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

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

If you missed my reviews of the first two movies, I should point out that yes, I have deliberately held off on it until now. I didn't go to see any of the Hobbit movies in the cinema because I was so vehemently against the idea of splitting the book into three films that I refused to support the notion; I didn't want to vote yes with my wallet.
Just to recap, I thought the first movie was a surprisingly good start to a trilogy I had very little faith in, but the second one was more uneven and definitely inferior.

It's difficult to manage a movie that's almost entirely one long battle sequence, but I think this movie pulled it off pretty well. It's sort of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 of this trilogy in that regard, in that it strikes a perfect balance between intense battle scenes and legitimate drama. That means every part of the battle feels important. The face-off with the Necromancer, the fight between Legolas and Bolg, and the final duel between Thorin and Azog were all riveting. So, I actually think all the added storylines that seemed ill-advised at first ultimately paid off, because the stakes were made perfectly clear and they culminated in a spectacular fashion. This is probably the most exciting instalment of the trilogy, and my personal favourite.

My rating: 75%

So, to conclude, on the whole, I liked this trilogy. They took a terrible idea (splitting the one book into three films) and actually pulled it off. It rarely, if ever, felt like it was dragging; there was actually enough content to sustain the extended length. So, you're free to have your own opinion, but in mine, these movies are certainly not a patch on Lord of the Rings but still pretty good.