug heads to destroy Lake-Town, only to be killed by Bard, who used the last of the Black arrows to do so. Unfortunately, the dark power of the gold of Erebor, referred to as "dragon sickness," infects Thorin's mind, forcing Bilbo to smuggle the Arkenstone out of mountain and give it to Bard, Thranduil, and Gandalf. Meanwhile, both Legolas and Tauriel learn that the dwarves were never meant to reclaim Erebor, because of what lay beyond it further North: Angmar itself. And, thus we get the Battle of the Five Armies: Thranduil's elves, the Men of Lake-Town, Dain II Ironfoot (Thorin's cousin and Dwarf Lord of the Iron Hills) and his dwarf army, Azog's orcs, and an additional army led by Azog's son Bolg. 

        The battle, as massive as it is, isn't quite as iconic as either the Battle of Helm's Deep or the Battle of Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it's still pretty impressive nonetheless. Unfortunately , several lives are lost, including Thorin, Fili, and Kili. Tauriel, whom she and Kili had developed a mutual attraction, is heartbroken by his death, and Bilbo makes his final piece with Thorin, who had become a good friend throughout the long journey. Thranduil sends Legolas to the north to find a young Dunedain ranger named Strider, but tells him that he'll need to discover the young man's true name himself. Bilbo, with his new Ring, returns to the Shire and rests after a very long, unexpected journey. 

        Sixty years later, an older Bilbo reminisces of his journey with Thorin, and is surprised to hear Gandalf at the door, arriving for his one-hundred-eleventh birthday, which we saw the celebration of during The Fellowship of the Ring. As a matter of fact, we also see Bilbo and Frodo on the day of Bilbo's birthday party, just as he begins to write the story of his journey in a book, titled There and Back Again.

         Okay, so there's almost too much goin on in these movies. Now, while the stories involving Bilbo, Thorin, and the dwarves are interesting, and it's amazing seeing their journey unfold, the whole side story involving Gandalf and his investigation of Dol Guldur, which adapts some of the Appendices from the Lord of the Rings books, really distracted from the main plot of these movies. Really, I think that these were only included in the movie to fill out some backstory to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I mean, fans pretty much figured out from the start that the so-called Necromancer was really the malevolent spirit of Sauron still lingering around. 

          The performances in this movie are fantastic, with Martin Freeman doing an excellent job as Bilbo Baggins. Richard Armitage was excellent as Thorin, and I enjoyed the other actors portraying the dwarves in the movie, specifically Ken Stott as Balin, James Nesbit as Bofur, Dean O'Gorman as Fili, Aiden Turner as Kili, and Graham McTavish as Dwalin. Returning cast members from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, such as Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Christopher Lee as Saruman, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel were also fantastic. As for newcomers, Luke Evans was terrific as Bard, as were Lee Pace as Thranduil and Billy Connolly as Dain. However, Evangeline Lily was passable as Tauriel, and both Stephen Fry and Ryan Gage were insufferable as the Master of Lake-Town and his assistant Alfrid. 

          But, the three performances that, through the power of performance capture, really stood out in The Hobbit trilogy were Andy Serkis as Gollum, Manu Bennett as Azog, and Benedict Cumberbatch as both Smaug the Dragon and the Necromancer/Sauron. Honestly, I gotta give some serious kudos to these guys, who genuinely brought these characters to life in ways that just regular CGI without an actor's movements to use as a point of reference couldn't pull off the same way. And, of course, the digital effects by WETA Workshop were absolutely fantastic, especially with bringing Smaug to life. Smaug was probably the most incredible and ferocious looking dragon put on screen since the Hungarian Horntail in Goblet of Fire.

          The locations, despite some of them being embellished with digital effects, were absolutely amazing. Again, just like with Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson goes to great lengths to truly show just how breathtaking many of the landscapes across New Zealand truly are. I also liked how Lake-Town was a built set, as opposed to something made in the computer. Also, Howard Shore's music score was absolutely amazing, with closing credits songs "Song of the Lonely Mountain" by Neil Finn, "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran, and "The Last Goodbye" by Billy Boyd all being fantastic. 

        Just like with Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson filmed the entirety of The Hobbit trilogy at once, cutting it into three movies in post-production. And, again, it worked well. But, as many pointed out, there was diminished interest in The Hobbit compared to Lord of the Rings. And, I think it's a matter of timing. Back in 2001, prior to the box office successes of both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, the Fantasy genre was seen as the kiss of death at the box office. The following decade, however, when The Hobbit trilogy was hitting theaters, a television series on HBO had taken the world by storm. That series? Game of Thrones. Yep, while Peter Jackson was working on The Hobbit, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were working on an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice & Fire. So, in truth, while I loved The Hobbit trilogy, it was facing stiff competition in the Fantasy genre because of the smash hit that was Game of Thrones. Something that continues today, seeing as how HBO's House of the Dragon was more successful with ratings and fans than Amazon's Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. 

      At the end of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed The Hobbit trilogy. Is it as iconic and long-lasting as the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Nah, not so much. But, it's still breathtaking and a fantastic set of movies from an iconic director. So, I'm giving The Hobbit trilogy a rating of 4.85/5. 

        Okay, guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys later.