The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has plenty to be excited about.
The first teaser trailer for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was released on Monday. The first two installments in the trilogy, An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug, may have been met with mixed reviews from Tolkien fans and movie buffs, but even this first look at The Battle of the Five Armies proves that Peter Jackson still has a few things up his sleeve.
And if you haven’t enjoyed The Hobbit films, get excited that this trailer signals that they are finally coming to a close. But for us, the trailer only improved our opinion. So why are we excited? Let us count the ways.
1. ‘Lord of the Rings’ references
It was a true Peter Jackson masterstroke to use Pippin’s song from Lord of the Rings as music for this trailer. Whether or not you enjoy The Hobbit films, most people can agree that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was fantastic – and Jackson expertly links the two together using this trailer. The flash of Sauron’s eye again hints at more connections between the two trilogies, and given how successfully Jackson adapted the third Lord of the Rings film, this is absolutely a reason to be excited for The Battle of the Five Armies.
2. The real desolation of Smaug
Despite being the apparent focus of the second Hobbit installment, it wasn’t so much “Desolation of Smaug” as it was “Casual Conversation with Smaug (and Bilbo)” – and that sounds more like a daytime talk show. However, in this new trailer we get a brief glimpse of just how much trouble Smaug can cause. There is a reason the inhabitants of Lake-town are terrified of him – and in this final film, we are sure to see exactly why that is.
3. A new focus on new characters
Despite the title, there is no question that The Hobbit is a fairly dwarf-centric story. That being said, after two films of watching a company of dwarves chase and be chased around Middle Earth, it is a slight relief to see that this film will place a greater emphasis on the other characters in this world. Characters such as Bard and Thranduil were introduced in the previous films – but if this trailer (and the title) are anything to go by, they will take more of a starring role in this film. After all, just whose armies do you think they are?
4. The end of the line for some
As is hinted at in Martin Freeman’s voiceover, not every character will make it to the end of this journey. That this takes such a central role in the first promotional footage is encouraging, as it implies that these deaths will be given the time on screen that they deserve, and won’t be lost in the huge scale of the battle(s). Note: The photo above is not a spoiler – although, with this many dwarves along for the ride, it isn’t totally improbable to imagine that not all of them might make it out of the dragon’s den alive.
5. More added content from Tolkien’s other works
At this stage, there is almost no point complaining about the decision to split The Hobbit into three films – all we can do now is hope for this film to be as great as possible. And while not all fans have enjoyed the inclusion of supplementary material and story lines, at this point these additions are necessary simply to complete the film’s runtime. But more than that, the additional material is what allows Jackson to tie together his two Middle Earth trilogies, something we are excited to see more of in The Battle of the Five Armies.
‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ premieres December 17, 2014.