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

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144min

Cast: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen …and more

Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson… and more

Having re-claimed “The Lonely Mountain” and left Bard and the people of Lake-town to deal with the dragon Smaug, the company of Thorin must now defend their homeland from all the interested parties seeking its treasure and the unstoppable dark forces that move towards them and the whole of middle-earth.

It’s an epic, make no mistake director Peter Jackson goes big in this the conclusion to the “Hobbit” trilogy, the lead-in to “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy and possibly the last “middle-earth” film we will see for a long while, maybe ever.

Expect many of the big set-pieces and action elements that you saw in ‘The Return of The King’, it’s probably unfair to compare the Hobbit films to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy as they do not fare that well, nevertheless if you’re a fan of these movies you will be entertained.

Here’s where ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’ is limited, it’s essentially one long action film, set in a fantasy context we all know, broken up by moments of build-up and strategically placed scenes that link these events to those of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’.

Conspicuous in their absence are the elements of adventure and discovery that made the original films so magical and the 2 previous Hobbit films memorable, rarely do you meet new characters and discover new places and in that sense ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’ is a less well-rounded fantasy movie than any of the other Tolkien film adaptations.

Despite some clear limitations it must be remembered that you will be looking at this film in the context of the whole middle-earth film legacy and comparing it to some of the greatest films ever made, very few adventure/fantasies would compare to the first Peter Jackson trilogy.

‘The Battle of the Five Armies’ is still a rip-roaring, all-action epic conclusion to the Hobbit odyssey and will certainly keep you visually captivated throughout.

We hope that Hollywood will leave middle-earth alone for a while now, we dread to think of the day when money talks and the Tolkien Estate succumbs to pressure giving rise to endless “Lord of the Rings” spin-offs, we do not want to see “The adventures of Aragorn and Legolas”, or worse still the perhaps inevitable remakes of both middle-earth trilogies.

Let’s just appreciate and enjoy the film-magic that Peter Jackson and his team have captured over the last 13 years and not try to re-create it.