Reader's Digest version of "Lord of the Rings"

Rating: 7/10 (22 December 2014)

What the heck. I'm giving the "Five Armies" seven stars. Why? Because I was riveted to my seat the whole movie, anxious to see what would happen next. The opening scenes of Smaug the dragon attacking the village was among the most spectacular scenes I have ever witnessed in the movies. Coming in second to that scene was Galadriel, Saruman and Elrond fighting the "ghost" soldiers. Truly spectacular. Unfortunately, after that, "Five Armies" changes into something like a video game. The plot is compressed (like the articles and stories of Reader's Digest). The presence and gravity of the original LOTR is absent. And the whole movie is CGIed to death. The whole thing feels "rushed". If only the "Five Armies" had continued the momentum of the first two exciting action scenes, we would of had a different movie. But I guess, the people involved in making "Five Armies" wanted to end the "Hobbit" series real quick(and make a lot of money).