Review - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies! Is this last trip to Middle Earth as good as the others?

Being the conclusion of the epic The Hobbit trilogy, everyone had really high hopes for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. For the most part the film satisfies these hopes but I have to say that it wasn't perfect. Let's take a look at some of the problems first so we can end on a positive note.

From the start, fans are launched into the continued action from the second film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. However, if the viewer has not seen the previous installment in a while this experience can be a little jarring and make them feel out of place as they try to remember everything that happened. Why is Kili injured? Why is Gandalf in a cage? Why are the hobbits split into two separate groups? Why is Bard in jail? These questions are of course answered towards the end of the last film but this just proves that Peter Jackson unfortunately may have not found the correct place to split the second and third film or maybe there shouldn't have been three films to begin with. (Or in the minds of some fans even two.)

My second main complaint with this film is that there are not enough small moments that we became accustomed to in the other five Middle Earth films. The character moments that reminded the viewer why these characters are fighting. The moments that show us what was worth fighting for. We do get a few character moments but most come after "The Battle of the Five Armies" and they tie the ending together nicely but it seems too late to be getting those moments. Again, perhaps had the story not been extended so much the moments wouldn't have seemed so far apart. Some may say that you can't have these moments during a big battle scene but I remember Gandalf and Pippin having a great moment together during The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

My last main complaint is that these films should be about Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his story but instead the trilogy seems more focused on Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and his quest to reclaim his mountain kingdom. Yes, that is a big part of the story but Bilbo and his quest should have been the focus a little more.

Moving along to more positive aspects of the film I will admit that even though I did have a few qualms with the film I really did enjoy it. If epic battle sequences are your thing then this was definitely the film for you. Practically from start to finish this film is one giant battle. If you are looking for epic Middle Earth battles this was it. Not only do we see orcs battling men and elves battling orcs but we see a full company of dwarves enter the fray which was extremely cool. The audience finally got to see dwarven military tactics and formations that really stood out in the scenes that they were featured. Well done, Peter Jackson.

Everyone performed well in this film but I was surprised that there was no stand out performances. It didn't seem like anyone came out as a shining star in this installment. This is not a negative but just a blanket positive for all involved I suppose.

The scene in which Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Saruman (Christopher Lee) rescue Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is simply brilliant. Watching the three of them fight off the ring wraiths and kick butt was a lot of fun but it seemed that the conclusion where the Necromancer, aka Sauron, is banished off to Mordor seems a little rushed for all the build up it received in the first two installments. Though yes, his story comes in The Lord of the Rings. This scene was a lot of fun and tied up the loose ends of the other films but it seemed over pretty quick.

Visual effects as always was superb and this alone can pull you into the magic of the film. WETA Workshop continuously does amazing work and deserves a lot of credit for this and all of their films.

I will say that once the final battle is finished that the movie does shine as it connects to The Lord of the Rings beautifully. Certain characters are sent off to find another which explain relationships we see in The Lord of the Rings and the closing scene literally ties into the opening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring flawlessly. This film closes off with one of the small moments that I was looking for and makes you feel something for the film and story.  

In the end this is definitely a fun film but not the best out of the six outings to Middle Earth. Far from it, unfortunately. This film lacked the balance that we saw in others. Even with that said I would recommend seeing it.