Monday 15 December 2014

Farewell to Middle-Earth

After a year of waiting, a year of just watching that unbelievable cliffhanger and listening to 'I See Fire' by Ed Sheeran over and over, the wait was over. Battle of the Five Armies has begun.



I pestered my friends to book tickets for an IMAX screening of the film as soon as possible and I'm very glad we did, we had amazing seats, exactly in the middle.






It's been all over film magazines, TV spots, the trailers were released a few months ago, just so we all got revved up and ready to go. Instagram has been going crazy with posters, teasers, behind the scenes, cast videos and premiere photos. The build up has been immense but this morning felt anti climactic.

I had been at work until midnight the day before and the cab driver had taken the longest (and wrong) route to my home, plus there had been a crash/stabbing in on road, so even more traffic. All this mounted to me being very tired and slightly reluctant to roll out of bed the next day. I was also running late for the screening having left early but not factored in Sunday traffic. I am never taking that damn bus again! I made in time though, saw last few adverts but as soon as the New Line Cinema icon came up, I settled in. I was back and the film did not disappoint.

The question about the 276 page book being turned into not 2 but 3 films WAS ludicrous and in some ways, it still is but the result wasn't three terrible films, it was an amazing trilogy and brilliant achievement in cinema, again. The Middle Earth saga, as what is now known as was and is a phenomenon. No one ever thought the fantasy/adventure genre could ever be critically pleasing, award worthy and loved by millions. Apart from being excited about this OneLastTime  business I am really sad to see the end. There may be other Middle Earth films but not with familiar characters and adventures. If you're thinking The Silmarillion, good luck, its quite a serious book and actually takes places year and years before The Hobbit. This really is the end. After the film, I was very upset and I'm not ashamed to say it, I've already written about how much The Lord of the Rings films mean to me. I said it quite a few times. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I was emotional about the characters, the end, nostalgia for LOTR and the whole experience really. It was satisfying ending, but I still wanted more.

I'm still writing my post about the film, keep your eyes peeled.