The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Extended Edition Review

More Dwarves! More Action! … More Goats?

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage

Rating: 15

Price: £14.99 (DVD); £19.99 (Blu-ray)

Number of Discs: 5

Running Time: 164 minutes
 

 Eleven years ago, Peter Jackson gave us his take on The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films were a huge success and won seventeen Academy Awards. Last year, he finished The Hobbit, a three-part adaptation of the prequel to LotR. It wasn’t received as warmly and won none. I may be a fan of Peter’s, but even I agree with the masses - The Hobbit was a letdown, especially the third film The Battle of the Five Armies. But all wasn’t lost.

Since he first stepped into Middle-earth, Peter’s kept in the habit of releasing extended cuts of his films. LotR had them, King Kong had one and now the Hobbit films have theirs. And so far they've been better off for it. Last week, The Battle of the Five Armies - Extended Edition was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Twenty minutes have been added to the film, along with nine hours of behind-the-scenes footage. The bonus features are sure to please the fans, but do the extra minutes make it worth following Thorin one last time?

 

The Battle of the Five Armies (or BotFA) picks up immediately where The Desolation of Smaug left off. Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) has reclaimed the kingdom of Erebor, but unleashed Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) upon the people of Lake-town. Bard the bowman (Luke Evans) kills the dragon and is forced to lead the survivors to shelter. Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is rescued from Dol Guldur and immediately rides for the Mountain. Bard seeks compensation for the destruction of Lake-town… but Thorin’s having none of it. The King under the Mountain has gone mad from the treasure he has recovered, thus driving a wedge between himself and his followers. His greed also sparks conflict with the Wood-elves of Mirkwood. This drives Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to take drastic measures: he steals the Arkenstone, Thorin’s greatest treasure, and gives it to Bard and the elves. They use it to bargain for peace… but it only makes things worse. Thorin declares war and summons his cousin Dain and an army of dwarves. The conflict reaches its climax when not one, but two orc arrives arrive to conquer the Mountain. As evil closes in the elves, dwarves and men are forced to make a split-second choice: band together or die.
 

 

The original cut of BotFA disappointed me when I watched it for the first time. While the shorter running time - two hours and twenty-four minutes - seemed like a blessing, it took a huge toll on the film. It was bleak, unevenly paced and left too many loose ends untied. Sadly, this was more the fault of Warner Bros. than of Peter himself. A troubled production and restrictions imposed by the studio prevented him from giving us the film he intended. This isn’t the case with BotFA’s extended edition. At two hours and forty-four minutes, it’s the shortest of Peter’s extended editions – but the extra minutes make all the difference. The film now flows more evenly, allowing us time to breathe, laugh and cry between the battle scenes. It still isn’t perfect, but the new scenes make BotFA feel a great deal more complete.

Here’s an overview of the new scenes in the extended edition: 

 

The battle at Dol Guldur has been extended and reworked. As before, Gandalf is attacked by an orc, but saved by Lady Galadriel (Cate Blanchett). The difference is the orc doesn’t want to kill him - but to steal Narya, one of the three Elven Rings (from LotR), which Gandalf possesses. On its own, the scene doesn’t add much to the film extended or otherwise. It does, however, complement additions made to the last extended editions, e.g. Thrain and the Dwarven Rings. If you haven’t seen them before, you won’t understand the significance of Gandalf’s Ring in the scene; or, for that matter, how it strengthens the link between The Hobbit and LotR. The CGI of Sauron and the Nazgul isn’t any better, but fans will be pleased to get a longer look at the orc; one of the few in The Hobbit portrayed by make-up and prosthetics rather than CGI. 

 

After rescuing Gandalf, Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy) gives him his staff. It’s a small but crucial addition; Gandalf lost his own staff in the previous film, but arrived at Erebor in the theatrical cut with a new one without an explanation. This scene bridges the gap and offers a short, sweet moment between the two wizards. It also sets up a plant-and-payoff new to the extended edition, which I’ll come to later.

 

 

When Bilbo sneaks out of Erebor, he is spotted by Bofur (James Nesbitt) - but instead of telling Thorin, he lets Bilbo go, believing he wants to go home. This is the first new scene, and I was glad to see it because it addressed one of the problems the theatrical cut had: a lack of character moments. In An Unexpected Journey, Bofur comforted Bilbo when he considered leaving the quest. It was a heart-warming moment and this scene reflects their growing relationship through the trilogy.
 

 

Dain’s arrival has been heavily reworked, adding some new toys to his arsenal - some of which were absent in the theatrical cut despite appearing in trailers. These are the chariots, the war goats and new ballista-like weapons dubbed “twirly-whirlies”. It’s one of the most heavily advertised changes in the extended edition, and it didn’t disappoint. The scene now flows much better and addresses a plot hole impossible to miss in the theatrical cut. 

 

The battle itself is longer, adding new shots of the orc arsenal and more character moments for the dwarves. Highlights include the “War Beasts” - armoured trolls and ogres - and a scene where Bofur’s cousins Bifur (William Kircher) and Bombur (Stephen Hunter) finally speak. Their roles were reduced in the theatrical cut, so it was great to see them given the spotlight at last. The dwarves’ scenes provide action and comic relief, lifting the tone of the film and giving us much-needed chances to smile between the emotional scenes.
 

 

Now we come to the plot hole I mentioned. Originally, four goats appeared out of nowhere for Thorin, Fili, Kili and Dwalin to ride to Ravenhill. Thanks to Dain’s new armoury, that plot hole is fixed and then some. Now they salvage a chariot and ride through orcs, ogres and trolls along a frozen river. Said monsters are killed by the chariot’s blades in gory detail, raising the film’s certificate from 12 to 15. The added violence was silly (akin to Peter’s earlier films, like Meet the Feebles and Braindead), but with or without it, the scene was a welcome addition. It evened out the pace and gave the other dwarves more screentime before Thorin’s showdown with Azog. 

 

If you hated Alfrid (Ryan Gage) - the Lake-town Master’s sleazy, greedy lackey - no doubt you hate that he lived. In the extended edition, however, he isn’t so lucky. In a new scene, Gandalf tries to fight a troll with Radagast’s staff… but it fails him at the worst possible moment, fulfilling the plant-and payoff set by Radagast’s scene. Luckily, Alfrid triggers a catapult and flings himself into the troll’s mouth. Like the chariot scene, it’s a dark addition that would be more at home in a splatter film - but I loved it because it brought a satisfying end to Alfrid’s story. After all, who wouldn’t love to see a scumbag get his comeuppance? 

 

The survivors hold a funeral for Thorin, Fili and Kili. The Arkenstone is laid to rest and Dain - Thorin’s last remaining relative - is crowned King of Erebor. Although shorter than the epilogue of The Return of the King, the scene made all the difference because it addressed my biggest issue with BotFA: a lack of closure. The Arkenstone was a central plot device, but in the original cut it was forgotten as soon as the fighting began. Here its fate is settled and the deaths of Thorin, Fili and Kili given the emotional weight they deserve. Given the film’s billing as the “defining chapter” of the trilogy, I believe it needed this scene more than the others I’ve written about. It’s a short addition at two minutes, but if Peter could’ve only added one scene to the film, Thorin’s funeral would be it. 

 

CONCLUSION

It may not beat The Return of the King, but an extra twenty minutes make BotFA a worthy finale to The Hobbit and to Peter’s time in Middle-Earth. Let it be a lesson to Warner Bros. nt to meddle with future films.

SCORE:  4/5