Left me restless and irritated

Rating: 6/10 (1 January 2015)

It's now too late for me to make peace with the fact that the LOTR and Hobbit movies are just not my cup of tea. I've seen them all, out of a sense of duty more than anything else. I didn't really enjoy any of them, to be honest with you. I want to like them, but I just don't.
I don't want to upset anyone with the details, but it's just all too arcane and fast-paced and artificial and filled with stalwart men and noble armies, noble causes and unexpected turnarounds. There were too many characters. It was too busy. New things kept popping up out of nowhere. I don't want my movies to be like video games. I'm not into video games. I don't need constant stimulation and sensation from my entertainment. Stimulation and entertainment are two different things.
I also cannot abide the schmaltzy heroic speeches. GMAFB. It just felt staged. The bowman (whatever his name was) runs into a square and calls out "where are my children". Then out of this panicked mob, a woman stops and says, "I know where they are'. Yikes.
Thank god there was a bit of humour in the film.
Was I moved at times? Yes, strangely. They do their utmost to elicit this in you. I felt manipulated.
These movies require some kind of interest in this artificial fantasy world. There are so many "universes" to keep track of out there now. What's the point? Who cares?
The scenes they can show on CGI now are mind-boggling. I can't deny that. Maybe that's why I keep coming. However, isn't it being grossly overused? Not everything has to be spectacular. I think CGI is more effective if used in moderation.
Once again, there is a huge disparity between the apparent fierceness of the orcs and how easy it is to kill them. I mean, c'mon. At times, I thought that the filmmakers were even parodying this. Like a child throws a stone -- boom, the orc is dead. Tauriel flicks her wrist - whoosh, the orc flies through the air. This is like a bad video game, isn't it? Why the gross disparity? It's just not believable. This ruined the action for me. This was also a problem in the second movie.
I laughed aloud when the 12 dwarfs come storming out of the mountain, ready to face the horde. Heroic music swells --- yes, yes, these twelve dwarfs will save the day. So they rush into the formed satanic legions -- and nothing bad happens to them. The terrifying orcs scatter like marbles thrown on a floor.
I did like Hobbit I (surprisingly), so I guess I was bullshitting there a bit. Hobbit III is better than Hobbit II, but not as good as Hobbit I. I'm sure this movie will satisfy many.
Throughout the whole dreary series I tried to find meaning. Is this an allegory about defeating fascism and totalitarianism? Is this it? Or is it all meaningless.