The end. At last.

Rating: 4/10 (15 February 2015)

Almost fifteen years ago, I was genuinely excited to see The Lord of the Rings brought to life by director Peter Jackson. Now, six Middle Earth films later, with countless hours spent watching extravagant CGI battles, sweeping shots of spectacular scenery and grandiose architecture, happy hobbits, angry orcs, athletic elves, dour dwarfs and wise old wizards, I couldn't be happier. That it's finally all over.
With each successive Tolkien film, I could feel my enthusiasm growing steadily weaker and weaker. As the CGI became more and more elaborate, the action became more and more preposterous, so much so that I could no longer suspend my disbelief. Legolas repeatedly defying all the laws of physics became painful to watch. Although I should have loved The Hobbit movies, the book being my favourite work by Tolkien, I found the whole bloated experience frustratingly tiresome, with The Battle of the Five Armies being the most disappointing of all.
Having already realised the majority of The Hobbit in the first two films, there really is very little story left for Jackson to tell, so he pads out this third chapter with pointless romance, internal conflict and even more CGI-heavy battles, all of which proves relentlessly dull if you've already seen the director's other five Middle Earth movies. Needless to say, I was more than pleased to see Bilbo arrive safely back at Bag End, just so that I could say a very final farewell.