A solid and emotional ending of the Middle Earth Series

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2014)

i cannot easily compose all my thoughts and feelings and make a proper review so i will write down some random thoughts. But before i start writing anything else i have to say this:Congratulations to Richard Armitage for giving maybe the best performance of the whole Middle Earth Saga. He was fantastic and with the most mature navigation of Jackson so far,as far as the actors are concerned, he elevated Thorin in an unprecedented high level of an overall awe- inspiring performance.Such a dramatic power and charisma. Despite reading some spoilers i was still amazed.The absolute highlight of the film in my opinion.
Random thoughts:
1)Smaug's attack in Laketown.The whole sequence was great and very tense with the moment of death being the highlight of it closely followed by the Bard/Bain interaction.
2)The whole first 2/3's of the film are the most mature minutes of Jackson's career as a director with the exception of Alfrid. As much as i loved him in DOS,i believe his constant invasion in some scenes was detrimental in an otherwise almost perfect first 90 minutes. Besides that misstep every other single character moment really shines during all the politics and negotiations and the "dragon sickness" of Thorin.
3)The Dol Guldur sequence was amazing and it did not feel short at all.Galadriel vs Sauron was a visual feast and the sword fighting of Elrond/Saruman against the Nazgul was a very pleasant surprise.Something i had not seen before in any Middle Earth film.
4)Martin Freeman:my favourite Hobbit and again one of the most mature performances of the whole Saga and on par with the sweeping performance or Armitage in BOTFA.His character transformation was so visible in this film.My two cents.Lee Pace,Evangeline Lilly(tremendous surprise),Ken Stott , Luke Evans and Ian with stellar performances.Actually, the acting in the Hobbit films is much better than the one from the LOTR trilogy.
5)Some battle sequences are spectacular with Lee Pace and Lee Pace with his elk being the highlights of them.The arrival and characterisation of Dain Ironfoot was a very welcome surprise as well.I liked it very much but i wanted more of him.The moment where Thorin and the Dwarfs charge outside Erebor and join Dain and his clan in the battlefield with the words of Gandalf "They are rallying for their King" was very chilling.Made the hairs of my neck "dance" .
6)Ravenhill and the Fate of Durin's Sons:This is the sequence that had the most heartbreaking and thrilling parts but on the same time,the worst parts of this film.(Fortunately the worst were only two).And no,i do not refer to the deaths.All of them were greatly executed especially Kili's one which was the second most heartbreaking moment of the film after Thorin's last words to Bilbo.Aidan Turner and Evangeline Lilly nailed it. The mute pain in their faces during the inevitable death of our young Dwarf brought many tears in my eyes.The worst parts of this sequence were some overproduced moments during the two major duels,ThorinvsAzog and LegolasvsBolg which i found distracting and completely unnecessary since the build up of the tension was satisfying.
7)The relationship between Thorin and Bilbo. Enough said.It was perfect and better than i had imagined it to be.
8)The ending did not feel so rushed to me.Sure,some scenes are missing but it was fine for a theatrical edition.
All in all i can safely state that the 2/3's of the film- with the exception of the distracting Alfrid- and the ending are probably pieces of Jackson's most mature work.Everything worked out so fine. Some of the best character moments and acting performances of the whole series can be found in there. The main battle itself consisted of some spectacular sequences but it was more than obvious that a pretty heavy editing was done there.I honestly expect 7-8 minutes more to feel more complete. Ravenhill sequence was definitely a highlight as a whole but as i previously stated,the overproduced duels diminished the power of it and i honestly cannot think of a good reason for doing so since the build up of tension after Fili's tragic and shocking death was appropriate. Kili's death was probably one of the most heart breaking moment of this film if not the most. Even if i was expecting it, it came across as a very poignant scene with Turner and Lily truly nailing the expression of their mute pain plus the single tear coming down from Turner's eye made my eyes water very much.
Some goosebumps moments:
1)Thorin and company charging out of Erebor,Dain shouting "For the King" and Gandalf's line "They are rallying to their King".Great moment
2)The Horn of Dale playing Thorin and Durin's folk theme at the end with the Laketown men devastated by their loss. My two cents.
3)Galadriel's words towards Sauron during his banishing from Dol Guldur.
4)"Bain! Look at Me"
5)Thranduil using his both swords and fighting alone the Orcs after the death of his elk.
6)Kili's tear and Tauriel's reaction
A very emotional film slightly diminished by -"really trying to be more spectacular than anything else"- some individual scenes. I am really looking forward to the extended edition of 30 more minutes that will clear some unresolved matters as well.