It's really no surprise that the final installment of The Hobbit Trilogy was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. It's so sad to see this movie come to an end, especially since it looks like this will be the last time we ever see Middle Earth. Despite what some critics are saying, I thought The Battle of the Five Armies was amazing.
The movie takes place minutes after the events of Desolation of Smaug. Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) has attacked Laketown and is eventually defeated. But problems for Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Thorin (Richard Armitage) and company are far from over as an army of Orcs and Wargs make their way towards Erebor. This leads to an all out war where Dwarfs, Humans, and Elves must work together to defeat them.
Director Peter Jackson once again does a great job here. But boy does he like to fuck with people's emotions. Luckily I remembered to bring tissues this time. Boy did I need them. I guess I just get too attached to fictional characters. I apologize to anyone who happened to be in the same theater as me and could hear me sobbing uncontrollably. I tried to be as quiet about it as I could.
Battle of the Five Armies is easily the best of the three. It's pretty much non stop action but there's also a lot of heart. The movie is nearly two and a half hours long (which is short for a Middle Earth movie) but the time seemed to fly by with some of the most jaw dropping battle sequences I've seen in years.
The cast that they put together was incredible. There's Martin Freeman of course. He makes a perfect Bilbo. There's scenes (one in particular) where his character just breaks down emotionally and boy does he pull it off. Some actors might've played this way over the top but he didn't. It was very genuine and heartfelt.
For me, the actor who stood out the most was Richard Armitage. For a good part of the movie you watch Thorin as he descends into madness due to the "dragon sickness". He's not a nice guy. In fact, he's an asshole at points. But at the same time you kind of feel sorry for him and can understand how he got to be this way.
I can't write this review without talking about one of my favorite characters- Kili (played by the very charming Aidan Turner). I know I'm probably in the minority, but I loved his subplot with Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). Was it necessary? No. But I still thought it was sweet and the two of them had good chemistry.
If you do decide to go see this, I highly recommend the IMAX 3D version. You feel like you're right there on the battlefield. The 3D was actually decent. It wasn't the in your face, things flying out at you kind of 3D but instead it was more subtle. It was also nice to see them get the whole higher frame rate thing right this time. It didn't bother my eyes at all they way it did with the second movie. Maybe I'm just getting use to it.
I really, REALLY wanted to give this movie a perfect rating. The only thing that's stopping me is the fact that Peter Jackson decided to completely change a major scene towards the end. I had a feeling he would so I'm not surprised. I'm not saying I didn't like the scene. I'm far from being a book purist. I understand any time you turn a book into a movie there's going to be some changes. But this was one moment that I felt should've been left the way it was written.
Overall, there's something in this movie for everyone. Thank you Peter Jackson for making six incredible movies which I will watch and remember for years to come.
My Rating: 9.5/10
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