A decent, but rather disappointing ending.

Rating: 6/10 (18 December 2014)

I have not read the book, but i still feel this story could have been told in one film. I kinda liked the first movie, i thought it was OK, and i liked Desolation of Smaug, which was an improvement. But those movies, as entertaining as they are, are still too long and have unnecessary filler. So now there's BOTFA, which is the shortest (at 144 mins.), but that doesn't mean it's better.
The movie starts immediately where the last one ended: Smaug escapes from the mountain and it's heading to the village to destroy it. The opening sequence it's both good and underwhelming. I expected a more exciting battle against Smaug, but he was quickly defeated. Disappointing, after the cliffhanger of the last movie.
But then there's the main battle, the battle of five armies as the title suggests. And that's my issue with the movie, that this battle it's all it has to offer, and it's not even a that great battle.
The battle takes almost the entirety of the movie, and it just keeps going. Even with all that spectacle on screen, it's never too exciting. And the excessive use of CGI doesn't help, it's looks cartoony at times.
But there's also good stuff. The performances are great, Martin Freeman is great as Bilbo, and Ricahrd Armitage kills it as Thorin. Great acting overall. Also, the quieter moments were more entertaining: the scenes with Bilbo and Thorin, Bard trying to keep the villagers calm and the final moments after the battle.
Overall, a decent conclusion. The movie does have its moments, in spite of being bloated.