Awesome / The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

"To the King!"

"We are sons of Durin. And Durin's folk do not flee from a fight."

—Thorin Oakenshield

Spoilers Off applies to all "Moments" pages, so all spoilers are unmarked.

---

• The rampage of Smaug in the beginning is a villainous example, complete with a set of badass boasts.
  • "You have nothing left, but your DEATH! (roars)
• Bard's killing of Smaug nails it! Not only did he kill Smaug, he also indirectly defeated the town lord through Smaug's descending corpse.
  • Before that, Bard heads up to the town's bell tower without a black arrow just so he can have a chance to distract Smaug from the fleeing villagers in a Last Stand.
  • How he killed Smaug. You think he did it with a regular bow? No, that broke, as did the Dwarwen construct the Black Arrow was designed to be fired from. So what does he do? Improvises a makeshift one using some spare wood and his own son as the arrow rest.
  • Not only that, but one can also imply he did it because Smaug was taunting him about killing Bain.
  • Bain deserves a mention for staying completely still despite having an arrow against his neck and hearing Smaug coming towards them.
    • And right back to Bard for being the sort of father to raise his son over the years and inspire him in the moment to be so brave and obedient. How many action heroes can count their parenting skills as one of their keys to victory?
    • It runs in the family. Bain succeeds his father as King of Lake-Town, and his son Brand succeeds him. Brand dies a hero, defending his people during the War of the Rings.
    • A much more minor moment: Bard tells Bain to shift to his left after he spotted Smaug's weak spot so he could score the direct hit!
  • Smaug, as far as we've seen, has been either an incredibly smug bastard or an unstoppable force of destruction. His death throes are of utter disbelief and he even mutters out a 'NO!'. The greatest dragon of all... felled by a lone man and a child.
  • Don't overlook some Awesome Moments that Bard has after Smaug is dead, either. His Papa Wolf defense of his children, not to mention all the Laketown civilians who are looking to him for new leadership, is as ceaselessly-determined as it is creative (e.g. seeing a troll about to strike down his kids, he actually invents Cart Fu to get there fast enough to take it down).
  • Bain running to his father to help him kill Smaug in the midst of all the chaos.
  • The best part of it all? Even when turning his son into the arrow rest and having the black arrow, Bard looks unsure and fearful as Smaug bears down on them. Then he spots Smaug's weak point, the injury he sustained from Girion so long ago. Bard's entire body language changes: he becomes completely relaxed, and wearing a Grin of Audacity, he calmly comforts his son before asking him to change position so he can have a better shot, and then he proceeds to end the monster. In short, the moment Bard realized the dragon's weakness, Smaug was heading towards his own execution. Kudos to Luke Evans for convincingly portraying all the above with as few words as possible.
• The Company managing, in one night, to construct out of the rubble a section of battlements at least three feet thick with a hole in it for private parlay sessions and the tops of the battlements matching the existing walls. Dwarves truly are the greatest engineers in Middle-Earth.
• The White Council versus Sauron's Nazgûl (in full battle regalia, instead of their signature cloaks). Let's face it:
  • Galadriel turning an orc into meaty bits with a mere flick of her fingers.
  • Her defiant refuting of Sauron mocking her.
    Sauron: You cannot fight the shadow. Even now, you fade. One light alone in the darkness.
    Galadriel: (defiant) I am not alone. (Elrond and Saruman enter Dol Guldur)
  • Lord Elrond beating the hell out of a couple of the Ringwraiths. Notably, he is the only one who does not use magic in the fight. He can use magic if he wants; specifically, he's a talented seer and possessor of one of the Three Elven Rings. Instead, he stuck with his sword against the teleport spamming undead ancient kings.
    Elrond: [addressing the Nazgûl] You should have stayed dead.
  • Ditto the White Wizard Saruman. He's beating the Nine like they were nothing. Sure, he may become corrupted later, but it's still cool to see him as the Good Guy he once was. What is more, you can see him pushing back against Sauron to aid Galadriel, it's clearly causing him a lot of strain (especially as, whilst a powerful Maiar unlike the others, he does not have the power of a ring).
  • Galadriel is able to banish Sauron from Dol Guldur back to Mordor alongside all of the Nine simultaneously.
    Galadriel: You have no power here, servant of Morgoth! You are nameless, faceless, formless! Go back to the Void from WHENCE YOU CAME!
    • The sheer Stealth Insult of that line too. Faced with the Big Bad of LOTR, she dismisses him as nothing but a lackey. To his face.
    • Her appearance on the surface resembles her Dark Queen temptation in LOTR but it is not. She appears horrific because Sauron is pouring out his magic and death directly at her, and she boldly resists even a decrepit state.
  • Note that this is a fight between her and Sauron. The Nazgûl backing him up are instantly sent running back to Mordor.
  • Ring or not, Galadriel shows here how powerful can be an elf born in Valinor
  • Seeing her walk across the battlefield carrying Gandalf, which is similar to Mary holding Jesus.
• Galadriel literally vaporizing the orc in the extended edition. Her Badass Boast beforehand helps too:
  Galadriel: I have come for Mithrandir... and I will leave with him. If you try to stop me... I will destroy you.
• The benevolence of Bard toward his people after the rampage of Smaug, making it little wonder they made him their king after the fact.
• Where most of the "awesome" accolades on this page go to feats of arms, the standout is Bilbo going the extra mile - sneaking out of Erebor to deliver the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil - in hopes of preventing any further conflict. While all of the "big folk" are convinced that war is inevitable, Bilbo will exhaust any means, not just to save his own friends, but to prevent bloodshed to all sides.
• The eponymous battle, for all sides.
  • The Elven archers take aim with a timed flourish of spinning their bows into place. It's very short, but the moment screams of military precision that can be respected.
  • Special mention must go to Bilbo, who has taken a massive level in badass and holds his own in the battle, compared to the book where he hits his head early on and misses the whole thing.
  • The Dwarven Army, in general, is awesome both in-universe and out-of-universe. Why? We've seen armies of Men and Elves since The Lord of the Rings. They can be easily portrayed by normal-sized actors without too many special effects. This is not the case with the Dwarves.
• Even more extended version goodness—Dwarves demonstrate a successful counter to a massive arrow barrage—they launch a volley of large projectiles fit with spinning "whips" (like huge airborne fans) that splinter all the arrows and then wreck death among the archer lines. We have no idea if that is remotely realistic, but it sure was awesome.
  • And then that reaction of Thranduil seeing this countermeasure against his archer volleys. The arrogant Elvenking looks outright appalled for the first time.
  • The Goat Cavalry. In so many editions and settings, Dwarves have never been fielded with cavalry, just tough and slow infantry. Here, they got full-plate warriors on goatback, and they are faster and more maneuverable than horses. You wouldn't want to meet that on the battlefield.
    • A minor note with this is how the massed Dwarf infantry calmly parts ranks to allow their cavalry to pass through their lines, showcasing that the Elves aren't the only ones with a high degree of precision and discipline.
  • And then there's the Elvish counter to the Goat Riders. The archers fall back and a couple of lines of spearmen form a shield wall, but this is just to break up the initial charge as the goats are able to jump or gallop over them. However, more Elvish spearmen form a much more flexible formation behind this initial line, allowing the cavalry to spend their momentum before counterattacking.
• Every scene Dáin is in.
  • Dáin uses a giant war-hammer as his weapon of choice and rides a boar. He puts them both to good use as he cleaves through Orcish ranks, but when the fight is at the thickest, what does he choose to use as a weapon? His head. And thus he goes about headbutting a dozen Orcs one by one, most of which were wearing helmets.
    • To elaborate, Dáin wasn't dazing these guys with a headbutt and then finishing them with his hammer. He was instantly knocking them out right through their helmets.
    • This deserves an elaboration; although it was blatantly obvious from the start that the Orc army was large and powerful enough to crush the Men, Elves, and Dwarves simultaneously, the Dwarves didn't even hesitate to turn their backs on the Elves (who had been threatening to kill them less than a minute ago) to ensure that their army would suffer the brunt of the assault whether the Men and Elves decided to back them up or not. For a race often described as "greedy" and "stubborn", this was an extremely selfless act. And even more so in the extended edition, where the Dwarves and Elves had already engaged in combat by the time the Orcs arrived. And the Dwarves, without hesitation, turned their backs on the Elves who intended to wipe them out because politics can get stuffed when there's real evil to wage war against.
  • After seeing the Orc armies emerge, Dáin immediately breaks off his charge on the Elvish army and rallies his warriors to attack the Orcs even though they are hideously outnumbered. It took guts to do that since there was absolutely no guarantee the Elves and Men would follow him into battle.
    • Furthermore, the Elves and the Men had at least some warning that the Orcs might be coming (even if it wasn’t taken seriously). The Dwarves didn’t have a clue that Azog might attack, yet they were still the first ones to react while the men and elves stood there gawking.
    • Gets even better when you realize that of the factions present, the Dwarves were the perfect fit to take the initial charge. Skilled as the Elves were, they were agility fighters who worked better in loose formations. The Men of Dale lacked the armor to take a charge. The Dwarves, being almost exclusively heavy infantry (and the best in Middle Earth), were the perfect choice to take the charge and then push it back, giving everyone else a chance to apply their advantages. Even if the Elves hadn't leapt over, Dáin had enough awareness to put his men into a position to give everyone else a chance to play to their strengths by playing to his strengths.
    • The Elves get their own moment when the Orcs show up. As the Dwarves disengage and charge to form their shield wall, the Elves instantly begin forming up to reorient against the new threat. And neither group required any orders to do so.
• Thorin and Dwalin defeating a hundred Goblin mercenaries by themselves.
• Elven swordsmen leaping over the Dwarven phalanx into the Orcish ranks, only moments after Gandalf questions whether the Elves were going to let the Dwarves fight the orcs alone. It could be considered something of an idiotic move, but it was just awesome.
• Thranduil's stag mount going on an epic charge as it runs for the safety of Dale, at one point impaling a half dozen orcs on its antlers before Thranduil decapitates them all with a single swing of his sword.
  • After the elk dies, Thranduil gets one. He rolls off with a very "It's Personal" look on his face, then proceeds to kill a dozen Orcs without getting a scratch with his two Elven blades. As seen here.
• Thorin snapping out of being stricken by the dragon sickness. Then the thirteen Dwarves charging out of Erebor and turning the tide against the Orcs to the tune of "Sons of Durin". Everyone rallies to their king and Bilbo instantly knows that Thorin has recovered when he hears the horn. Of course, smashing open the sealed gates of Erebor with an enormous bell was pretty epic, too.
  • The Mountain Goats. Nobody knows where they came from, but they are a far more appropriate and epic steed for a dwarf than a boar.
  • While it was unnecessary as he'd already gone back to normal, Kíli telling Thorin that he's going to help the other Dwarves regardless of what Thorin orders.
  • Gandalf, who'd been so frustrated with Thorin's flaws, finally gets to see he made the right choice in setting him on this quest when he spots Thorin being the king he knew he could be as a Front Line General leading the dwarves.
    Bilbo: "The dwarves they're.. rallying!"
    Gandalf: "They're rallying to their king."
• Legolas using an enemy bat to go to the location of Thorin a lot easier and then killing it while upside down is nothing short of awesome.
  • Then he proceeds to killing orcs from a top of a high ground to help Thorin beat them. Oh yeah! Take that! Until he ran out of arrows.
  • Seeing Tauriel in danger on the other side of the battlefield and the tower he was on being attacked by a troll with weapons for limbs, he then proceeds to jump the troll, stab him in the brain and force him to knock the tower over so it would form a bridge.
  • Here we go again with Legolas! Thorin was about to be killed by a random orc, then cue a flying blade from him.
    • Bonus points for the sword being Orcrist, as in the Elven blade that was Thorin's that Legolas took from him in the last film. As the Orc falls over the cliff, Thorin takes hold of the blade and draws it to wield against Azog after.
    • In the previous film, the Elves (understandably) freaked out over a Dwarf wielding one of their most famous swords. Here, Legolas doesn't hesitate to give it to Thorin, who goes on to face Azog with it. It's a sword of a king, after all. Perfect for Thorin.
    • The look on Legolas's face basically says: "Oh come on" when he sees that the only way to save Thorin is to throw Orcrist and it being a famed blade he doesn't want to give up, especially against Bolg, but he still throws it, which puts him at a serious disadvantage.
    • Screw Rule of Three: Legolas nailing Bolg with a hurricanrana was damn awesome, and that he killed him with only his twin knives makes it even better. The repeat of the stand-off from the previous film that he expected and turned around this time was just another huge "Take THAT!" moment.
• Bolg vs. Kíli, Tauriel, and Legolas.
• Kíli turns into a One-Man Army on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the Orcs for killing his brother. It is epic to behold.
• Tauriel, the classic archer speedster, gets in a hand-to-hand brawl against the huge Bolg and holds her own for a good time.
  • After Kíli dies, she doesn't bother attacking Bolg with her knives—instead she plows into him and knocks them both off the edge of the cliff, clearly planning to take him with her. If the drop had been more severe, it probably would have worked.
• Legolas's fight with Bolg. He knocks over a tower using a giant Orc to get to Tauriel before fighting Bolg on the tower. Even as it starts to crumble, Legolas hops on each falling brick before continuing to kick Orc ass.
  • It gets better. In their first match in the previous film, it was a soundtrack-less, close-quarters, brutal fistfight more than anything. The rematch adds in an Interesting Situation Duel, disarmaments, and Legolas stabbing Bolg through the head before dropping him off the tower bridge, where Bolg is then crushed by rubble. There Is No Kill Like Overkill indeed.
• Thorin's final battle with Azog.
  • Their first confrontation in the film is in narrow areas and very scattered. The setup for the second and final round deserves mentioning. Thorin regains his Elven sword and walks out onto a frozen waterfall, where Azog stands holding a flail. It feels like something out of a Kurosawa film.
  • And how does their first duel end? With Thorin knocking Azog down the stairs and forcing him to flee!
  • Extra bonus points for how Thorin takes advantage of the cracking ice, by tossing Azog's flail-head back to the orc and then taking a step back so his opponent will be tipped into the frozen lake. How like a dwarf, to still be thinking in terms of structural engineering, even while locked in a death-duel with his nemesis?
  • And it's all capped with the shot of Orcrist piercing straight through Azog and emerging through the bottom of the ice, possibly the most badass shot in all six films.
  • And don't forget about Dwalin in the background, who is not only fending off any orcs or goblins that may try to interfere with the showdown between Thorin and Azog but must also protect a wounded and unconscious Bilbo after he got knocked out. He pulls it off too, earning his credentials as a One-Man Army.
• Thorin's and Legolas's duels are happening concurrently to boot, with both directly intervening to help each other at various points of their conflict.
• Radagast, Beorn, and the Eagles coming in to help fight against the second batch of Azog's forces.
  • Especially Beorn sky-diving down from his eagle and changing to his bear form in mid-air.
  • Also Azog's look of utter disbelief when he sees the Eagles appear behind Thorin, realising his victory is about to come crashing down around his ears.
• The calling of Alfrid as a weasel by a townswoman is nothing short of awesome.
  • As well as the same woman calling to all the others around her to pick a weapon and go help their men. Not only do the women join her, but also the young, the elderly, and the citizens who were injured during Smaug's attack.
• The Lake-men get one for being able to fend off the attack by Azog's troops when they storm the ruins of Dale. Even though they're just (as Bilbo describes them) a "few hundred angry fishermen" as opposed to a disciplined, battle-hardened army like the Men of Rohan or Gondor, and are armed with nothing but makeshift tools and rusty decades-old weapons and armor that they scavenged from the city's armory, they still manage to hold their own against the Orcs long enough for reinforcements from the Wood-elves to arrive.
• Azog gets one for his aversion of Hollywood Tactics—he uses Were-worms for a surprise assault, a Simple, yet Awesome mechanised system of coordinating his army through the use of a horn and flag signals, a very solid divide-and-conquer strategy and his overall plan of bogging down the enemy forces to allow a second allied army, the existence of which was unknown until it was too late to do anything about it, to sweep in was surprisingly brilliant from the usually less than tactically minded orcs. Perhaps the reason it took so long for Sauron to attack Gondor was that he couldn't find a replacement for Azog and had to be satisfied with the less brilliant Gothmog.
  • In addition, both Azog and Thorin get one in their final confrontation for the same reason: Simply backing off, assessing the situation, and hatching a simple but brilliant scheme. Thorin drops his sword, only to pick up Azog's makeshift flail and toss it at him so the weight causes him to slip into the ice below. Azog is visible under the ice as Thorin tracks him to be sure he's dead and sees his eyes close as he seems to struggle. In reality, Azog was playing dead just long enough to get a cheap shot in and break out of the ice as his foe reels back in pain.
• Despite the fact he gets off without a hitch, it is enormously satisfying to see Alfrid get tossed around a good chunk of the time.
  • And yes, we get to see him die in the extended cut. Never has a death been more satisfying and absurd at the same time.
• The chariot chase in the extended edition. ALL OF IT. It's like if Mad Max: Fury Road and Tolkien had a baby.
• And one more for the extended edition with Bofur taking charge of a Troll and rampaging through the battle like an MMORPG player who just activated a cheat code.
• In this movie, all the Horse of a Different Colour actually makes sense. Why does Thranduil ride a stag? Because its enormous antlers can pick up and wreck Orcs. Why do the Dwarves ride goats? Because they live in the mountains and can ride up near-vertical mountainsides perfectly. How do Orcs actually find enough secretive, dark tunnels to lurk in, and breed up their own numbers, each time their forces get pasted and the survivors need to go to ground in a hurry? They have their Wereworms dig some.

---