Likes and dislikes of Battle of the Five Armies **SPOILERS**

   Greetings readers and followers of this blog!
   Christmastime, alas! is now over. For some, the tree might be down and the decorations and dishes put away for another year. But not for my family. We prefer to keep such thing up and out until the start of a new year. Which, fortunately, has not yet arrived. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! But that is not the purpose of this post.

   For my birthday, I decided to go see the third and final Hobbit movie, Battle of the Five Armies. This being our last venture into Middle-Earth (Tears!), I had hoped that it would be something awe-inspiring and amazing and worth the wait. I was not disappointed. There were many, many things I liked, no, loved about this movie. Many little things that didn't make it onto this list, even. But there were also a few things that I didn't like about it. A few deviations from the book that went a little too far. That is the purpose of this post. The list of dislikes, by the way, is much shorter than the list of likes though. That would be because it is a great movie that you need to watch, if you haven't already. Speaking of which, this post is fraught with spoilers upon spoilers for BotFA, so I would advise you to not continue reading if you haven't yet seen it. But enough of my rambling! Let us begin...

Likes

   1. Bard shooting Smaug down with a real bow

   When Peter Jackson first mentioned the windlance, I was a little nervous. I have always loved Bard shooting down Smaug with an actual longbow in the book. I really hoped that Peter Jackson wouldn't change that. And he didn't! The entire scene was breath taking! Even though Bard's son wasn't involved in the shooting down of Smaug in the book, I loved how Peter Jackson put him in. I loved Bard's family! I loved Bard! I loved this scene! 

   2. Lady Galadriel fighting back Sauron

   I loved this. I loved getting to see a little bit more about the Necromancer, AKA Sauron, and how he returned to Mordor, and everything. Lady Galadriel using her powers against him was just... So cool. Lady Galadriel coming to Dul Guldor to help Gandalf... So cool. Lady Galadriel saving Gandalf... So cool. Elrond and Saruman and Lady Galadriel fighting back the Nine... So cool. Oh, and Saruman saying that he would deal with Sauron? Yeah, that was cool. And also a big fat lie. 

   4. Thorin overcoming the dragon sickness

   Everything about this! Everything! From Richard Armitage's acting, to the special effects, to the sound effects. It was brilliant! I loved how Thorin could "see" Smaug swimming in the bottom of the golden floor, and how he could feel himself being sucked into it, the greed, the lust for more, the very sickness itself. And his casting aside of the crown and his title of King and going back to good old Thorin Oakenshield.

   4. Thorin killing Azog, his death, and last words to Bilbo

   I absolutely wanted Azog and Thorin to receive mortal wounds from each other, and that is what I got. I was very happy with this. And the way Thorin died, after taking a last look at his home, and breathing his last with his friend Bilbo. It was beautiful! His last words to Bilbo were mostly taken directly from the book, which is always a good thing, and I mean they were just..... Amazing!!! And Bilbo's reaction to them! And the way he started crying after that. Everything about this scene I loved! And I would also like to mention the acorn was an amazing idea that I loved whole-heartedly. "Plant your tree..." Ugh! This scene just really got to me. I was a mess in the theater. 

   

   5. Bilbo's departure and return to the Shire

   Bilbo saying goodbye to everyone was wonderfully done. And seeing him all decked out in Dwarven gear and hauling around a chest that was presumably full of gold! And his return to the Shire and seeing everyone hauling off his stuff! I loved this part in the books, and I loved it in the movies. They even made mention of Lobelia and her spoons! And then when asked who Thorin was, Bilbo saying he was his friend.... Yes! Loved this scene so much... 

   6. The ending

   I had seen something on the internet about someone wanting the movie to end with Gandalf knocking on the door and Bilbo shouting at him to go away and that he didn't want anyone around and then Gandalf asking him "Well what about very old friends?" It would take us in one great big beautiful circle. After reading it, I realized that that was exactly what I wanted. And Peter Jackson gave it to me. THANK YOU PETER JACKSON!!!! THANK YOU!!!



7. The Last Goodbye
   Tears. Great big tears tolled down my cheeks and muffled sobs shook my shoulders as I listened to this song in the theater. So beautiful. And the absolute perfect ending. I can't describe it. Just listen to it!  

   

Dislikes

   1. Kili dying for Tauriel
   Now, okay. Even though she's not in the books, I really like Tauriel. A lot actually! I didn't even mind the bit of romance between her and Kili. But the fact that Peter Jackson had Kili die for Tauriel, a random (albiet cool) elf maiden, and not his uncle Thorin, his FAMILY, didn't make me very happy. I had actually seen something about this on the internet as well before the movie was released. Someone was just speculating, and saying about how horrible it would be if this happened. I hadn't even thought of or considered it would happen. But happen it did. I was so upset about it that it even stopped my flood of tears for a moment. But, I suppose what's done is done, and nothing is perfect, right? 

   2. Fili's death
   Fili's death was okay, but I feel like Peter Jackson could have done a better job. I really wanted to see Fili and Kili fall defending a wounded Thorin against Azog. And then when wounded Thorin saw the dead bodies of his sister's sons, he would pull himself up from the ground and kill Azog with his dying breath. But I'm not the writer, am I?


    And that's it. I told you the list of dislikes was far shorter! All in all, it is an amazing movie, and I loved it more than words can say. I cannot WAIT for it to come out on DVD so I can buy it and watch it over and over again and have a huge Hobbit/LotR marathon! Again, that is. That's actually what I did for my birthday and the next few days after it, and it was THE BEST THING EVER!
   So, I hope you enjoyed this movie as much as I did! Do you have any likes I missed? And dislikes? I love comments, so please leave them! In the words of Smaug himself, "Come now, don't be shhhyyyy..." :)
   Have a hobbit-y, er, happy New Year everyone!

                          MR

Note: Again, none of these images are mine! :)