Battle of the Five Armies
I went to see the final Hobbit film on Friday. I'll admit I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it, but I thought it was amazing. And I have to confess that even though films don't usually move me to tears, I cried so much my 3-D glasses got all smeared!
My only complaint was it was too short. Some of the loose ends weren't tied up as neatly as I'd have liked - I'm hoping the EE will satisfy my curiosity.
Random thoughts below the cut. SPOILER ALERT!
Anyone who's read the book will have expected Fili, Kili and Thorin's death. However, I found Fili's death in particular genuinely shocking. I think it was to do with the inevitability of it, and seeing Fili's reaction, knowing there was no way of stopping it. In fact, kudos to PJ and all the actors involved for making each of those three deaths stand out in their own way and for conveying the emotion of them so well. Having three pivotal death scenes so close together meant there was a danger of their impact being lost, but each one stood out and brought its own emotion to the film. Hence the uncontrollable blubbing on my part.
Tauriel didn't die! I really thought she would. But was she still banished at the end, or did Thranduil take pity on her? It was a lovely scene between the two at the end, but I wanted more. Let's face it, when it comes to the Wood elves, I always want more!
While I'm on the subject of Tauriel...I still don't like the whole Tauriel-Kili thing. Not the actors' fault, but I just couldn't believe an elf would give her heart to a mortal so quickly. I don't mind that she didn't end up with Legolas (he's mine, after all!) but I didn't buy her love developing in such a short time. Platonic love, yes. Even attraction and curiosity, but not romantic love.
Legolas. He's been my favourite LOTR character ever since I read the books when I was ten, too many years ago to contemplate! Although I was overjoyed to see him in the Hobbit, I wasn't keen with the way he was portrayed in the last film and was praying his character had more depth in this one. And he was better, in my opinion. Not a lot, but at least he got something. We learn just a tantalising snippet about his mother's death; he goes against his father in order to stay with Tauriel; he goes into self-imposed exile at the end (more sobbing - I can't bear the thought of Legolas being away from his trees). However, I found these frustrating at the same time - we don't really get to see what makes him tick. And Orlando Bloom, bless him, while he does a great Action!Legolas, he can't really manage TorturedSoul!Legolas.
No, for a tortured soul, it appears you need Lee Pace. Wow. Thranduil was simply magnificent. His wife has died (horribly, we presume, although Legolas doesn't give any detail) and he can't talk about her even to Legolas until right at the end, when it appears he's lost him too (just when I thought I'd got the tears under control, that's when they started again). I do wish there had been mention of Oropher, though. It would have made more sense of why he was reluctant to risk his people in further bloodshed. I also wanted to see him get his white gems back. Are they the ones Bilbo hands him in the book? I really wanted that to happen. In my head, they're a memento of his wife. Oh, and the whole face melting thing didn't get a mention and I wanted that explained. Roll on the EE!
And finally - many fanfic authors have tried to explain why Legolas - son of a king - should be acting as a lowly messenger in LOTR and never refer to himself as a prince. Moreover, he always talks about his king, never his father. PJ has attempted his own explanation in Legolas's self-imposed exile. And it would also be a good reason why he moves to Ithilien after the war, rather than returning to Mirkwood. However, Thranduil tells Legolas to go to the Dunedain and find Strider, whose true name he must find for himself. Huh? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Aragorn only ten years old at this point? Yes, I suppose this would explain why an elven prince would defer to Aragorn all the way through LOTR, but even if Aragorn had been of age, I didn't like this. It's just a personal thing, but I don't like Aragorn much.
Now, if Thranduil had told him to go to Rivendell and join forces with the twins.... Now there's a film I'd pay good money to see!
My only complaint was it was too short. Some of the loose ends weren't tied up as neatly as I'd have liked - I'm hoping the EE will satisfy my curiosity.
Random thoughts below the cut. SPOILER ALERT!
Anyone who's read the book will have expected Fili, Kili and Thorin's death. However, I found Fili's death in particular genuinely shocking. I think it was to do with the inevitability of it, and seeing Fili's reaction, knowing there was no way of stopping it. In fact, kudos to PJ and all the actors involved for making each of those three deaths stand out in their own way and for conveying the emotion of them so well. Having three pivotal death scenes so close together meant there was a danger of their impact being lost, but each one stood out and brought its own emotion to the film. Hence the uncontrollable blubbing on my part.
Tauriel didn't die! I really thought she would. But was she still banished at the end, or did Thranduil take pity on her? It was a lovely scene between the two at the end, but I wanted more. Let's face it, when it comes to the Wood elves, I always want more!
While I'm on the subject of Tauriel...I still don't like the whole Tauriel-Kili thing. Not the actors' fault, but I just couldn't believe an elf would give her heart to a mortal so quickly. I don't mind that she didn't end up with Legolas (he's mine, after all!) but I didn't buy her love developing in such a short time. Platonic love, yes. Even attraction and curiosity, but not romantic love.
Legolas. He's been my favourite LOTR character ever since I read the books when I was ten, too many years ago to contemplate! Although I was overjoyed to see him in the Hobbit, I wasn't keen with the way he was portrayed in the last film and was praying his character had more depth in this one. And he was better, in my opinion. Not a lot, but at least he got something. We learn just a tantalising snippet about his mother's death; he goes against his father in order to stay with Tauriel; he goes into self-imposed exile at the end (more sobbing - I can't bear the thought of Legolas being away from his trees). However, I found these frustrating at the same time - we don't really get to see what makes him tick. And Orlando Bloom, bless him, while he does a great Action!Legolas, he can't really manage TorturedSoul!Legolas.
No, for a tortured soul, it appears you need Lee Pace. Wow. Thranduil was simply magnificent. His wife has died (horribly, we presume, although Legolas doesn't give any detail) and he can't talk about her even to Legolas until right at the end, when it appears he's lost him too (just when I thought I'd got the tears under control, that's when they started again). I do wish there had been mention of Oropher, though. It would have made more sense of why he was reluctant to risk his people in further bloodshed. I also wanted to see him get his white gems back. Are they the ones Bilbo hands him in the book? I really wanted that to happen. In my head, they're a memento of his wife. Oh, and the whole face melting thing didn't get a mention and I wanted that explained. Roll on the EE!
And finally - many fanfic authors have tried to explain why Legolas - son of a king - should be acting as a lowly messenger in LOTR and never refer to himself as a prince. Moreover, he always talks about his king, never his father. PJ has attempted his own explanation in Legolas's self-imposed exile. And it would also be a good reason why he moves to Ithilien after the war, rather than returning to Mirkwood. However, Thranduil tells Legolas to go to the Dunedain and find Strider, whose true name he must find for himself. Huh? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Aragorn only ten years old at this point? Yes, I suppose this would explain why an elven prince would defer to Aragorn all the way through LOTR, but even if Aragorn had been of age, I didn't like this. It's just a personal thing, but I don't like Aragorn much.
Now, if Thranduil had told him to go to Rivendell and join forces with the twins.... Now there's a film I'd pay good money to see!