Review of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) by Audrey D — 23 Jul 2015

The last entry of The Hobbit trilogy has finally come to an end with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. This movie is basically a two-hour battle between, well, five armies. It's not exactly The Return of the King, of course, but what is anyway?

The phrase The Battle of the Five Armies might be compelling to some folks, but to me, it sounds like a mindless fighting-all-the-time movie. I like There and Back Again much better than I do The Battle of the Five Armies. It just feels a lot better, especially when you're making the finale of a trilogy. It feels like you know you're going home.

The Battle of the Five Armies starts with Smaug burning Esgaroth to the ground (or water?). Think about that, a dragon burning a town as an opening scene. If you think that's loud, wait for the next four-fifth of the movie. Wait for the Battle of the Five Armies. Men, Elves and Dwarves fighting Orcs and Wargs and whatnot, it burns your eyes and ears.

The movie's CG, costumes and score are very well done, and the cast are also undoubtedly great, but the story? Not so much. It's so stretched that it has to waste time with unnecessary fights and clichés. The movie starts to bore me after one hour and a half. Also, the Thorin-battling-himself scene really don't help.

But in the end, we get to see Bilbo coming back to the Shire once again, and everything you could feel is pure joy, especially when Gandalf knocks on Bilbo's door. All you could do is cry. That scene makes the last two hours worth your time, and perfectly ends Peter Jackson's Middle-earth saga.