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

9. Thranduil And Bard Team-Up To Take On Thorin

Having seen his town entirely destroyed by Smaug after the dwarves let him go (because the dragon has weird transference issues), Bard heads to Erebor to ask Thorin to make good on his promise of a reward for helping the dwarves escape the attentions of the Master and for arming them. Somewhat inevitably, because he's struggling with dragon sickness and never really seemed as honourable as he was billed, Thorin refuses to pay his debt and basically puts his fingers in his ears shouting MINE MINE MINE for the majority of the rest of the film. In the meantime, beautiful elven king Thranduill turns up himself to claim back some of the elven treasures that have been engulfed in Smaug's mountainous trove. Again, Thorin says no, and the elves and men take up arms to flush the dwarf company out of their stronghold. Unfortunately for Thorin, his plan to stay put is undermined horribly when Bilbo goes out and gives the Arkenstone to Bard to use as a bartering trophy (having claimed it as his share of the treasure), which in turn leads Thorin to demand the other dwarves kill the hobbit for his deception and betrayal. The build is welcome, if a little boring, and again the choice of key actor - this time Luke Evans - is made somewhat questionable by the heaped duties of the scene. To see he and Thorin "spar" over the dwarf's duties isn't as electrical as it should have been.