Started with a bang, ended with a whimper

Rating: 4/10 (20 January 2016)

If you don't want to read everything below here is the synopsis. First 2 parts were great, the 3 part was very forced and left more holes than it did answer questions. See below for more detail.
The Good: The story line up to the 3rd movie was entertaining and definitely left you wanting more. The third movie itself was fun and suspenseful.
The Bad: I hate to say there was bad and even more so ugly in this final chapter, but there was too much that was unexplained or added for "prequel" effect.
-For example, there was no need for Legolas's father Thranduil to direct Legolas to where Aragorn/Strider would eventually live. Remember these movies take place 60+ years prior to the Lord of the Rings (LOTR). Without that line we could have assumed that that Legolas and Strider meet somewhere along the way. Now we have a specific marker and it forces us to consider exactly how that relationship was formed. Consider this- if Legolas went directly there he would have been around when Strider's father was born as well as when Stider was born(potentially). Basically making Legolas a God like figure (or at the very least an awesome uncle) to Strider. All because of that simple line we now have to consider these scenarios.
Had it not been mentioned that Legolas go to that specific place in time we would have assumed that Strider and Legolas meet as Strider was becoming a Ranger. Now we are forced to wonder when they met along with how long had they know each other. In the LOTR they seem to be friends, but that would seem odd if they had known each other for all of Stider's life. Again, consider uncle/nephew relationship.
-What became of the weaselly character? I believe his name was Alfrid. Why put so much into that character only to have him escape. Sure in real life bad people don't always get what's coming, but that's what makes a movie fun. You can watch weaselly characters get their due. Very unsatisfying.
-What's the deal with the Necromancer?! I know it was meant to show the "coming storm" but so little happened. I guess I can live with the way it sets up to eventually turn Saruman, but the "battle" was so quick and unfulfilling that I am not sure it was truly needed. The lead up was cool (Gandalf being captured) but the result was once again unfulfilling.
The Ugly: -You know where I'm going. The Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and Kili relationship. What was the point other than trying to generate a love interest for the movie. First, Tauriel and Kili barely knew each other for her to have so completely lost her mind at the end of the movie. Second, what was the point if nothing came from their meeting each other. It would have made a whole lot more sense if she had died and he was left crying over her, especially since she had saved his life.
It would have made more sense if the love story was between Legolas and Turiel, and she had died at the end of the movie. It would explain her absence in the LOTR trilogy.
I wonder if this was Jackson's way of giving the "little guy" the girl....
-Cumberbatch. No I'm not saying he's ugly. I don't understand why they had him voice the dragon and necromancer. Because of the way they altered his voice you could hardly tell it was him. I suppose you can sort of tell with Smaug (he did a good job with the role) it's just not recognizable that it's him. In reality any voice actor could have done these roles.
Final thoughts (I promise) At the end of the day this movie could have been done in two movies ending with the death of the dragon and been far less contradicting. In fact, this leads me to the ugliest of uglies. Jackson tries so hard to link this series with the LOTR trilogy that it creates holes in areas where no explanations were needed. For example, Gimblie's father was one of the Dwarfs in the quest. OK. Who cares. Now I'm forced to do the timeline. Also, Legolas plays a big part in this series. OK. Why? It's not needed. If he wasn't in the movie we would not have thought otherwise
I can go on, but you get the point. This is classic Hollywood capitalizing on a known commodity. I think it was cool that they remade the Hobbit, but the third movie was completely unnecessary.