• At the very beginning of the movie, Smaug, the dragon, gets killed in 10 seconds even before the film’s title appears on screen. You are prepared with the first two movies to fear & to expect a great confrontation with the dragon but all for that … Proof is done that the trilogy is poorly built: the climax of the second film ends at the beginning of the third (when the last lines of the movie were told by the dragon: I quote “I’m the fire, I am death …”). So, you are totally frustrated and realize that Peter Jackson has to replace Smaug, the ultimate threat, with another form of dramatic tension  since it disappeared so soon.

• This scene is also problematic because it is directly in a middle of an action scene, there is no introduction to the film. It actually shows you the last scene from the second movie. The problem is that you are not into it … you feel it’s a bit overplayed because you are in the heart of the battle right away. So, the long lines told by Bard to his son sound awkward. In addition, using his son’s shoulder to launch his arrow to kill Smaug was a good move… but quite implausible. In “the Lord of the Rings”, the stunts were credible (given the context of heroic fantasy). Here, it is just too much.

• Legolas, let’s talk about him… The really long slow motion stunt where he tries to jump on stones falling … also grotesque. In “The Lord of the Rings”, you  remember that famous scene where he surfs on a shield racing down the stairs at the Battle of Helm’s deep, killing orcs on the way. It was cool and plausible. Looks like Peter Jackson was showing more restraint before or  wanted to do surpass himself with this scene … but he failed to do so. Same thing with the scene where Legolas jumps  on a troll and shoves his sword in his skull to control it … it lasts too long and it becomes ridiculous. He had already done it with the Oliphant in the battle of Pelennor Fields and it worked back then… The character of Legolas is probably the one that suffered the most from these films.

• In the-very-convenient-and-not-too-subtle-category, there is also the fact that Bilbo is hit in the head by a stone at the beginning of the Battle of Five Armies (battle that lasts the ¾th of the movie …) and wakes up once the war is finished… Also, once the company of dwarves led by Thorin decides to go help their comrades, you acknowledge their effort, but you wonder how 12 dwarves will save  a battle composed of “five armies”.

• The Kili & Tauriel storyline, we already talked about it,  was a good idea as it adds a love story to this harsh world depicted in this movie but it’s done with very little subtlety. Their dialogues are very corny. And it actually spreads out to the character of Thranduil, father of Legolas, who finds love within himself instantaneously watching Tauriel and her love for Kili… Even though he was really hard on dwarves few minutes before. Tauriel manages to ensure that he remains fighting for the dwarves and that he pass the message of love to his son. He was an interesting character because he was charismatic, self-centered, sharp, in short, the character we loved to hate. Also, the way he said goodbye to his son was just … weird.

• Regarding the pros’ (and there are) the rescue scene of Gandalf from Sauron with Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman was really good. It helps measuring Galadriel’s powers. Peter Jackson tries to draw parallels with “the Lord of the Rings” (which is fine when it’s done right) & this scene also explains how the situation went worse especially because of Saruman’s betrayal.

• Other successful stuff: Martin Freeman’s performance  which gives a very mischievous side to Bilbo and at the same time be credible as a courageous person. Then, the scene with Thorin when he is dying wasn’t that successfull … especially due to all the exaggerated scenes seen just before …

• Finally, the film is called “The Hobbit” but which could have be named “Thorin”, is partly saved by Richard Armitage’s performance. He is perfect as a leader with a big heart and also someone sick with “the dragon disease”. This lovely scene where Bilbo softens  him by showing the acorn he picked up during their journey, explaining he wants to plant it in his garden, is a good example. Indeed, in an instant, Armitage goes from having a genuinely good man face to a psychopath one.

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