Beautifully punctuates its association to the greater saga...

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2014)

The fifteen year middle-earth adventure helmed by Peter Jackson comes to a close in The Battle of the Five Armies. As an amalgamation of emotion and spectacle, this ranks high in the saga for me. The action highlight in the movie, as made evident from the title, is an immense climactic battle. But there is also a clash of a more mystical nature involving the older guardians of Middle-Earth, in Dol Guldor, that is short but spectacular. On a more human level, this final chapter features the profound tragedy missing in the LOTR trilogy. For the first time in a Middle-Earth movie there is no prologue as we straightaway witness Smaug the dragon's incredibly visualized assault on Laketown; an airborne dragon attack has never looked so magnificent. It is a brief but satiating appetizer for the adrenaline to get going. From there the movie changes gears to set-up a few things & allows the characters to take over. Bilbo (Freeman) and Thorin (Armitage) deliver some great moments. Looking back at all 6 films there is no doubt Bilbo will be remembered as the definitive Hobbit; he brings the character to life through copious expressions & mannerisms which add warmth to the role. In the previous films he shared great moments with Gollum and Smaug while here his notable scenes are in the presence of or in context to Thorin. The said dwarf king, consumed by greed, is also a memorable personification of an anti-hero. It's interesting to witness the trajectory his character goes through during the trilogy; from a single-minded steely determination to total disintegration. He manages to generate substantial empathy through this process. Most of the other important supporting characters get to shine in individual moments. Ryan Gage's role, as the cowardly Alfrid, was the bleak film's only comedic relief and he was unexpectedly excellent. Gandalf (Ian Mckellon) is incredible as usual and reinforces himself as my favorite character in all the 6 pieces of this wondrous adventure. Jackson also wonderfully weaves in smaller details & subplots in the film to connect the story to the world & time of LOTR. Gandalf's side-expedition, which was essentially nondescript in the book, gained traction in the middle film and now comes full circle with a brief but rousing finish. Some editing and missing through-lines suggest that fans will again need to rely on an inevitable extended edition for the definitive version of the film.
Aesthetically and in terms of scale, Peter Jackson forms a smaller but distinct looking final conflict from the two major battles of the LOTR films (Helm's Deep & Pelennor Fields). It is more logistical in nature and he captures it nicely using a floating virtual camera giving us appealing wide-angle shots. The chaotic clash takes place against the backdrop of the Lonely Mountain and on its snowy/frozen fringes making the battlefield an actual character. The amount of detail and individual heroic-character moments is abundant; for every over-the-top Legolas moment there are others that left me in admiration of the landscapes and battle-choreography on display. Also, the fact that there are tragic incidents in this conclusive chapter makes it leave an arguably greater emotional impact than any LOTR film. Looking back at the Hobbit trilogy it's hard for me not to look at these films through a haze of nostalgia. They are less complex and lesser as a result compared to LOTR trilogy. But they still feel transcendent & cinematic and the final delivers in terms of scale & emotional involvement.
Overall, Battle of the Five Armies beautifully punctuates its association to the greater Middle-Earth saga that follows. It also affectionately conveys a sense of completion to Bilbo's grand adventure. Jackson's ambition deserves to be lauded as he ends his Middle-Earth journey and for me, cinema will not be the same... well, at least December won't.
*I look forward to re-reviewing/re-grading the entire Hobbit trilogy after watching their definitive extended editions.