Pandemic Catch-Up 5: The Hobbit Trilogy

It's sort of unfortunate in a way that Smaug was done so well in the films, since now he is the standard for a dragon in film and television. Everything about him just screams terror, from his sheer size to his very voice.

JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit was probably my favorite book as a kid, though it left the largest impression on me to be sure of the many books I read throughout my childhood. Cue fourteen-year-old-me's excitement when I found out that the book that I had read end to end was going to be turned into a movie, no wait, three movies. And then I saw the first film. To say that I was disappointed was an understatement, and afterward I didn't have a strong desire to see the second and third installments (though part of this might have been the fact that I might have been living in the rougher parts of Eastern Europe at the time of the release of the second film). However, while my sister was staying over and I was painting/assembling miniatures, I found a singularly striking audiobook version of the book, which was unique amongst audiobooks due to the fact that it was a "theatrical" audiobook, and with that came voice-acting, sound effects, and music from the films. All of this was put together in a way that seemed perfect, and after thinking for a bit, I wondered how it would have compared to the three Hobbit films (An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies), So after a bit of cajoling I persuaded my dad and my younger sister to watch the first film with me, and with a break of an evening we managed to watch all three films in three days.

To be quite honest, they are still very flawed films that are both notably bloated and ironic given that the lesson of the book (the shortest in the Lord of the Rings saga) was that greed destroys rather than builds, however, there's still quite a bit to like/enjoy about these flawed films. Bilbo, played excellently by Martin Freeman is more independent than he was in the book (he was/is a stand-in for children), and overall there is a lot less complaining/bickering than in the book, which while entertaining there would most likely become grating quickly in a film format. Smaug, while surprisingly cut down in terms of presence from the book, is universally well-regarded for his depiction by Benedict Cumberbatch, and the sound mixing of his voice and presence is incredible. The dwarves, while still possessing a number of easily discardable characters, are each very distinct in terms of personality and appearance, which was a big step up from the book (Bombur, the fat one and comic relief, had the third most lines behind Balin and Thorin). The music is excellent, especially nearing the conclusion of Battle of the Five Armies. I'm going to go through each film and give my thoughts, but in short I think that these three films, while remarkably imperfect, are pretty good watches, especially for people who'd rather not slog through a children's book to experience Bilbo's adventure.

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An Unexpected Journey

Probably my favorite change from the book was Bilbo's departure from the Shire. I can't help but grin at his rushed and haphazard sprint from his comfortable home with cries of "I'm going on an adventure!".

While The Fellowship of the Ring (book and film) began with and had references to Bilbo's remarkable adventure, the first prequel film frames the story as a flashback of Bilbo's as he writes his account, contemplating all the while his quickly-approaching departure from the Shire. Already nostalgia is a prevailing theme, as the Shire, a young Bilbo, and images of a simpler life come. The first part of the film progresses as the book, though noticeably Thorin is a young dwarf that looks very much like a man, especially compared to the rest of the company, which is in stark contrast with his venerable age in the book (this will cause problems and confusion regarding his bitterness later). When Bilbo leaves on his adventure, his reasoning is changed from having slept in and missing the departure time, to the stronger spur-of-the-moment desire to go on an adventure. There are no comforting asides to teach the audience about the lives and natures of hobbits as in the book, which was disappointing as this could have further strengthened the theme of nostalgia. Thorin is given an arch nemesis in the form of Azog the Defiler, a one-armed pale orc who killed his father at the mines of Moria (interestingly, Dain from the third film occupies this place in the book), as if Smaug wasn't enough, but then again it takes a while to get to the great wyrm. We also get introduced to Radagast the Brown and the B-plot of the trilogy, which should have been dropped, but then again it does actually happen in the book (necromancer), albeit offscreen. The gang is captured by the goblins of the Misty Mountains, and the goblins are now noticeably different from orcs in this film, which is welcome since the two were largely interchangeable in the Lord of the Rings trilogy to me. Ultimately the gang escapes, Bilbo finds The Ring, which was a tad overdone, but still well-done, and they flee into the night only to encounter wargs and Azog (like in the book, sans Azog). They use arson, bravery, and desperation, and when all seems lost they're rescued by the Eagles like in the book. After being dropped off Thorin gives an emotional thanks to Bilbo and admits his error in judgement, which does not happen until very near to the end of the book. This is pretty confusing as in the book at this point he's very much disliked by the Dwarves, though they do admit that his skills aren't without merit. The film then ends with our first semi-clear view of Smaug as he slumbers, stirring slightly and opening one huge and baleful eye as he naps beneath a mountain of coins. Great way to end it. All in all, decent, and while some changes at this point raise eyebrows (Rivendell being a stop on the way, Azog to an extent, the Necromancer), most either make it a more satisfying film if viewed without the others (Bilbo earning the respect of the Dwarves, having a "boss" enemy since the goblin king dies soon after we meet him). Pretty good, maybe the best of the three.

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The Desolation of Smaug

This time it's rather wonder and wanderlust than absentmindedness that distracts Bilbo from his job, though he does do what he climbed those trees for as in the book.

This is the odd one out in the trilogy, and definitely my least favorite film of the bunch, covering the time after the Dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf are rescued by the eagles to when Smaug flies off to lay waste to Laketown. The majority of the film feels like a time sink, and while the adherence to the book is still quite close, we get even more unnecessary side-plots, like a romance between Tauriel the wood elf and Fili (or Kili) the dwarf, Legolas being there (ok, he is a wood elf after all, and this is the realm of the wood elf king), more orc stuff, et cetera. The sequence of Bilbo sneaking the dwarves out of the Halls of the Elf King was turned into an incredibly cartoonish action with a skirmish between elves and orcs (and the beginning of a rivalry between Legolas and some orc), which was probably the lowest point in the film in my opinion. In the book the fact that Bilbo did this by himself and was able to pull it off successfully was a major turning point for the easily-frightened hobbit, but here his involvement is negligible after getting the dwarves out of the castle, which disappointed me. They run into Bard who takes them to Laketown, which is closer to Springfield than a real town, but relatively the same stuff happens, though due to Fili or Kili being wounded a third of the dwarves remain behind. Tauriel, chasing that dwarf heartthrob, and Legolas in tow arrive at Laketown soon after Bilbo and the rest of the company leave, and we get an action scene with Legolas' new rival and his goons. Side note, Legolas is into Tauriel, but has opted for the 'pretend you're not interested in a person' style of signaling, and his shock is pretty great when it backfires. For some reason the orcs here are stealthy to an unreasonable degree, they even surprise elves with unerring consistency, which was elves' whole thing I believe. Anyway, back to the quest, Bilbo and Co's arrival to the Lonely Mountain is just as depressing as in the book, but they eventually overcome the roadblock and Bilbo sneaks in with the goal of finding the Arkenstone, given the reassuring words of 'don't wake the dragon'. This is the point where shit gets real in this film, and while Bilbo only has a single conversation with Smaug as opposed to the two he had in the book, his conversation here is a combination of the two, and Smaug is absolutely terrifying in all his megalomaniacal glory. He's also attracted to The Ring, and while he doesn't know what it is, he knows its value. Eventually he loses patience and begins to hunt Bilbo down in rage, but the dwarves, growing anxious, show up and distract him, leading into the climax of the film. It's a bit goofy, but it does give Smaug more time to be scary. In the end Smaug corners them in the entry hall, but they reveal a gigantic golden statue that they just casted, which in a pretty cool sequence transfixes him with its pure wealth, before falling apart and submerging him in molten gold. So he's dead, right? Wrong, he leaps out, screeching in rage and pain and roaring that he would show the 'filthy dwarves' real revenge as he flies to Laketown. Roll credits. A little disappointing that we didn't get to see Smaug do his arson of Laketown, but admittedly it was a pretty good place to end the film in all honesty, and that do make a good climax of it. Definitely the weakness of this film was in the overabundance of CGI alongside quite a few instances of cartoon action, but once the party leaves Laketown, it's fantastic, and again, Smaug is basically perfect (his motivation for being so pissed is more than just a missing cup).

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The Battle of the Five Armies

Thorin's youth in the films pretty severely undercuts the reasons for his obsessive and testy nature in the story. He's supposed to be old, of course he's going to be obsessive about attaining the object of his entire existence for 200+ years!

This one is almost entirely an action scene, and it can be pretty exhausting, but there's a bit to go before that. Smaug comes along and burns Laketown to the ground as he lets the humans know what he thinks of them living near him, but Bard kills him with a lucky shot using his son to stabilize the black arrow (more like a ballista bolt), and Smaug dies in suitably dreadful fashion. A pretty fun cold open in my opinion. Meanwhile the dwarves, instead of spending an entire chapter trying to hide in the mountain from an already dead Smaug, spend their time plundering the armory and gearing up. Bilbo gets his mithral chainmail from Thorin, who has  taken a sharp turn for the worst. This isn't helped as the Simpsons-like delegation, led by the reasonable Bard, show up and ask for the treasure Thorin promised them. Thorin, in a very Smaug-like moment, turns them away, promising them not a single coin (of a hoard of treasure so incomprehesively deep and large that you couldn't see the end of the treasure hall). They then set to looking for the Arkenstone, and Bilbo finds it before pocketing it for Thorin's own good as in the book. People calm down, I mean flare up, as the elves arrive bearing food for the starving men of the lake (currently camping in their ancient ruined city of Dale), asking for their help in recovering a beautiful necklace. Thorin says that they'll have to take the treasure from them by force, but that night Bilbo in a moment of conviction sneaks away and gives the Arkenstone to the men, elves, and a newly arrived Gandalf. The next bits happen like the book, though Thorin's rage at Bilbo would have had more of an impact if Thorin's greed-induced madness didn't make him act so erratically. Dain arrives with dwarves ready to rumble, and the two sides are ready to throw down as Thorin sits inside the fort, but then no joke, nydus worms (from Starcraft II) carrying orcs arrive and start spewing out evil forces. The battle takes place vaguely like the book, except instead of the spurs of the mountain, it's based around the field in front of the Lonely Mountain and the ruins of Dale. Whereas in the book it was sort of an even fight, here the forces of good are heavily outnumbered, though we do get to some great dwarf shield-walls, though things are pretty dire especially since the orcs have a devious invention called a signaling system that's somehow carrying the battle in their favor. During all this, in an genuinely good sequence, Thorin, consumed by his gold-lust, returns to the place where the now-hardened molten gold to gaze at it. The spirit of Smaug resides in it and appears, frightening him as the gold (greed) threatens to consume him, snapping him out of his madness. He then joins the battle as in the book, and he plus a few other dwarves and Bilbo set out to destroy the signaling system. They then face Azog, Fili or Kili is killed, Tauriel is broken-hearted, Legolas defies the laws of physics and kills his rival, and Thorin fights Azog in an overdone, yet climactic battle. We get to see the famed rock-throwing ability of hobbits, so that's pretty cool. Thorin dies and gives an emotional farewell, Tauriel mourns her dwarf semi-lover, and Legolas decides to leave the realm of the elves, going to meet Aragorn (which did not happen in the book, he's not even in the book). After things are settled, Bilbo goes home, and after a comical return to his home in the midst of an estate sale the film ends with another return to before the opening scene of the Fellowship of the Ring. Roll credits. Definitely the middle of the three films in terms of being good and still suffers from having to abide by the rules of a movie, but at least it hits the rest of the stuff that needed to happen. 

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At the end of the day, I wouldn't heavily recommend these three films, but they are admittedly still decently fun as long as you take the attitude of the films being a loosely adapted version of the book rather than a direct adaptation. Some stuff I really didn't like, like the romance subplot, hinting of Sauron's rising power, Bard becoming a main character, but other bits were actually good, though these are essentially limited to the Lonely Mountain. The overabundance of CGI and greenscreen sets are somewhat disappointing given the approach the Lord of the Rings trilogy took, but that's beating a dead horse at this point. They're flawed films, and I'm not anticipating another adaptation for a very very long time, but if it means that my favorite book gets to be a film(s), then I'm relatively satisfied despite my personal reservations.

For those that would like to hear what an optimal Hobbit film/miniseries would sound like, here's the link to that theatrical audiobook that I began this review with: Link (I highly recommend it)

Next up are some scary games that I played and generally enjoyed (ironic given how easily startled I am), including Resident Evil 7.