I Doubt Five Armies Can Top This Film

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2014)

Yes, I read the Hobbit. Yes, I read the Lord of the Rings. No, I don't like how Legolas was shoehorned into this movie. Anyway...
What I mean in the title is that this film is probably the most memorable out of all the Hobbit movies thus far. We have Azhog the White Orc being badass as usual, Ian McKellan turns in a great performance like he always does, and they even sneak Steven Fry into a bit role that has his fingerprints all over the writing. But by far the most memorable moment is the Triumph of the Whirling Barrel Dervish. Those of you who see the film know what I'm talking about.
Never have I seen something so cartoonishly over-the-top in a Tolkein film before. It made everyone in the audience laugh at how utterly ridiculous it was, and it really helped set this movie above from its predecessor as well as the original Lord of the Rings films. Yes, those films were great, but I don't find them especially memorable the way I do this movie.
I feel the elements introduced into the film that weren't in the book work to the film's advantage. The love interest between Tauriel and the dwarf whose name I can't remember helped set him apart from the rest of the dwarfs, though, again, I REALLY wish they'd left Legolas out of the film. All this does is set up either a tragic death or all of us rolling our eyes because Legolas or the dwarf is going to get stiffed. No one likes seeing their ship sunk, Peter Jackson.
So, yeah, love this film to death, because this is where I really feel that the fantasy adventure starts to simultaneously take itself more seriously but also less seriously. It remembers that fantasy doesn't need to be based in reality and occasionally throws in a bit of bombastic silliness to make sure we remember that too. It's not perfect, but there was never a moment I didn't enjoy. I instead look to Five Armies to fulfill that obligation.