Was this really the end that the fans really deserved?

Rating: 6/10 (14 December 2014)

I am going to start off by saying that this movie is a disappointment. Whilst I'm not a hardcore fan, I do really like Lord of the Rings and enjoyed the first two Hobbit movies throughly. However, many people had problems with the other two Hobbit movies and this one highlights them a lot. First off, without spoiling anything, the first 15-20 minutes of this movie could've been the last 15 minutes of the last Hobbit movie. It feels very out of place. All of the events of these first couple of minutes happen before the title for the movie even appears so it just seems like a very out of place intro. It ruins the great, nail biting cliffhanger that the Desolation of Smaug had. The movie also suffers from a massive tonal in balance. The Lord of the Rings films were dark with elements of humor. The first two Hobbits were more light hearted with elements of darkness. However, this one can't decide what it wants to be. It tries to be dark but there's so many stupid scenes that completely ruin the world that it's trying to create. I understand that it's a movie but when there's a scene of Legolas jumping across the fallen parts of a broken bridge, you can't extend your disbelief that much. Also, the acting was surprisingly a mixed bag. Whilst returning actors like Martin Freeman and Ian Mckellen are very good, other actors like Richard Armitage and Evangelie Lily are terrible. Also, actors like Stephen Fry, Hugo Weaving and Benedict Cumberbatch are also greatly underused. It focuses far too much on Thorin Oakenshield. In a movie franchise called the Hobbit. This wouldn't be as bad if Thorin was an interesting character. Instead, we get a lot of moping from Thorin which really doesn't help the movie. Why could it not be about Martin Freeman. Not only is he a good actor, but it's a movie named after his character?. Peter Jackson clearly was running out of steam when he started making this one.
Okay, I've talked about the negatives. There are some positives and despite my bashing, it's by no means a terrible film. The first hour of the movie is very good and actually looked like it was going to be the best out of the trilogy. The action is also good near the start of the battle which nearly made me think that the battle was going to be as good as Return of the King. The last scene was also good as it led directly into the Fellowship of the Ring. The music score was of course excellent and the cinematography is still amazing.
Overall, the Hobbit isn't a bad film. It just suffers from a massive tonal in balance and focusing far too much on a character that I don't really care about it. It certainly is the weakest Middle Earth film and I expected a lot more from a franchise beloved by many. Go see it if you're a Middle Earth fan and if you enjoyed the others, but you're in no rush to see this one.