Film Preview: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Poster

Poster #1

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

December 17, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The Company of Thorin has reached Smaug’s lair; but can Bilbo and the Dwarves reclaim Erebor and the treasure? And, if so, can they hold on to it?”

Poster: A / B / C / C (8) / B (3) / B+ / B / B (2)

Review: (#1) This first design is as perfect a design as you could get for this franchise. With Smaug’s attempted destruction of Laketown being a centerpiece battle of the film, this dramatic, tense design heightens the possibilities. (#2) The second design is a bit more laid back, sets our protagonist up on his calm before the story, but doesn’t really excite the way the first design does.

(#3) Only YOU can prevent florist friars. I’m not quite sure why this design exists. Yes, this is Bilbo’s story, but the most recent trailer doesn’t give much indication that he’s got a very big role in it.

(#4-#11) These eight character posters lack character. Sure, we have full-page visages of the major players in the film, but there’s no background detail or needed color differentiation to make them that interesting.

(#12-#14) These are a more interesting set of character posters. They look as if they could be stand alone designs, but they are so individually focused that they capture the essence of the characters while setting a scene.

(#15) This is the style of poster that has defined the Middle-Earth films from the original Fellowship of the Ring until now. They keep making them because they work. They are stylistically attractive, filled with rich detail and don’t feel like their assaulting your sense.

(#16) This design isn’t as broadly affecting and it’s really just a more flame-heavy version of the very first design, but it’s still better than most of the other designs that have been put out there for this film so far.

(#17 & #18) Two locations. Two Posters. Both share the stirring poster design of all posters from Middle-Earth, but they are both pieces of a whole instead of a unified poster, which makes them feel like attempts at making money from posters more than anything else.

Trailer: B / B

Review: As much as I love this franchise, the trailers have been less than impressive. While there are elements here that are quite exciting, it is, for the most part, straight forward and generic. I give them props for pulling one of the best songs written for the franchise out of The Return of the King and putting it into the trailer. It is a surprisingly fitting tune with lyrics that are quite perfect for the somber proceedings.

(#2) Neither better nor worse than the original trailer, this one establishes just how much the film will rely on battle sequences and conflict to tell the story. It definitely supports the rumor that the last hour-and-a-half or so will be nothing but one big battle scene. Considering the film has a total of three battle encounters, two of which will likely occur simultaneously, the trailer appropriately foreshadows them.

Oscar Prospects:

While the Lord of the Rings films were Oscar juggernauts, the previous two Hobbit films have been nominees, but not nearly as many as its predecessors. The film will still snag nominations, but how many depends on how good the film is. Look at the tech and creative categories primarily with top categories requiring strong support from critics.