The last of Middle-Earth

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2014)

In a certain sense, The Battle Of The Five Armies could very well be to The Hobbit series what The Matrix Revolutions was to The Matrix Trilogy. With a battle occupying the center of the film and the title, chances of there being less story to tell abound. And after viewing the movie, I can understand why critics don't really like it.
From a critics' point of view, the movie has all that makes them cringe. It has an overabundance of visual effects in an attempt to recreate the epic battles of Jackson's prior trilogy. It has that clichéd love angle / triangle. It has deaths where every death appears a melodrama in itself. It has more connections to the Lord Of The Rings than you can count, effectively making it as a bridge film rather than a standalone one.
But then, I'm not a critic. And so, despite all of the above being true in a way, I still enjoyed the film. Yes the movie has a lot of visual effects and clichéd moments. But courtesy Jackson, the clichés manage to make an impact and the effects still appear spectacular. And this, in an age where CGI has made it notoriously difficult to please audiences is a great achievement. Yes, the deaths appear melodramatic. But having been with the characters since the last two films, they also touch you. Yes there are connections to the decade old Middle-Earth trilogy. But these connections only deepen the impact of every scene by making you realize what lies ahead.
Jackson was right when he said this film moves almost like a thriller. The editing is tight, the effects are a spectacle (it would be a shame to watch this first on a laptop / desktop and not on a big screen), and the music almost feels like the culmination of a six-film saga that began a decade ago. Howard Shore masterfully mixes different themes connecting this not only to the previous movies but to the Lord Of The Rings movies as well.
It was always my desire to see the first trilogy in theaters, something which I never got to do. With the Hobbit films, I have at least been able to witness Middle-Earth on the big screen. This may very well be Jackson's final foray into Middle-Earth and for this reason alone, if nothing else, it is worth seeing. Now let's hope Warner plans a Lord Of The Rings re-release in 3D.