Poorly created elves&storyline, excellently acted out characters

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2014)

This was by far the worst of all of PJ's Tolkien series. How much should the filmmakers compromise in order to pander to the cheap sentiment that they so condescendingly attribute to the theatergoers to the point it is utterly painful and bizarre to watch? For the most part, the elves that PJ decided to put in to the Hobbit series were a sheer disaster and nothing more. Besides the fact that Tauriel would in fact aim an arrow at the Elven King while crying and yelling, "there is no love in you" and the Elven King furiously slashes only the bow and angrily lectures on what a true love is...oh wow. OH WOW. ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDIN ME? I was not informed of the change of the genre from a classic fantasy movie to this cheesy fan fiction kind - and know what? There are fan fictions written way better out there than what I saw in this movie. I could only laugh over the oddly devised jealousy that Legolas shows toward Kili and Tauriel and the distasteful obsession with romance in the movie climaxed when Tauriel cried over dead Kili, "why does it hurt so much? Please let this pain go away" or somewhere along those lines and the Elven King responds sullenly "Perhaps the love was real". Oh and do not forget all the other parts where the movie keeps on trying so hard to remind the audience of the LOTR series and does it so obviously and unappealingly. I wanted to scream STOP the film NOW. Somebody make the elves STOP TALKING out of their character or against the Tolkien world or just against good sense and taste in general. And so much time was wasted on the unnecessary character like Alfred. He was probably attempting to lighten up the battle scene with some humor but it was a miserable try. Look PJ - we do not care what he does with his fake boobs, stop wasting our time. Why did PJ or whoever else tried to exert control over the direction of the film kill it so badly? And this is my farewell to the Middle Earth in cinema. That is the worst part. The revolutionary creator of Middle Earth film a decade ago who still makes my heart beat with the LOTR series is not the same person I saw with this series, and definitely not with this finale. That was as bad as a bad break up.
What was even worse was that the actors in general devoted so much of their passion and did it so well to make the characters come to life. I can mention a few, but among them all, Thorin Oakenshield was exceptionally captivating as a character and it was exciting to follow his transition from the mad king to a heroic figure at the end. It was incredibly well acted out by Richard Armitage and I actually could understand a widely hated character like Thorin despite his stubbornness, greed, petulance, and all the flaws that made the character that much real. Martin Freeman was a natural Bilbo and a very great selection for the role. I wish the film could have focused more on the development of these characters and dwarfs rather than the elves who were not even there in the original story or the Tolkien world. I see how WB might have thought the elves are the eye candies that easily attract the general audience, and I am not sure but maybe it might have succeeded to some extent. However, the apparent compromise has disillusioned me as a fan of LOTR and the Middle Earth series. You might have earned more dollars, but only at the cost of long held respect. I've lost faith in PJ as a director and anyone in charge of directing this movie. What a pity.
I am so glad at least they had a good sense not to bring in Aragorn to the film - Seeing how Legolas's character was destroyed in this series, it would have been the worst nightmare to see that happen to our Strider.