The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies Spoilers - 12 Major Revelations Reviewed

11. The White Council Vs The Necromancer

The confirmation that Christopher Lee would be returning to the fold (despite his concerns over travelling so far to film at his age) suggested that fans would get to see something of his temptation to the dark side. That would have been a welcome addition to the expanded source, especially since the inclusion of the White Council needed something more than moralising about intervention or planning from a far. In truth, the film does offer some action for the Council, pitting them off against the Necromancer and the Nine (the same cursed kings of men from the Lord Of The Rings) in a diverting set-piece at Dol Guldur, and it's always nice to see Elrond in full battle mode. Lee himself got involved of course, though not with the kind of magical combat you might expect from a white, and it fell to Galadriel to go all dark and unhinged to sort the rising Sauron out and send him off to the East. It's just a shame that there wasn't more of Sarumon's temptation: the way it went seemed to suggest the wizard was seduced by a show of power that didn't really happen thanks to Galadriel, and it would have been better to see that developed more significantly beyond a mere twinkle in his eye.