Kudos for tying all the loose ends nicely, even those that shouldn't have been there

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2014)

Let me be clear - this is not a whole hearted 9, it's more of 8.5 at times and 8.8 at others. But 9 is the closest the rating system gets to my personal rating. It's obvious that the closing installment of this Jackson made trilogy is much better than the middle one, mostly because it does return in a manner of speaking to most of the original themes of the book. Even the subplots that were added to the original story and gave it its bloated trilogy form, didn't get in the way too much. Can't explain exactly how and why without spoilers, but if you did read the books and saw the films, I'm sure you'll see my point. Thing is, some of these additions are still out of place, but since the whole thing does return to the tone and nature of the original, I'm once again more forgiving. I'll accept the Azog story line - it's a Jackson invention, but it goes along with the characters in the book. I'm also seeing the point of the Dol Goldur fight, though I like it less as it pushes the boundaries further than the Azog sub-plot. The Bard sub plot is also within the boundaries of the original story, other sub-plots are really too far-fetched, and I won't even mention them.
On the other hand I can't ignore the superb job most of the actors do. Especially Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage, but I also want to mention the performance of Lee Pace and Luke Evans. The other aspects of movie making are of the highest quality, the cinematography, the special effects (in which Jackson always shines)the editing that keeps the battle going and going without losing the audience. But these were never the issue when discussing the Hobbit's trilogy, or when discussing Jackson's work.