A Poor End to an Overly Disappointing Trilogy

Rating: 4/10 (1 January 2015)

I'm at a loss at trying to understand what was running through Peter Jackson's mind as he directed the Hobbit trilogy. Having thoroughly enjoyed TLOTR trilogy, I'm in disbelief at how disappointing these three recent films are. I have just sat through the whole 140-odd minutes of The Battle of The Five Armies, and this final outing has confirmed my suspicions that Jackson has well and truly abandoned his filmmaking skills, having been seduced by the big budgets and apparatus of Hollywood; a path I hope will be rescinded upon with the release of his next film.
The sweeping establishing shots of green screen on steroids, coupled with the gormless, slow motion close ups of the lead protagonists, became painfully tiresome within the opening hour. Maintained throughout, this aesthetic façade was not enough to hide the quality of script and directorial ingenuity that the film completely lacked.
The one potential saving grace of Thorin's psychological battle against the corrupting and obsessive powers of the Arken Stone is bitterly disappointing, as we are shown only glimpses of his conflicted personality, before a a CGI mess posing as a climax, devoid of emotion or psychological exploration, envelops the hero and great hall he walks in. The cheesy group reconciliation that follows, as they enter the battle accompanied by tiny hoofed, giant headed goats that appear under our heroes from nowhere, is the cherry on top of a rather sickly and bloat-inducing cake.
As the final chapters of the book were stretched out over what feels like a marathon viewing, these last few hours were solely focused on milking out as much money from the franchise as possible. I must stop before I truly get into my ranting stride. How this trilogy has managed an average 7.5 on IMDb is beyond me.