The Hobbit Trilogy

Had Guillermo Del Toro displayed just a little more patience and taken the helm of what was originally conceived as a two-part film, our latest Middle Earth adventure could have been oh so different.

As it stands, the Mexican maestro became dismayed with the endless delays caused by MGM’s perilous financial situation, and left the project in the hands of a certain Peter Jackson. Perhaps understandably, Jackson was previously reluctant to settle back into the director’s chair, fearing that comparison to his Lord of the Rings saga would be inevitable, and quite possibly, damning.

Ultimately the lure of Middle Earth proved strong, and soon Jackson was back in the fantastical world of Orcs and Dwarves. Convinced that the story merited three feature films, Jackson successfully negotiated an altered release schedule with New Line, and thus The Hobbit trilogy was born.

Now that Bilbo’s theatrical adventure has drawn to a close, it’s time to examine the trilogy as a whole. As a standalone project, how does it fare? How does it compliment Lord of the Rings? And, most importantly, is it any good?

While some have lambasted the Hobbit’s controversial use of 48fps technology, I personally wasn’t bothered by it. Other than drawing attention to some of the more elaborate set designs, the technology didn’t detract from the viewing experience in any way. I didn’t find the films too “realistic”, nor did I find proceedings any less fantastical; Middle Earth remains a mythical land I would sell my soul to visit, and this isn’t set to be changed by razor sharp images nor blur free action scenes.

Like Fellowship before it, An Unexpected Journey is burdened with mass character introduction and more than a little plot exposition. Just shy of three hours, part one of the Hobbit suffers the trilogy’s longest runtime, yet boasts only a small share of the overall action.

The film opens in the now familiar rolling hills of the Shire, home of our protagonist Bilbo Baggins. Jackson devotes a fair chunk of screen time to the introduction of our thirteen dwarvish protagonists, and outlines the desperate nature of our heroes’ plight to reclaim their homeland from the clutches of an evil dragon. Jackson does a fine job of crafting a unique sense of identity for each dwarve, which makes it all the more disappointing when most of the gang fade into the background as the tale progresses. Only Thorin, Balin and Kili linger long in Jackson’s lens, with the rest of their kin relegated to comic one liners.

Of all the exotic races of Middle Earth, I have to admit that I have always found the dwarves to be the least interesting, a concern that rapidly fades as Jackson’s film unfolds. Richard Armitage’s Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the dwarves, is an amalgamation of both Aragorn and Boromir; brave, loyal and noble, yet burdened with an insatiable desire to do right by his people – no matter what the cost. 

Sir Ian McKellan once again returns to the role with which he has become synonymous, and is excellent as Gandalf, a talisman of grizzled dignity. The true standout of An Unexpected Journey, however, is Bilbo Baggins himself. There is little doubt that Sherlock’s Martin Freeman is the best hobbit yet to grace the silver screen, his plucky British sensibilities perfectly matched to the stay at home Bilbo.

Indeed, the film’s finest moments are anchored by the steely hobbit; his encounter with Gollum in the heart of the mountain is both fantastically performed and beautifully realised. Likewise, Bilbo’s heartfelt speech before the final warg attack, and his last stand at the side of Thorin both inject the film with an emotional heft that few blockbusters untouched by Tolkien can match.

While Jackson does deviate slightly from Tolkien’s original story, An Unexpected Journey is largely true to the source material. The plot strands concerning the Necromancer (aka Sauron) are clearly an attempt to transition the story more seamlessly into events that will later unfold in Lord of the Rings, and the role of Azog the Defiler is greatly expanded in order to inject a further sense of menace into Jackson’s opening chapter, and provide the series with a true villain.

Looking back at the darkness that threatened to engulf Jackson’s earlier trilogy, An Unexpected Journey is positively light – even comical at times – in comparison. Then again, Tolkien’s Hobbit was, and still is, primarily a children’s book. While the stakes aren’t quite as high, and the tone is much, much lighter, Jackson’s return to Tolkien lore is still a resounding success. Comparisons to Lord of the Rings may be inevitable – but An Unexpected Journey offers a different viewing experience than its predecessors, whilst rekindling our love for all things familiar in Tolkien’s fantastical world of dwarves and dragons.

Where An Unexpected Journey took a little time to find its feet, the second part of Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy hits the ground running. Indeed, barely an hour has passed and already our heroes have tangled with Orcs, shape shifters, giant spiders, Elves, and the shadowy men of Laketown.

The Desolation of Smaug is only ten minutes shorter than its predecessor, but it feels much, much tighter. As Bilbo and company near their destination, the tone is notably darker. The autumnal hue favoured by Jackson in his Lord of the Rings trilogy has seeped into Bilbo’s adventure, and the film is all the better for it. The comic tone of part one has been largely salvaged, but the middle chapter has been infused with a sense of urgency that was previously lacking; the stakes have been noticeably raised.

That being said, Desolation of Smaug could perhaps have been trimmed further still. The love triangle developing between Legolas, Tauriel and Kili is unnecessary to say the least. There’s enough going on to keep the audience engaged; the tacked on romance only distracts from other, more interesting, plot threads. Jackson was also guilty of this in Lord of the Rings – wasting our time with a flimsy romantic development between Aragorn, Eowyn and Faramir. Thankfully this aspect of the story was edited from the theatrical releases, but still persists in the extended editions.

The imminent threat of Sauron is perhaps deserving of more attention, but Gandalf’s discovery of the Witch King’s empty tomb and his subsequent ambush at Dol Guldur are far more engaging plot strands than those explored in part one of the trilogy. Meanwhile, Bilbo is becoming aware of his ring’s mysterious power – mercilessly dismembering a centipede creature in the forest of Mirkwood in order to reclaim his “precious”.

The film’s titular character, played with endearing malice by Benedict Cumberbatch, is a revelation. Smaug is a fully realised character; arrogant, aloof and utterly devoid of empathy. Cumberbatch’s fiery beast is more than a match for Bilbo, who along with his dwarvish companions, finds himself in a desperate game of cat and mouse where one wrong move will spell disaster. Indeed, the confrontation with Smaug, along with the barrel-riding Orc battle (wonky physics be damned), are stand out set pieces that bear comparison to anything we’ve seen previously in Lord of the Rings.

The Desolation of Smaug regains the sense of “Ringsian” wonder that was noticeably absent from An Unexpected Journey, which largely revisited locations from Jackson’s earlier trilogy. Part two, however, benefits from exposure to entirely new areas of Middle Earth. Jackson delights in forging new locations; the claustrophobic menace of Mirkwood, the magical Elven kingdom of King Thranduil, the cavernous halls of Erebor, and the crooked, water laden settlement of Laketown.

Borrowing from the mighty Empire Strikes Back, the middle chapter of Bilbo’s adventure concludes with a myriad of cliff hangers. Smaug has survived the dwarves assault, and promises to wreak revenge on the innocent men and women of Laketown. Legolas is desperately pursuing the Orc commander Bolg, Tauriel remains behind to tend to a wounded Kili, and Gandalf has been captured by Sauron and is at the mercy of Azog the Defiler. Game on!

The shortest film of the trilogy, and undoubtedly the most action packed, The Battle of the Five Armies seals Peter Jackson’s love letter to Middle Earth, and neatly concludes the greatest film franchise of all time.

Jackson certainly isn’t hanging around with his final instalment in the Hobbit trilogy. The mighty Smaug, having plagued Erebor for so long, is handily dispatched in the film’s opening scene, Gandalf; prisoner of Sauron, is soon after saved by the White Council, with the dark lord of Mordor sent packing in somewhat of an nti-climax. Meanwhile, Kili has made a speedy recovery courtesy of Tauriel’s mysterious first aid, and Legolas pursuit of Bolg has been abandoned entirely. On with business then…

Thorin takes centre stage for The Battle of Five Armies, and Richard Armitage does a fantastic job of chronicling his descent into madness, courtesy of the cursed loot of Smaug. The final chapter in the trilogy hurtles along with merciless intent; Jackson knows what we want, and he doesn’t fail to deliver.

When the titular battle does begin, shit truly hits the fan. Dwarves, Elves, men, goblins and Orcs all collide in a smorgasbord of chaos and death. The fighting is intimate and brutal, with no punches pulled by Jackson – the light, jovial atmosphere that defined An Unexpected Journey seems to have long ago evaporated.

Of all the Hobbit films, The Battle of the Five Armies feels closest to Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The stakes are higher, the tone is darker, defeat is a very real possibility, and the story carries an emotional heft that has been largely absent in the previous two instalments. However, one wonders how much Jackson has cut from the final theatrical version. The confrontation with Sauron was surprisingly short lived, and Bilbo is absent during the entire middle section of the film – it is his story after all. Next year should see the release of an extended edition, which may prove to be more satisfying from a narrative perspective.

The final half hour is truly lump in your throat stuff, and it’s hard to deny that Jackson is once again in full stride. It’s also the first time that the sheer scale of the adventure is able to match the epic magnitude of Lord of the Rings.

Indeed, if anything the Hobbit is ultimately darker than Lord of the Rings. Return of the King consolidates the triumph of good over evil, without the loss of any of the fellowship – with the exception of Boromir earlier in the trilogy. This is not so with the Hobbit. Yes, good has triumphed, but at what cost? The answer can be read on the face of Bilbo, who, having survived the slaughter, quietly contemplates his place in the battle, and the loss of so many of his dear friends. The tragic demise of Kili and Fili in particular, during the climactic skirmish, proved far more affecting than any of the deaths in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Having successfully streamlined one extremely long novel into three action packed films over a decade ago, Jackson here faces the opposite problem; to conjure three feature length films out of a relatively short (and in contrast uneventful) book. Although the final result is a production of utmost quality, one can’t help but wonder if Tolkien’s tale would have been better served with a two part film.

Ultimately, the Hobbit trilogy is a resounding success. Having crafted a worthy companion to Lord of the Rings, Jackson has once again worked wonders with Tolkien’s impossibly rich source material. Ten years after Return of the King, it is a joy to once again visit Jackson’s majestic interpretation of Middle Earth.