In just over one month, Peter Jackson's tenure over the lands of Middle Earth will reach its conclusion, and fans will finally see the connective tissue between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Purists have criticized Jackson for splitting the relatively short Hobbit novel into three films, but that hasn't stopped audiences from catapulting the series to blockbuster status. We'll finally see if Jackson's gamble pays off on December 17, 2014.
Today, Warner Bros. has released the official, full (and presumably final) trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and it's a corker. I didn't recognize a single line of dialogue as having originated in the book, though admittedly it's been a while since I read The Hobbit.
Can I just say... Trolls!
Trolls, trolls, and more trolls!
Oh, and there are also Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, Orcs and one pivotal Hobbit at the center of it all. Needless to say, Five Armies is looking suitably epic, which makes sense given Peter Jackson's mandate to go ever bigger with his films' setpieces. He's promised the biggest battle he's ever committed to film with this one, and the glimpses of it here seem to confirm that.
But it's good to see all that grand spectacle isn't replacing the emotional drama at the story's core. The five armies converge, Sauron prepares to rise... and Thorin needs to let go, man. All that death and destruction could be avoided if the dude would kick back and have a mai tai or something.
Will you be seeing The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opening weekend?
