I have no problems with the length of The Hobbit trilogy, or that one relatively short children’s book has been adapted into three relatively long films. Thanks to the massive amount of material written by Tolkein, the world of Middle-Earth is rich enough to expand this small story into a large-scale cinematic epic to accompany Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. I understand that some viewers may have seen certain scenes as unnecessary filler, but I never felt that way, relishing every detail as a further insight and exploration into Tolkein’s universe. That, and the fact that it’s pure fantasy escapism at its most exciting.
While many reviewers commented positively about the shorter length of the third installment The Battle of the Five Armies (a ‘mere’ 144 minutes), I actually came out of the cinema immediately thinking it was too short. It seemed incomplete, as if scenes were chopped out in an attempt to appease the masses, who in general thought that An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug were drawn too thin. For this reason, I eagerly anticipated the Extended Edition Blu-Ray (which is, of course, the only way to watch a Jackson Middle-Earth film) and snapped it up on the day of release, a painful eleven months after seeing it on the big screen.
Peter Jackson was determined to work hard on the Extended Edition of Armies in order to give fans the very best version of the film (supposedly he was disappointed with the theatrical cut), and so it arrives with a whole 20 minutes of additional footage. But how does it fare? (more…)
The Word of Tom 