lunabee34

I am sure this will surprise precisely none of you, but I really liked this movie. The pacing was good. The music was so effectively used. The special effects were stellar (mostly). And, oh the character moments.

I think that what I like most about the way this final installment has been filmed is that it becomes (among other things), a story about three examples of poor leadership and the three counterexamples to that poor style of leadership that ultimately prevail.

Thorin, caught in the grip of dragon sickness and oblivious to the situation around him, has gone mad and become unfeeling and dishonorable as a consequence. I fully appreciate that I had two whole movies to develop affection for him and to see him as loyal and honorable and brave and capable of intense kindness because IMHO the book doesn't develop his character in that way at all. He remains for me from start to finish as Emma would say, "kind of a butt." The change in his character works so well in this third movie because it IS a change and such a drastic one. Unlike our other two leaders, this transformation is depicted as largely outside of Thorin's control. He doesn't actively choose to become a bad leader but succumbs instead to an illness that robs him of his core values and beliefs. Although all the other dwarfs speak out against Thorin's behavior, Bilbo is his foil in the movie. Bilbo's simple understanding of home and peace and material wealth are what bring Thorin back to himself. Does Bilbo love things? Oh, my yes. We see the lot of wonderful things he's amassed spread across the lawn when he finally returns to Bag End, and he certainly does not want Lobelia to make off with his spoons! But Bilbo would rather have the friendship of the company than all the gold in the mountain. He'd rather have Beorn's acorns growing in the earth of his garden than any Arkenstone. He'd rather have the people of Laketown fed and healed than gems and rubies. I think it's very telling that the final voice Thorin hears before he is able to break free of his madness is Bilbo's. (The special effects surrounding his descent into madness were pretty cheesy, I thought. I did not like his Batman voice-over when he's talking to Bilbo outside the armory or the whole sliding down into the golden floor hallucination; other than that, I thought the special effects were pretty awesome.)

Our second leader, the Master of Laketown, is flawed in a much more common and straightforward way. He's selfish and greedy, and he profits from the sorrows of his constituents. Since he dies fairly quickly into the movie, we're left with his ~~Grima Wormtongue~~ sycophantic butler as a representative. At every turn, Alfrid is cowardly, consumed with greed, and selfish. Bard is his obvious foil, and I am so glad that this movie spent so much time on him and his kids. The best king is the one who doesn't want the crown. Bard doesn't want the mantle of leadership which is part of why he will do such a good job of leading going forward. He's also focused on his children (who are his home) and the other people who are looking to him for safety and guidance to the exclusion of wealth. He just wants enough of the treasure to rebuild and ensure that the survivors of the massacre won't starve.

Thranduil was a hard one for me to suss out in the first two movies. He's such a cipher in the book. We learn virtually nothing about him. And the first two movies just made him seem like a Malfoy--class conscious, kinda racist, gloriously blond--without any real explanation for his behavior. Throughout the course of the movies, we learn that Thranduil's flaw is a lack of empathy. He cannot empathize with the plight of the humans and dwarves and other beings who live outside the realm of Mirkwood. He will dedicate his might to eradicating the shadow of darkness from his own woods but not lift a finger to help those outside. He cannot understand his son's feelings for Tauriel, feelings she shares until they become an impossibility. He cannot understand or condone Tauriel's feelings for Kili. He is utterly emotionless. Tauriel breaks through that icy exterior, first by angering him and then by forcing him to recognize the depth of her love for Kili. We learn in this third movie that Legolas's mom died pretty early on, and that his dad has been cold ever since. I think Tauriel forces Thranduil to relive the love he once had for his wife, allowing him to speak candidly and with emotion to Legolas, perhaps for the first time.

Like

princessofgeeks said, I was all full of squee when Thranduil ordered Legolas at the end of the movie to go find Aragorn and be his bestie. LOL

I remain enthralled with Galadriel. I think her confrontation with Sauron was amazing.

I like that the movie changes the length of time that Bilbo is unconscious. I like that he has his deathbed conversation with Thorin on the battlefield. Anybody else think they way they filmed that scene, especially juxtaposed with Tauriel cradling Kili's body, feels like a scene depicting the death of a lover? I also think it's interesting that Thorin is the one Bilbo cares for most. Balin is the dwarf he interacts with most, the one who shows him the most kindnesses. You think his BFF would be Balin instead of Thorin. Most of Bilbo's friendship building interaction with Thorin doesn't even happen in the book and Peter Jackson has to make it up entirely for the movies. I think shippers got a lot to work with in this movie. It's now movie canonical that Bilbo is all about Thorin. :)

I am so glad Radagast didn't die! And that he whisked Gandalf to safety. And summoned the Eagles and Beorn. I will imagine him cuddling a hedgehog fondly into his dotage.

I also really, really liked the credits. Those drawings were so beautifully done.

All in all, a fine way to end (or is that begin?) a franchise.