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selenakYou know, sometimes there are works of fiction (books, films, tv shows) which you know are flawed, where there's totally valid criticism to be had, where you even can understand someone dismissing them entirely, but you love them anyway and feel ridiculously protective? This is me with the Hobbit film trilogy, which is why I'm not up for reading other reviews yet after this last installment. I saw it last night and came back full of love and grief and what not, so what follows isn't a critical review. Oh, and it also contains some bits about the Extended Edition of The Desolation of Smaug, which I finished watching with all the extras on dvd a few days ago.
Firstly: re: the Desolation of Smaug, extended version, some of the additional scenes are straight from the book (Gandalf introducing the dwarves and Bilbo - "a hobbit of impeccable reputation" - to Beorn in pairs of two, Bombur falling in the enchanted river and having to be carried), but you can see why they didn't make the theatrical cut. However, there's also an entire new subplot, which required an alternate version of the Gandalf in Dol Guldur scenes. It starts with a slightly longer version of the opening flashback of Thorin meeting Gandalf in Bree, in which Thorin talks about his conviction that his father isn't dead, that he's still looking for him, and we learn that Thrain disappeared immediately after the battle of Moria. Gandalf also brings up the fact Thrain is a ringbearer, wearing the last of the seven rings given to the dwarf kings. There's a pay off for the set up there later when Gandalf gets to Dol Gudur, where he finds a live and crazed Thrain (minus a finger and the ring) and is able to calm and somewhat heal him. Thrain being played by Anthony Sher, this is a meeting of the British Thespians that's quite moving, and actually Tolkien based, though in Tolkien Gandalf found Thrain in the Necromancer's dungeons before joining Thorin and company (that's how he got the map and the key). Thrain eventually ends up getting killed but not before warning Gandalf Thorin must not go near "that mountain". I was in two minds as to whether or not removing this subplot was better, but having seen the third movie I think it was right to let it go, because Gandalf never has the chance to tell Thorin that he's found his father, there's enough set up for Thorin's temporary decline into paranoid gold greed anyway, and the business about the last of the seven dwarf rings being taken has no impact on the Hobbit plot (either book or films), either. Still, it's good to have the scenes on dvd. Something I really really wish to have remained in the theatrical version, though: Bilbo vouching for Thorin when Thorin makes his pledge to share the wealth of Erebor to the people of Laketown. I mean, yes, Bilbo would have done what he did in the third movie (speaking movieverse only) anyway, but that scene is referenced in the third movie in dialogue between Bilbo and Thorin, and people solely familiar with the theatrical version probably wonder what the hell Bilbo is talking about.
Now, onto The Battle of the Five Armies: the beginning is where the decision to establish Bard and his family early on in the previous movie instead of letting Bard show up a few lines before he kills Smaug really pays off. You also feel for the people of Laketown when Smaug destroys their city while everyone is desperately evacuating, and Bard killing Smaug, plus the way he does it, is an emotionally cathartic moment that still doesn't ignore the havoc Smaug has already wrought in the aftermath. The movie's sympathy for the plight of the people of Laketown, whom Bard leads to the ruins of Dale, next door to Erebor, also throws Thorin's descend into sharp contrast. (Not that it gives up on Thorin, more about this in a moment.) As opposed to the book, where Bard and Thranduil present a united front arriving with demands, here Bard is surprised by Thranduil's arrival, has to accept him as an ally (the Elves have food for the Laketown survivors, for starters), is caught between two stubborn bastards (Thranduil and Thorin) and tries to negotiate with Thorin nonetheless, which doesn't work both because Thorin even at the best of times wouild have reacted badly to an Elf army with his least favourite elf at his doorstep and because Thorin is on a downward spiral of paranoia and greed.
Wisely, the movie gives him two quiet scenes with Bilbo during said downward spiral which are a reminder of Thorin's better qualities, so his eventual snapping out of it (after hitting rock, err, gold bottom) and coming to his senses is prepared, and you also understand why Bilbo despite nearly getting thrown off the battlements doesn't write off Thorin. Not to mention that they demonstrate Thorin caring for Bilbo (beyond being grateful for the life saving in the first movie, and needing him as a burglar, that is - at this point Bilbo has accomplished what the dwarves originally needed him for), and prepare for what he says in his death scene. Bilbo during the early part of the movie, watching Thorin's decline and fretting about what to do with the Arkenstone until he decides to give it to Bard and Thranduil as a negotiating tool is where Martin Freeman's acting chops come in big time, btw. The quiet heartbreak, innate decency and desperately trying to figure out a solution beautifully plays off against Richard Armitage doing his Richard Armitage thing of smouldering doom of flickers of hope in between the decline. What did surprise me is that off the other dwarves, it was Dwalin, not Balin, who got a "trying to bring Thorin to his senses" scene, but it works both because Balin already got such a scene in the previous movie and because it finally brings on screen the "oldest friends" backstory the actors mentioned as having in mind for Dwalin and Thorin. Giving Thorin his Eureka moment of moral turnaround in the hall where he confronted Smaug, staring at the gold floor, culminates the ongonig Thorin/Smaug parallels in the first half of the movie (if I recall correctly, Thorin's "I will not part with a single coin" lline earlier is from the book, but giving Smaug the same line in "The Desolation of Smaug" was not), and while I found the symbolism there somewhat heavy handed, Armitage sells the emotion. Now, tell me all the battles in all three movies could have been heavily trimmed and I completely agree with you, but one thing the length of the titular battle of the five armies does for Thorin is that it gives him space from said turnaround moment to his death, to reestablish himself as a sympathetic character. I think if we'd simply gone from Thorin having his realisation to Thorin dying, the emotion would have been quite differently. As it is, we get the Kili and Thorin scene that made me wibble already in the trailer, Thorin and Bain, and the entire sequence where the line of Durin meets its end, which gutted me. Honestly, at this point I caught myself hoping Jackson & Co. would depart from Tolkien some more and let Kili and Fili live. Now it's been eons since I've read The Hobbit, but from what I remember the only two dwarves who were fleshed out in the novel were Balin and Thorin, so when Bilbo, post battle, heared that Kili and Fili had died yours truly had no particular emotion attached to this news. But the movies individualized and endeared them to me. I thought I was prepared for their demise, but when Azog dangled Fili in front of Thorin and killed him, with no last moment rescue intervening, I realized I wasn't. And then Tauriel was unable to save Kili one last time, though he did manage to save her for the first and only time. (BTW, I had no problem with Tauriel getting temporary overpowered this one time, nor do I see this as a betrayal of womanhood in the movies. She dispatches the Orc in question by herself after Kili's death, and no matter how skilled a warrior you are, it happens now and then. More about Tauriel in a moment.) I was a sniffling mess at this point. And then we got to Thorin's death scene.
In the novel, Bilbo is knocked out for most of the battle, and Thorin doesn't die of his wounds (and has his deathbed reconciliation with Bilbo) until after the battle is over, with everyone else present as well. In the movie, Bilbo still gets knocked out, but for a far shorter time, and he's alone with Thorin when Thorin dies which is immediately after his final duel with Azog. This results in far greater intimacy and Freeman & Armitage absolutely killing it. Let's hear it for Philippa Boyens, too, because given her track record (she's responsible for both Boromir's death scene and Theoden's death scene), I'm pretty sure this was her exclusive scriptwriting work. My big heresy is that she improves on all three of the Tolkien death scenes (while of course using canonical lines as well). With Theoden, because she gives his final exchange to Eowyn instead of Eomer, and no offense to Eomer, but Eowyn being able to have this last moment with the beloved uncle/father figure whom she's just killed the Witch King for moves me more, as does "I know your face... Eowyn" from Theoden. With Boromir, the death scene is the culmination of Boromir being a more sympathetic character in general as well as of the nature of his relationship with Aragon, which is entirely movieverse; Aragon promising to fight for the people of Gondor and Boromir's "I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my friend" is an emotional pay off not there in the novel. With Thorin and Bilbo, while Thorin asking Bilbo's forgiveness and the "if more people valued" etc. lines are entirely Tolkien, Boyens had them tied to the earlier scene (one of the two quiet scenes in the middle of Thorin's downard spiral as mentioned) between Thorin and Bilbo where Bilbo talked about what he wanted to do when he got back to Back End. By letting the two of them be alone, with Bilbo trying to save Thorin one last time and realising he can't while Thorin dies in his arms, it, as with Eowyn & Theoden and Aragon & Boromir, is the wrap up of an entire relationship. And there's both a look backwards and forwards - Bilbo's "Thorin, the eagles, the eagles are coming" both echoes what Bilbo said at the end of An Unexpected Journey and what Sam says to Frodo on Mount Doom, only for Thorin, as with Fili and Kili before him, there is no last moment rescue. (Though seeing the eagles earlier allows him to die with the knowledge that his people are saved.)
Jackson skips Bilbo staying first at Beorn's and then at Rivendell on his way back and goes directly from Bilbo taking his leave of his surviving dwarf friends to Bilbo (trying to say something about Thorin and failing - again, Freeman kills it with the "to me, he was..." and then Bilbo unable to finish the sentence) to Bilbo and Gandalf arriving at the border of the Shire and taking their leave (with lines pretty much all from Tolkien) to Bilbo arriving at Bag End to find his goods auctioned off, and we finally meet cousin Lobelia in a theatrical release version. (She's in the extended cuts for both Fellowship and Unexpected Journey, but not in the theatricals.) Complete with spoons. It's only a short scene, but it serves its purpose; Bilbo is back in the Shire and normalcy sets in, but he's forever altered by what he experienced, and who he has lost, with his last line to the other hobbits as he enters Bag End underscoring the point. As I expected, then we get the transition from young Bilbo back to old Bilbo to end the movie on, and I thought, as I did during rewatches of other installments, that while it's hard fo rme to pick favourite hobbits, Bilbo just might be it. Sam's unquestionably the most selfless and brave, and I do love all the others, but I think what gets me about Bilbo is that he's allowed to keep his flaws and idiosyncrancies even after participating in a quest made him prove his innate heroism, smarts and compassion. He's just so, well, not human, but you know what I mean. And my hearts breaks for him here, too, because it's going to be a while till Frodo is around to share life in Bag End with, and while we know Bilbo's life is gong to be a happy one, Bilbo, freshly returned from the quest, doesn't know this yet.
But the post-movieverse fanfiction I most want to read isn't about Bilbo. It's about Tauriel and Thranduil, which I completely didn't expect. Thranduil gets fleshed out more in this movie, both in his own scenes and by Legolas bringing up his mother's death to Tauriel, and the two scenes of Tauriel confronting him at the Battle of the Five Armies when he intends to leave and him finding her later with Kili's corpse suddenly made me tremendously curious about their relationship both before and after the movie. There's a red thread of "standing up to your leader when he's doing the wrong thing" in the movie (Bilbo, Dwalin and Kili with Thorin, Tauriel and Legolas with Thranduil) which I found very appealing, because neither Thorin, dragon-sickness or no dragon sickness, nor Thranduil are treated by the narrative as villains. Standing up to villainous leaders is what everyone does in fantasy movies. Standing up to your respected, admired and in Thorin's case certainly loved leader because he's acting wrongly, otoh, is still rare. Now we also get a lot more on Tauriel's and Legolas' friendship in the film (btw, I really wouldn't call this a love triangle with Kili, because "love triangle" implies romantic competition and undecided feelings, and a) it's clear that Tauriel is in love with Kili throughout, and b) Legolas at no point makes a romantic move), but Legolas' last scene unfortunately is the single most "what the hell?" elf related scene in a Jackson movie since Elrond showed up in Return of the King to tell Aragorn Arwen's life was now tied to the ring. I mean: Kili is dead, Tauriel is grieving, and Legolas decides he urgently needs to be elsewhere (as opposed to, you know, being where a friend is definitely needed) whereupon his father sends him to the Dunedain to meet a young Aragon. Which nixed any wish for a Legolas and Tauriel post movie scene in me, but otoh it also means Tauriel has her last scene with Thranduil and this in turn made me wish for follow up. There's just so much there: the different perspectives of immortal beings (Thranduil is one of the oldest High Elves still around, Tauriel relatively young for an elf), losing someone to death for the first time versus multiple experiences, just where lies the responsibility of elves (to each other, to the world), his anger over her defiance versus the moment of empathy, etc.
Still talking of Elves: Jackson, Boyens and Walsh continue to ship Gandalf/Galadriel. As expected, she saves him in this installment, complete with holding his imprisonment-weakened body,forehead kissing and later hand holding. She also squares off against Sauron which showcases how powerful Galadriel is (and why taking the ring from Frodo would be utterly disastrous), while Saruman and Elrond have a go at the not yet completely manifested Ring Wraiths. Incidentally, here's another heresy: back when I read the Silmarillion (also eons ago), I remember being disappointed that Saruman is described as always a rotten apple, secretly envious of Gandalf and liked less by the other Maia and by the Valar. The Jackson movies go for something more interesting and ambiguous, imo, in letting Saruman be a respected leader of the order pre LotR, and showcasing him here fighting against evil while making it clear that his arrogance and hubris ("leave Sauron to me" ) are fertile ground for his later megalomania and cruelty.
Trivia observation: Philippa Boyens in the audio commentary for Desolation of Smaug mentions falling in love (in a scriptwriter kind of way) with Ryan Cage's performance as Alfred which resulted in him going from having a tiny part mostly so the Master doesn't have to monologue his thoughts to having a meaty supporting part in Battle of the Five Armies, and it shows; Alfred is basically a long lost spawn of the Blackadder clan stranded in Middle Earth (and even looks a bit like Rowan Atkinson). Which you probably either hate or love. I loved it. Not least because the comic relief amidst all the tragedy was welcome, but also because Blackadder/Tolkien is the type of cracked crossover that I can't resist.
In conclusion: yes, yes, yes, bloated, premise of turning a charming children's novel into a three picture epic inherently wrong, Legolas action scenes the epitome of superfluos fanservice, by all means. But here I am, still sighing over Bilbo and Thorin (oh, btw, I wouldn't go as far as claim this as one of the "no heterosexual explanation possible" pairings because what's glaring for one viewer is not even interesting for the next, eye of the beholder etc., but this particular viewer certainly came out convinced Bilbo loved Thorin, however you would define this love), mourning Kili and Fili, and wanting Tauriel & Thranduil "elf king and his loyal but determined opposition & two survivors" post movies fanfiction. And avoiding any bad reviews which I'm sure will be present a plenty, because I love the films too damm much.
Firstly: re: the Desolation of Smaug, extended version, some of the additional scenes are straight from the book (Gandalf introducing the dwarves and Bilbo - "a hobbit of impeccable reputation" - to Beorn in pairs of two, Bombur falling in the enchanted river and having to be carried), but you can see why they didn't make the theatrical cut. However, there's also an entire new subplot, which required an alternate version of the Gandalf in Dol Guldur scenes. It starts with a slightly longer version of the opening flashback of Thorin meeting Gandalf in Bree, in which Thorin talks about his conviction that his father isn't dead, that he's still looking for him, and we learn that Thrain disappeared immediately after the battle of Moria. Gandalf also brings up the fact Thrain is a ringbearer, wearing the last of the seven rings given to the dwarf kings. There's a pay off for the set up there later when Gandalf gets to Dol Gudur, where he finds a live and crazed Thrain (minus a finger and the ring) and is able to calm and somewhat heal him. Thrain being played by Anthony Sher, this is a meeting of the British Thespians that's quite moving, and actually Tolkien based, though in Tolkien Gandalf found Thrain in the Necromancer's dungeons before joining Thorin and company (that's how he got the map and the key). Thrain eventually ends up getting killed but not before warning Gandalf Thorin must not go near "that mountain". I was in two minds as to whether or not removing this subplot was better, but having seen the third movie I think it was right to let it go, because Gandalf never has the chance to tell Thorin that he's found his father, there's enough set up for Thorin's temporary decline into paranoid gold greed anyway, and the business about the last of the seven dwarf rings being taken has no impact on the Hobbit plot (either book or films), either. Still, it's good to have the scenes on dvd. Something I really really wish to have remained in the theatrical version, though: Bilbo vouching for Thorin when Thorin makes his pledge to share the wealth of Erebor to the people of Laketown. I mean, yes, Bilbo would have done what he did in the third movie (speaking movieverse only) anyway, but that scene is referenced in the third movie in dialogue between Bilbo and Thorin, and people solely familiar with the theatrical version probably wonder what the hell Bilbo is talking about.
Now, onto The Battle of the Five Armies: the beginning is where the decision to establish Bard and his family early on in the previous movie instead of letting Bard show up a few lines before he kills Smaug really pays off. You also feel for the people of Laketown when Smaug destroys their city while everyone is desperately evacuating, and Bard killing Smaug, plus the way he does it, is an emotionally cathartic moment that still doesn't ignore the havoc Smaug has already wrought in the aftermath. The movie's sympathy for the plight of the people of Laketown, whom Bard leads to the ruins of Dale, next door to Erebor, also throws Thorin's descend into sharp contrast. (Not that it gives up on Thorin, more about this in a moment.) As opposed to the book, where Bard and Thranduil present a united front arriving with demands, here Bard is surprised by Thranduil's arrival, has to accept him as an ally (the Elves have food for the Laketown survivors, for starters), is caught between two stubborn bastards (Thranduil and Thorin) and tries to negotiate with Thorin nonetheless, which doesn't work both because Thorin even at the best of times wouild have reacted badly to an Elf army with his least favourite elf at his doorstep and because Thorin is on a downward spiral of paranoia and greed.
Wisely, the movie gives him two quiet scenes with Bilbo during said downward spiral which are a reminder of Thorin's better qualities, so his eventual snapping out of it (after hitting rock, err, gold bottom) and coming to his senses is prepared, and you also understand why Bilbo despite nearly getting thrown off the battlements doesn't write off Thorin. Not to mention that they demonstrate Thorin caring for Bilbo (beyond being grateful for the life saving in the first movie, and needing him as a burglar, that is - at this point Bilbo has accomplished what the dwarves originally needed him for), and prepare for what he says in his death scene. Bilbo during the early part of the movie, watching Thorin's decline and fretting about what to do with the Arkenstone until he decides to give it to Bard and Thranduil as a negotiating tool is where Martin Freeman's acting chops come in big time, btw. The quiet heartbreak, innate decency and desperately trying to figure out a solution beautifully plays off against Richard Armitage doing his Richard Armitage thing of smouldering doom of flickers of hope in between the decline. What did surprise me is that off the other dwarves, it was Dwalin, not Balin, who got a "trying to bring Thorin to his senses" scene, but it works both because Balin already got such a scene in the previous movie and because it finally brings on screen the "oldest friends" backstory the actors mentioned as having in mind for Dwalin and Thorin. Giving Thorin his Eureka moment of moral turnaround in the hall where he confronted Smaug, staring at the gold floor, culminates the ongonig Thorin/Smaug parallels in the first half of the movie (if I recall correctly, Thorin's "I will not part with a single coin" lline earlier is from the book, but giving Smaug the same line in "The Desolation of Smaug" was not), and while I found the symbolism there somewhat heavy handed, Armitage sells the emotion. Now, tell me all the battles in all three movies could have been heavily trimmed and I completely agree with you, but one thing the length of the titular battle of the five armies does for Thorin is that it gives him space from said turnaround moment to his death, to reestablish himself as a sympathetic character. I think if we'd simply gone from Thorin having his realisation to Thorin dying, the emotion would have been quite differently. As it is, we get the Kili and Thorin scene that made me wibble already in the trailer, Thorin and Bain, and the entire sequence where the line of Durin meets its end, which gutted me. Honestly, at this point I caught myself hoping Jackson & Co. would depart from Tolkien some more and let Kili and Fili live. Now it's been eons since I've read The Hobbit, but from what I remember the only two dwarves who were fleshed out in the novel were Balin and Thorin, so when Bilbo, post battle, heared that Kili and Fili had died yours truly had no particular emotion attached to this news. But the movies individualized and endeared them to me. I thought I was prepared for their demise, but when Azog dangled Fili in front of Thorin and killed him, with no last moment rescue intervening, I realized I wasn't. And then Tauriel was unable to save Kili one last time, though he did manage to save her for the first and only time. (BTW, I had no problem with Tauriel getting temporary overpowered this one time, nor do I see this as a betrayal of womanhood in the movies. She dispatches the Orc in question by herself after Kili's death, and no matter how skilled a warrior you are, it happens now and then. More about Tauriel in a moment.) I was a sniffling mess at this point. And then we got to Thorin's death scene.
In the novel, Bilbo is knocked out for most of the battle, and Thorin doesn't die of his wounds (and has his deathbed reconciliation with Bilbo) until after the battle is over, with everyone else present as well. In the movie, Bilbo still gets knocked out, but for a far shorter time, and he's alone with Thorin when Thorin dies which is immediately after his final duel with Azog. This results in far greater intimacy and Freeman & Armitage absolutely killing it. Let's hear it for Philippa Boyens, too, because given her track record (she's responsible for both Boromir's death scene and Theoden's death scene), I'm pretty sure this was her exclusive scriptwriting work. My big heresy is that she improves on all three of the Tolkien death scenes (while of course using canonical lines as well). With Theoden, because she gives his final exchange to Eowyn instead of Eomer, and no offense to Eomer, but Eowyn being able to have this last moment with the beloved uncle/father figure whom she's just killed the Witch King for moves me more, as does "I know your face... Eowyn" from Theoden. With Boromir, the death scene is the culmination of Boromir being a more sympathetic character in general as well as of the nature of his relationship with Aragon, which is entirely movieverse; Aragon promising to fight for the people of Gondor and Boromir's "I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my friend" is an emotional pay off not there in the novel. With Thorin and Bilbo, while Thorin asking Bilbo's forgiveness and the "if more people valued" etc. lines are entirely Tolkien, Boyens had them tied to the earlier scene (one of the two quiet scenes in the middle of Thorin's downard spiral as mentioned) between Thorin and Bilbo where Bilbo talked about what he wanted to do when he got back to Back End. By letting the two of them be alone, with Bilbo trying to save Thorin one last time and realising he can't while Thorin dies in his arms, it, as with Eowyn & Theoden and Aragon & Boromir, is the wrap up of an entire relationship. And there's both a look backwards and forwards - Bilbo's "Thorin, the eagles, the eagles are coming" both echoes what Bilbo said at the end of An Unexpected Journey and what Sam says to Frodo on Mount Doom, only for Thorin, as with Fili and Kili before him, there is no last moment rescue. (Though seeing the eagles earlier allows him to die with the knowledge that his people are saved.)
Jackson skips Bilbo staying first at Beorn's and then at Rivendell on his way back and goes directly from Bilbo taking his leave of his surviving dwarf friends to Bilbo (trying to say something about Thorin and failing - again, Freeman kills it with the "to me, he was..." and then Bilbo unable to finish the sentence) to Bilbo and Gandalf arriving at the border of the Shire and taking their leave (with lines pretty much all from Tolkien) to Bilbo arriving at Bag End to find his goods auctioned off, and we finally meet cousin Lobelia in a theatrical release version. (She's in the extended cuts for both Fellowship and Unexpected Journey, but not in the theatricals.) Complete with spoons. It's only a short scene, but it serves its purpose; Bilbo is back in the Shire and normalcy sets in, but he's forever altered by what he experienced, and who he has lost, with his last line to the other hobbits as he enters Bag End underscoring the point. As I expected, then we get the transition from young Bilbo back to old Bilbo to end the movie on, and I thought, as I did during rewatches of other installments, that while it's hard fo rme to pick favourite hobbits, Bilbo just might be it. Sam's unquestionably the most selfless and brave, and I do love all the others, but I think what gets me about Bilbo is that he's allowed to keep his flaws and idiosyncrancies even after participating in a quest made him prove his innate heroism, smarts and compassion. He's just so, well, not human, but you know what I mean. And my hearts breaks for him here, too, because it's going to be a while till Frodo is around to share life in Bag End with, and while we know Bilbo's life is gong to be a happy one, Bilbo, freshly returned from the quest, doesn't know this yet.
But the post-movieverse fanfiction I most want to read isn't about Bilbo. It's about Tauriel and Thranduil, which I completely didn't expect. Thranduil gets fleshed out more in this movie, both in his own scenes and by Legolas bringing up his mother's death to Tauriel, and the two scenes of Tauriel confronting him at the Battle of the Five Armies when he intends to leave and him finding her later with Kili's corpse suddenly made me tremendously curious about their relationship both before and after the movie. There's a red thread of "standing up to your leader when he's doing the wrong thing" in the movie (Bilbo, Dwalin and Kili with Thorin, Tauriel and Legolas with Thranduil) which I found very appealing, because neither Thorin, dragon-sickness or no dragon sickness, nor Thranduil are treated by the narrative as villains. Standing up to villainous leaders is what everyone does in fantasy movies. Standing up to your respected, admired and in Thorin's case certainly loved leader because he's acting wrongly, otoh, is still rare. Now we also get a lot more on Tauriel's and Legolas' friendship in the film (btw, I really wouldn't call this a love triangle with Kili, because "love triangle" implies romantic competition and undecided feelings, and a) it's clear that Tauriel is in love with Kili throughout, and b) Legolas at no point makes a romantic move), but Legolas' last scene unfortunately is the single most "what the hell?" elf related scene in a Jackson movie since Elrond showed up in Return of the King to tell Aragorn Arwen's life was now tied to the ring. I mean: Kili is dead, Tauriel is grieving, and Legolas decides he urgently needs to be elsewhere (as opposed to, you know, being where a friend is definitely needed) whereupon his father sends him to the Dunedain to meet a young Aragon. Which nixed any wish for a Legolas and Tauriel post movie scene in me, but otoh it also means Tauriel has her last scene with Thranduil and this in turn made me wish for follow up. There's just so much there: the different perspectives of immortal beings (Thranduil is one of the oldest High Elves still around, Tauriel relatively young for an elf), losing someone to death for the first time versus multiple experiences, just where lies the responsibility of elves (to each other, to the world), his anger over her defiance versus the moment of empathy, etc.
Still talking of Elves: Jackson, Boyens and Walsh continue to ship Gandalf/Galadriel. As expected, she saves him in this installment, complete with holding his imprisonment-weakened body,forehead kissing and later hand holding. She also squares off against Sauron which showcases how powerful Galadriel is (and why taking the ring from Frodo would be utterly disastrous), while Saruman and Elrond have a go at the not yet completely manifested Ring Wraiths. Incidentally, here's another heresy: back when I read the Silmarillion (also eons ago), I remember being disappointed that Saruman is described as always a rotten apple, secretly envious of Gandalf and liked less by the other Maia and by the Valar. The Jackson movies go for something more interesting and ambiguous, imo, in letting Saruman be a respected leader of the order pre LotR, and showcasing him here fighting against evil while making it clear that his arrogance and hubris ("leave Sauron to me" ) are fertile ground for his later megalomania and cruelty.
Trivia observation: Philippa Boyens in the audio commentary for Desolation of Smaug mentions falling in love (in a scriptwriter kind of way) with Ryan Cage's performance as Alfred which resulted in him going from having a tiny part mostly so the Master doesn't have to monologue his thoughts to having a meaty supporting part in Battle of the Five Armies, and it shows; Alfred is basically a long lost spawn of the Blackadder clan stranded in Middle Earth (and even looks a bit like Rowan Atkinson). Which you probably either hate or love. I loved it. Not least because the comic relief amidst all the tragedy was welcome, but also because Blackadder/Tolkien is the type of cracked crossover that I can't resist.
In conclusion: yes, yes, yes, bloated, premise of turning a charming children's novel into a three picture epic inherently wrong, Legolas action scenes the epitome of superfluos fanservice, by all means. But here I am, still sighing over Bilbo and Thorin (oh, btw, I wouldn't go as far as claim this as one of the "no heterosexual explanation possible" pairings because what's glaring for one viewer is not even interesting for the next, eye of the beholder etc., but this particular viewer certainly came out convinced Bilbo loved Thorin, however you would define this love), mourning Kili and Fili, and wanting Tauriel & Thranduil "elf king and his loyal but determined opposition & two survivors" post movies fanfiction. And avoiding any bad reviews which I'm sure will be present a plenty, because I love the films too damm much.
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Date: 2014-12-15 08:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-16 07:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-16 01:00 pm (UTC)I still haven't seen this one, sigh. But there's still plenty of time I guess. I expect to cry buckets here, as well, having been caught by the dreaded Richard Armitage curse unawares. Blast him! *g* (At least Thranduil and Tauriel will live. I enjoy watching Lee Pace and Evangeline Lilly playing characters that aren't forever mutilated by their writers or whose outings are cut down in their prime by their networks...)
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Date: 2014-12-16 01:06 pm (UTC)Richard Armitage: born to play doomed characters and making people cry. Blast him indeed! And ha, yes, true on Lee Pace and Evangeline Lilly. I knew Thranduil would make it because he's Tolkien-protected, but Tauriel's fate was up in the air, oc who she is, so I was mightily relieved she wasn't killed off.
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Date: 2014-12-23 02:01 pm (UTC)(Oh, and for the parallels between Thorin-Smaug, I'm pretty sure in that scene where Thorin thinks EVERYONE IS BETRAYING HIM you get an overlay between Armitage's and Cumberbatch's voices when he comes to not wanting to part with a single coin.)
(Speaking of, my most heretical film opinion in these times is that Benedict Cumberbatch does nothing for me in the acting department, but as a voice actor, he is really terrific. Smaug was great, of course, but he did give Sauron quite a bit of menace in those short glimpses we saw of him.)
(And while mentioning that scene, Galadriel making a stand for elven queens being badass while barefoot and dressed in "Ardo Gardinen," as one of my less sentimental friends once said, may be one of my favourite elf fightscenes, right before Thranduil hardly messing up his hair while falling/rolling off his poor moose-elk.)
(Finally, like another of my friends said: for all the fuss they make about the bats "being bred for WAR" they really amount to pretty much nothing but giving Legolas a lift. Put that down on the list of small wtf moments, right next to the Arkenstone practically disappearing after getting waved around mockingly in Thorin's face, to paraphrase Richard Armitage.)
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Date: 2014-12-23 05:40 pm (UTC)Voice overlay: oh definitely.
BC as voice actor: agreed. The extras on the Desolation of Smaug dvd show him following Andy Serkis' advice of giving a full physical performance as well, never mind that no one will see it (and that his body is not that of a dragon, or an disembodied eye), because it improves what you do with your voice, and lo, it totally paid off.
Galadriel was amazing. You can really see why she'd have been the Evil Overlord to end all Evil Overlords, had she ever gone darkside.
Arkenstone: I expect we'll get Thorin's, Kili's and Fili's funeral in the Extended Edition, because book canon does have a fate for it (i.e. it gets buried with them).
Bats: I hadn't noticed, but you're absolutely RIGHT.
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Date: 2014-12-26 07:40 pm (UTC)I think Bard was the last person seen in possession, so I expect he dropped it during the fighting in Dale and it was actually in Alfrid's bust when he scarpered. Incidentally, why did people keep giving Alfrid jobs to do when he'd made it perfectly clear he was useless at doing jobs, even on the rare occasions when he didn't run off to do something else?
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Date: 2014-12-27 10:39 am (UTC)In universe? I'm guessing a case of "if we must keep you around, you best be useful" paired with Bard's unwillingness to just throw him out, since that would leave him to be killed horribly in various ways. Maybe someone will write fic about his descendants stumbling through various important battles of the ring wars, always trying not to get involved, and accidentally stealing cursed jewelry.
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Date: 2014-12-27 02:06 pm (UTC)Bard, though, will probably get a very unhappy Dain out of this...