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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the final chapter in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, and was originally going to be subtitled “There and Back Again”, but “The Battle of the Five Armies” is a better title. Sounds more cool!
In this final part, deemed “The Defining Chapter”, obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain…
As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance…
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has a release date of December 17th in this trailer, but IMDB lists it as December 12th. I do hope it’s the 12th, as I’ve booked off the following Monday to go and see it!
The question remains, however – how long will this final part be? The Desolation of Smaug wasn’t quite as long as An Unexpected Journey, but both tipped over 160 minutes. This teaser only lasts 1:55. Will it translate to a 1hr 55min running time? Nah!
Interestingly, while the first two films were in 2.35:1 for all formats, IMDB hints that the final part will also include some scenes in 16:9 for IMAX 3D. Really? Digital IMAX prints only open up to 1.90:1 at most these days, and the days of opening up to 1.44:1 seem long gone because that required shooting on actual film, and such film stocks are depleted. It seems the last film that will be shot in 1.44:1 will be Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, due out later this year.
Check out the trailer below, and below that, the full-size poster:
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.