Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (Extended Edition)

 

The Battle of the Five Armies is the third film in the Hobbit trilogy of movies that really has little to do with the story in the book (which was told almost completely in the first two movies). This movie pits Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and Wolves against each other, all of whom are trying to claim the Arkenstone. Plus, you have Smaug destroying everything in sight. It picks up directly after the events of the second movie with Smaug attacking Laketown. Gandalf is still imprisoned by Sauron as Galadriel (played by the returning Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (played by the returning Hugo Weaving) attempt to free him. Basically, the movie is a series of long battle sequences, with the final battle being the longest. The extended edition of the movie clocks in at 164 minutes, adding about 20 minutes to the theatrical version. While there are some slight pauses between the action sequences, almost all of the additional material is added to the different battles and is a bit more gory/violent than what was allowed in the theatrical version.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is top-notch, as good or better than the Lord of the Rings movies. Most of the CGI is seamless with the practical effects, and it sounds great, especially if you have a good sound system. As with the extended edition of the other movies, there are a ton of extras. Those include a commentary track on the movie by Peter Jackson and his co-writer Philippa Boyens. Then there is part three of the Home to Middle-Earth segments, about filming in New Zealand. The crown jewel of the bonus content are the appendices (parts 11 and 12). Each of them has over four hours (each) of making-of and behind-the-scenes material that goes through pretty much the entire process of making the movie.

Overall, this is good, but like the other extended editions is really only for hardcore fans (or people who really like watching the bonus content). If you are a casual fan of the movies and you don't care about the blu-ray extras you are going to be paying a lot more for something that is not really going to interest you all that much. It is a good capstone to Peter Jackson's series of movies, and while I am one who thinks that the story of the Hobbit could have easily been told in two shorter movies, this is still worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Extended Edition)

 

The Desolation of Smaug is the second of what ended up being a trilogy of movies based on Tolkien's book The Hobbit. The first two movies basically tell the story from the book, which is much shorter than any of the Lord of the Rings novels, and then the last movie is adapted from some of Tolkien's other writings. This one is set after Bilbo steals The Ring from Gollum and tells the story of the group's journey to the Lonely Mountain to retrieve the Arkenstone, the object that will allow Thorin to rule all of the Dwarves. The journey to the mountain has its perils including a battle between Dwarves, Elves, and Orcs down a river and an attack by giant spiders. Then it becomes a cat-and-mouse game in the dragon's lair between Bilbo, Smaug (voiced wonderfully by Benedict Cumberbatch), and the dwarves. The end of the movie is basically a cliffhanger that sets up the third movie.

The extended edition of the movie is long, over an hour longer than the theatrical edition. It adds a lot to the storyline. Some of the additions are good, and for others, you can tell why they got cut out for the theatrical release. Of course, the real reason to get this set is the bonus material. As with the first Hobbit release and the LOTR extended edition releases, this has two Appendices, both of which contain over five hours of behind-the-scenes and making-of material. There is also a commentary track on the movie by Peter Jackson and his collaborator Phillipa Boyens, that provides a lot of insight on various shots and the filming process overall. The A/V quality of the blu-ray is great, and the numerous special effects look seamless with everything else.

Overall, the movie is good but does get a bit long at times. Thankfully, it is easy to take bathroom breaks at home because this would be a beast to sit through in a theater. Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage are great as the leads of the movie, and the supporting cast, including Ian McKellen, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Orlando Bloom, and Stephen Fry (among others) is very strong. The extended edition is really best for die-hard fans and/or people who love tons of bonus material. If you do not fall into either of those categories, this set will very much be overkill for you. If you are in one of those categories, however, this is a must-have pickup.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Extended Edition)

 

This is the first of what would be a trilogy of movies based on Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, again directed by Peter Jackson, who also directed the Lord of The Rings trilogy. The challenge was how to make a relatively short book into three movies. So, unlike LOTR, where much was cut out to focus the story, here, a lot is added from Tolkien's other writings to flesh out the story. This movie is the one that is the most faithful to the book, with more detail being added to the second and third movies in the trilogy that were not in the book. An Unexpected Journey was released in 2012 and starred Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Grham McTavish, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, William Kircher, James Nesbitt. McKellan and Serkis reprise their roles from the LOTR movies, and Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchette, and Christopher Lee all reprise their roles in cameo appearances.

This movie focuses on the first part of the story, Gandalf introducing the dwarves to Bilbo, the trek through the mountains, and Bilbo's confrontation with Gollum (intercut between the dwarves battling the Goblins). The movie ends with the group escaping from the goblins and setting up the encounter with Smaug, which is the focus of the second movie. 

This Extended Edition Blu-Ray is a three-disc set. The extended version is an 182-minute cut of the film, which adds about thirteen minutes to the 169-minute theatrical cut. The additions are less extensive than the added material in the extended versions of the LOTR films, most likely because much was added from the novel to make a trilogy of movies. Among the additions in the Extended Edition is an extended prologue about the dwarves and elves, a scene where young Bilbo Baggins first meets Gandalf, and several extensions to scenes introducing the dwarf clan (which makes the opening sequence drag a bit). And, there is a new scene in the Goblin caves involving the Goblin King.

In the movie, Martin Freeman plays the younger version of Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen reprises his role as Gandalf, Richard Armitage plays Thorin II Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves, and of course, Andy Serkis as Gollum. We also do see some characters/actors from LOTR in cameos (or extended cameos) including Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Christopher Lee as Saruman the White, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, and Ian Holm as old Bilbo.

The real reason to get this set is the bonus material. On the first disc, there is a commentary track on the movie with Jackson and the co-writer and then a short featurette on shooting in New Zealand. Disc 2 contains Part 7 of The Appendicies, and like in the LOTR extended edition, there are several segments that you can watch individually or all at once. In all, they total well over two hours of material. Then, on disc 3, there is Part 8 of the appendices which has another nearly five hours of material. The appendices amount to two very long making-of/behind-the-scenes documentaries that cover pretty much all aspects of production (pre, filming, and post) and how the movie got made, how it was adapted from the source material, etc. So, if you are a fan of the books and/or the prior movies, they provide a ton of information. And, of course, the A/V quality is top-notch, with the special effects even better than what they were in the LOTR movies.

Overall, the movie is very good, even if it is a bit long. I personally think the opening sequence in which all the dwarves are introduced does get a bit long, but once they start out on their journey, the movie is well-paced and does not ever really seem to drag. If you are not a die-hard fan this set is probably overkill, but if you are, and love watching all the extras, this is definitely worth the pickup.