Warner Bros. has released a new The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies trailer for the final chapter in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. The film concludes the Hobbit saga as five armies descend upon the Lonely Mountain in order to claim its now unguarded treasure, and it also acts as as prelude to Jackson's other J.R.R. Tolkein trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. With the release a little over a month away and the final visual effects shots coming in, this trailer goes big on the spectacle. This thing looks absolutely massive, but there's a strong focus on emotion and hot tempers as well, as Thorin's desire to reclaim his people's mountain trumps anything that stands in his way. And yet, I still can't shake how much CG is involved. The film is at least 60% animated feature, and the all-CG creatures aren't threatening in the least (one looks like a giant baby). My hope is that the live-action character work is strong enough to overcome the "fake" feeling, but seeing as how most of the film takes place during the titular epic battle, I'm not exactly holding my breath.
Check out the The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies trailer after the jump. The film stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, and Orlando Bloom. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opens in theaters on December 17th.
Via Warner Bros.
Here’s the official synopsis for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies:
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. 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 the Wizard 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.
