Beorn to run
Jackson goes the extra distance one last time…
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies Extended Edition 12 (TBC)
Out 23 November DVD, 3D BD, DIGITAL HD
It all comes back to rings… As Gandalf prepares to lose his ring-wearing hand to an orc, Peter Jackson chats on the commentary about how the three rings of power subplot has come alive in the extended editions: one seed among many for Middle-earth’s extended lease of disc-life.
You’d call it a cash-in, if the 20 additional minutes on display here didn’t make for an imperfect but noticeably less wobbly bridge to Rings than the theatrical cut. Previously, Battle felt prequel-ish and awkwardly paced: lots of army assemblage, lots of battles, not much logic or character flow. Here, the logic creases are smoothed out, the character/action thrusts better integrated.
Improvements begin quickly, with Bard’s Smaug face-off boosted for tension. The Making Of docs reveal that Luke Evans spent 15 hours dashing over rooftops on his first day at work, so that’s at least one person who’ll be satisfied with the extra footage. Equally, James Nesbitt’s Bofur’s chat-time with Martin Freeman’s flawless Bilbo is fleeting but welcome: their exchange lets the pacing breathe, shows that Jackson can still do character stuff and reminds us the dwarves have, you know, actual voices.
Elsewhere, Billy Connolly’s formerly-botched entrance is bettered, Bifur’s axe-in-head issue is comically resolved (he speaks!) and Beorn is briefly dumped into battle. It’s a bloodier battle in this US R-rated cut, sometimes pointlessly: when you’ve seen one head roll… But fun additions include Galadriel reducing an orc to “wet chunks” ( Jackson’s choice words) and a troll-squishing ice chase that clears up the mystery of the chariot in the trailer. Tauriel’s fate remains an unfortunately unresolved mystery, for which the explanation behind Legolas’ shifting position while hanging from a giant bat hardly compensates. But at least the extra farewell to Thorin doesn’t muddy the climax: the glide into The Fellowship Of The Ring stays smooth so it won’t ruin that six-pic Christmas binge you’re planning.
Set aside an extra day too, because the Phillippa Boyens/Jackson yack-track (“You just wanted to do giant were-worms,” she joshes, genially) and mammoth docs brim with treasures. Cherishable footage includes Christopher Lee on set, Cate Blanchett protecting her nipper from orc-mares and footage from day one of Rings. Cast’n’crew look about 10, bless ’em. As a full-circle swerve back to that hallowed start, this Battle certainly comes closer than before (much closer than a certain other prequel trilogy managed…) to a worthy segue-as-send-off for a great fantasy saga. Unless someone comes up with a post-Tolkien excuse for a 2025 extension: ‘The Forge Awakens’?