Very poor adaptation.

Rating: 4/10 (4 April 2015)

The Hobbit trilogy started out wonderfully and then just disintegrated into a sprawling mess of the beloved world that Tolkien so masterfully created. "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" is a long- winded, shallow, unsatisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Bad writing, a disrespectful plot, and the overuse of CGI ruins what could have been a decent film.
The cons:
Firstly, the battle. There was so much CGI, it looked like a video game. The battles in "The Lord of the Rings" are convincing because they have warriors played by real extras, and the Orcs are much more terrifying than the computer-generated ones of the Hobbit trilogy. The battle in this film just felt fake, and Legolas defying physics didn't help.
Secondly, the dwarfs. Apparently three movies still isn't enough to characterise all thirteen of them. It feels like some of them are reduced to supporting characters as they hardly have any lines, or any personality, for that matter. Even Legolas and Tauriel have more development than half of the supposedly "main" characters.
Which brings me to my next point: Tauriel and Kíli. Their relationship undermines Legolas and Gimli's friendship in "The Lord of the Rings", as Legolas and Gimli's friendship was so significant to the reconciliation of their races. I may have forgiven Tauriel and Kíli if they had any chemistry, but when lines like "You make me feel alive" (where did this come from? An 80s love ballad? Modern EDM songs?) are being bandied about, I couldn't help but cringe. When your fanbase thinks that Bilbo and Thorin have more chemistry than Tauriel and Kíli, you know you're doing something wrong.
Smaug is killed before the titles have finished showing. What was meant to be the climax of the book is squished into the first few minutes, and afterwards I just didn't really care for the battle. If you love battle sequences, you're in for a treat, but I was just bored by it.
The film's lack of resolution is really upsetting. Where are the funerals for the Durins? Where is Dáin's coronation? What happens to Tauriel and Thranduil after the film ends? What happened to those giant worms? How was the treasure divided? How did Bilbo use it? After all that happened in the first two films, after everything the characters did to get this gold - wouldn't that dignify some sort of conclusion about what happened once they actually got it?
Apparently a few of these questions will be answered in the Extended Edition, but Jackson obviously believes they are minor plot points he can replace with Alfrid's "comic relief" to create a more action- based Theatrical Edition. Disrespectful.
Some people say that this film tries too much to set up "The Lord of the Rings". I personally don't mind. I like the Dol Guldur subplot because it gives us insight into the backstories of Galadriel and Saruman and Sauron. But Thranduil's comment to Legolas about finding "the ranger" and "discovering his name for yourself" sounds stupidly over-the-top. (Not to mention that Aragorn was about eight years old at the time.)
Overall, the concept of the story has been ruined by Jackson. "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" have never been action stories, but an exploration of journey in all its forms, and a criticism of war. So when Jackson values the film's forty-minute long battle sequence over actual character development and resolution, he is pretty much destroying the heart of Tolkien's work.
The pros:
The actors are great. They do what they can with their shoddy script and manage to redeem this film to a 4/10. I think Martin Freeman's Bilbo is absolutely spot on - always has been. Richard Armitage's incredible portrayal of Thorin shows the depth of his character, especially in the gold-sickness scene. Ian Mckellen is amazing in everything he does. Because of the actors, Thorin, Fíli and Kíli's death scenes are painfully heartrending.
The ending. The ending was so beautiful. No spoilers here.
Overall "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" was a poorly- made film that simply concentrated too much on the battle rather than exploring the major characters and plot points of the book.