The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Moviepilot

Finally, we have the Hobbit movie that we have been yearning for, that we have been waiting for, and most importantly, that we deserve. After an iffy first installment and a better (yet still imperfect) middle chapter, The Battle of the Five Armies delivers on the promise of an impressive source material and production crew, giving us not only the best Hobbit movie, but also one of the best movies of the year.

The movie begins as abruptly as the previous one ended, showing us the destruction of Laketown at the hands (well, wings) of the dragon Smaug. After Bard the Bowman manages bring the beast to his demise, the refugees venture to the Misty Mountains for shelter and resources. Meanwhile, Thorin and his company of dwarves are sitting pretty in their hideaway full of gold.

Even though the men of Laketown played a part in helping Thorin claim his birthright, he tells Bard that he will not share his riches. Soon, tensions start to rise in Middle Earth. The dwarves build up their defenses and send for reinforcements while the survivors from Laketown form an alliance with elves to claim what they believe is rightfully theirs. At the same time, two separate armies of orcs march to the mountains to kill anyone who stands in their way. The hobbit Bilbo tries desperately to avoid war, but is unsuccessful as The Battle of the Five Armies ensues.

Technically speaking, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is one of the most impressive films ever made. Its style and execution of art direction, visual effects, cinematography, musical score, film editing, and sound mixing during the prolonged battle sequence was sheer perfection. I sat in awe and watched the masterpiece that the brilliant moviemakers had constructed for my viewing. It is my sincere hope that The Academy will recognize the movie for at least one of these cinematic aspects with an Oscar nomination or win. My trust in Jackson was restored with this film - it had the careful balance of countless characters and storylines with jaw-dropping action, drama, and the return of his smartly-implemented comic relief.

My complaints for this movie are minimal, though very similar to its predecessors. It's a shame we never got to know all the dwarves as individuals, but thankfully, all the other characters resonated like they never have before on the big screen. When Bilbo returns to The Shire, the wrap-up is more quick than I had hoped. In other words - too much "there," not enough "back again" (although there is a nice bridge from this Middle Earth saga to the next). The ending left a few storylines unresolved, most notably the madness-inducing Arkenstone's legacy and the enormous treasure that the tens of thousands of soldiers were fighting over. Who claimed which part of the riches? Unfortunately those who didn't read the book may never know.

Like the other two Hobbit movies, this film's story suffers a bit due to its unnecessary split. It is more than made up for, however, by its visual magnificence and the cast and crew's marvelous dedication to producing the most entertaining movie of 2014. The escalation in quality from the first movie to the last is remarkable. For one last time, Jackson has amazed me yet again with another near-perfect Middle Earth movie. The story is now complete, but thanks to this movie, it won't ever be forgotten.

Rating: 4.5/5