The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

To conclude this new Middle Earth trilogy, Peter Jackson went all out and in many ways overwhelms his audience with battle sequences. Once the fighting starts it’s none stop (which is probably why they changed the title from There and Back Again to the more war themed title). You have the elves fighting the dwarfs and then the elves and dwarfs fighting the orcs and then the humans fighting more orcs and trolls and throughout all the swordplay and axe swings the result is a coherent story where our beloved Bilbo Baggins witnesses the tragedy of war. If this was a stand-alone story I’d have issues with it but as a concluding chapter it’s very satisfying. My emotional heart strings were challenged and in the closing minutes I really was moved by the experience. In some way, because of how the last trilogy ended and then ended and kept on ending, I was more satisfied with this film, crazy as that might sound. The one major flaw in the film, and it’s an obvious problem that I’m certain bugged Peter Jackson to lose some sleep, is with the character of Thorin, who becomes seduced by gold. His sudden change of heart is awkward and while I applaud the wonderful vision that helps break his fever, it’s paper thin in its believability. I would have discarded a few annoying Alfrid scenes for more dramatic confrontations between Thorin and Bilbo. Regardless of this, as grand fantasy adventures go this is one of the best. Grade: A-