Too epic to conclude properly

Rating: 7/10 (29 December 2014)

So I haven't reviewed "An Unexpected Journey" and "The Dessolation of Smaug" because I felt like The Hobbit should be considered one big movie divided in three parts. But now I've seen the finale I feel like I should focus on part three...
I loved it! It's an amazing motion picture. Visually stunning and epic. The themes of brotherhood, friendship and courage are well worked out. They have been build up in part one and two though. Some themes though, were build up but never paid off! Like what happened to Thrain? Why even bring it up if you never get the answer (you have to watch the extended version of part two to get the answer).
And that's the problem: part one and two build up these themes and portrayed the inception of the Lord of the Rings and part three continues this trend. BUT, in doing so, it fails to conclude the story of The Hobbit in a satisfying way! The Lord of the Rings had a lengthy ending (and that's with Jackson cutting a lot of stuff out of the ending) but it needed that! It demanded it even! After three 3 hour films IT NEEDED THAT! The Hobbit needed that as well! Especially after such a dramatic battle with some heartbreaking events within this battle! I literally had to catch my breath when the battle was over. I was waiting for an ending to comfort me. Plus there's the fact that they made a big deal out of "the defining chapter" and the hash tag "onelasttime". Nobody wanted the middle earth saga to end. They HAD to play that out IN THE MOVIE! They didn't...
So why then did I love it! The battle scenes are amazing! Seeing the five armies brawl it out while actually seeing the strategy and difference in culture for each army is just such a thrill to watch. The individual fight scenes are equally as stunning. Legolas proves why he is such a fan favorite!
However... I never had that epic big goosebumps moment that the storming of the Fields of Pelennor by the Rohirrim gave me. That scene gave me the kind of goosebumps that even hurt a little! And I wondered why it didn't happen here. The answer? The music. I love Howard Shore's work! I love it so much I went to TLOTR in Concert, just to experience the music live! Who doesn't remember the Shire Theme. Or the Theme for Rohan with those northern violins and I could go on and on... With the whole Hobbit trilogy there are two original themes that I can remember: the theme of the eagles when they come and save the company in part one and the theme of Laketown. I remember these because I know that each place and culture got there own musical theme. However, the one of Esgeroth wasn't as good as the one for Rohan or Gondor...
So in conclusion. Part one was great, part two was amazing but part three was just good. Some choices made me scratch my head, like why focus on a love story with a character that isn't even in the book and leave out a part in part two where Gandalf finds Thrain in Dol Guldur which is in Appendices of TLOR! When you watch the extended edition of part two all you can think is: "why isn't this or this in the theater edition!" And I fear that is the case now. All those scenes you wanted to see will probably be in the extended edition which is a relief as well as a annoyance!
Though, as a fan of this universe, I urge you: go see it...