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Defend to the end

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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage; directed by Peter Jackson

The reign of the ring comes to an end – or rather the end of the beginning, given that this is the prequel. Some questioned whether one short book could, or should, be stretched into three films; at well over two hours, this final episode of the Hobbit trilogy suggests that there was more than enough meat in the story.

The Battle of the Five Armies continues the mix much as before, with grim determination, awesome landscapes, stunning effects and as much action as you can take. There are a few character twists, and there’s a lot of anguished decision-making before yet another unsheathing of the swords gets us back to the epic simplicity of the basic plot.

Bilbo’s band has reclaimed the treasure of the dwarfs, albeit with the unwanted side effect of unleashing the deadly force that is the dragon Smaug upon the defenceless folk of Lake-town. But dwarf king Thorin sacrifices friendship and honour to hoard the gold he prizes above all, while the great enemy Sauron has sent out his legions of villainous orcs in a stealth attack on the Lonely Mountain. Could it get any worse? The races of dwarves, elves and men must decide whether they should unite and fight together – or be destroyed.

You know how it ends of course, but the journey is every bit as exciting as
Bilbo Baggins’s.

The hobbit hits screens Thursday 11th December.


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