The Unforgivable Sin – Bland Armitage

I don’t know much about this website, but in this particular article, the author critiques “tear-jerkers” in 2014 films. And, she mentions our Richard Armitage twice. The Examiner

“Into the Storm” was just a poorly made movie. There were moments where characters died, but they have been such thin characters and it was so blatantly obvious that they were going to do something stupid and die, that their deaths were neither shocking nor sad. It is a troupe in a lot of disaster movies that is taken to the irritating extreme in “Into the Storm.” There are the final moments in the movie where the survivors are giving interviews about how grateful they are to be alive. It is saccharinely schmaltz at its finest. Sweet moments should have the effect of Esther Price, not flavorless generic chocolate. The ‘creative team’ behind “Into the Storm” also committed the unforgivable sin of making Richard Armitage bland. Shame on them!

And ( only Thorin mentioned, here and not Richard Armitage)

Thorin’s death in “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” as Bilbo’s tears were both much more effective in the film than they were in the book. Once he sees that Bilbo genuinely wants to help the company of dwarves reclaim their home (something Peter Jackson heavily implied Thorin was not used to), he truly begins to value Bilbo as a friend and as a member of the company. It’s not just the hug at the end of “An Unexpected Journey” that shows Thorin’s affection and appreciation of Bilbo. In “The Desolation of Smaug,” when Thorin refuses to accept Thranduil’s help and Balin states that it was their best hope of getting out of the prison; Thorin shows faith that Bilbo will come to the rescue. When the dwarves show hesitation to get into the barrels as part of Bilbo’s escape plan, there is a wonderful character moment where he looks to Thorin for help and Thorin commands the company to do what Bilbo says. There is a wonderful deleted scene in Lake Town where Bilbo vouches for the honor of the dwarves, the look on Thorin’s face conveys the depth of his appreciation. In the book, when Thorin sent Bilbo into Smaug’s hoard, he did not specifically ask him to find the Arkenstone. In the film, Bilbo’s motives for withholding the stone are purely out of concern for Thorin’s well-being. There is also of course, the beautiful moment when Bilbo shows Thorin the acorn he planned to plant in his garden. It appears that Thorin almost breaks free of the dragon sickness. These moments really allow the audience to cry along with Bilbo when Thorin dies. In the book, Bilbo cried simply because he had a good heart. In the film, he cried because he’d lost a friend.