Read Negative User Reviews for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

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srander09Dec 18, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was as irritated as most people when I heard that Peter Jackson would split The Hobbit into three movies because it was obviously a decision based on nothing more than getting as much money as possible, but even I never imagined that he would stoop to making a movie like Battle of the Five Armies (a.k.a. Battle of the 25 Armies plus a couple of random giant mountain goats and a pig thrown in for good measure).

The CGI was as bad as something you would see in a B movie—even worse than the previous two Hobbit films. But even more noticeably, the script took a dive to rock bottom. Within the first half hour, such utterly laughable clichés as “You make me feel alive,” were spoken in a cheesy love scene that seemed like something straight out of Saturday Night Live, except that the audience was apparently supposed to take it seriously.

Shortly before the battle started, there were a few much-needed moments of comic relief, and I thought the film might possibly turn around. But all my illusions were soon shattered during the ten-minute scene where Thorin walks on top of the ice that Azog is floating under with his eyes open, following the orc and apparently waiting for him to break through it, when—suprise!—he does, and (spoiler for those who have not yet watched the ten-minute scene that made this obvious) kills Thorin. Alas. It might have been sad if I hadn’t been waiting around for ten minutes knowing that he would get killed.

Things were looking grim for the dwarves when who should appear? Our heroes the eagles, of course, who have managed to bail out the protagonists in every single movie of the trilogy.

Although I couldn’t stop laughing during the scene where three dwarves find completely random giant mountain goats with no riders in the middle of the battle and proceed to ride them up a mountain, the worst part of the movie was easily the ending. As if the movie isn’t long enough, the audience is not only forced to watch Bilbo go all the way BACK to the Shire, they have to re-watch footage from Fellowship of the Ring! I knew it was a bad sign that Peter Jackson actually made a movie shorter than three hours (although it felt like six)—apparently, he had so little material for this movie that he had to re-use material from his original trilogy.

When Tauriel discusses love with the abominably cliched line “Why does it hurt so much?” I think she described the feelings of most of the audience enduring the latest Hobbit movie.… Expand

25 of 39 users found this helpful2514

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2

RmommandiDec 17, 2014

The Grand finale to the Hobbit trilogy left me terribly disappointed. I feel as if it did a discredit to the amazing book behind it, and the tales of Middle Earth as a whole.

The CGI was awful and unfortunately plentiful. The battleThe Grand finale to the Hobbit trilogy left me terribly disappointed. I feel as if it did a discredit to the amazing book behind it, and the tales of Middle Earth as a whole.

The CGI was awful and unfortunately plentiful. The battle scenes were rife with a gawdy comic feeling, rendering all attempts at reiterating the epic scenes from the ring trilogy useless.
The pacing and dialogue were incredibly inconsistent, and many sections dragged on for way too long.

A very disappointing end to the movie adaptations of Tolkiens gift to all of us.… Expand

30 of 57 users found this helpful3027

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ZimbardoDec 17, 2014

A slow and tedious close to a series that lost its edge a decade ago.

Here's a few reasons why Christopher Tolkien is a saint for turning down millions to keep Jackson from defecating on his father's work: 1) The Necromancer story arcA slow and tedious close to a series that lost its edge a decade ago.

Here's a few reasons why Christopher Tolkien is a saint for turning down millions to keep Jackson from defecating on his father's work:

1) The Necromancer story arc ends up just being another crappy fight scene (why the hell is Saurumon's magical power Kung-Fu?) that feels more like a teaser for the LotR series. This would have been a perfect opportunity to expand on the back stories and roles presented in the Silmarillion. Doesn't happen, instead we get a lame light show.

2) What about the fight scenes we've all been waiting for? This would have also been an AWESOME opportunity to show off more of Beorn doing cool bear-man stuff but he's limited to a 2 second cameo. Instead we see more combat involving Bard's 12 year old son. Great call.

3) The epic battle and armies feel more like rival gangs. I swear to god when the dwarfs show up it feels like I'm watching The Warriors. This battle didn't feel anywhere near as epic as it should have. It's not like cost is a limiting factor when everything is CGI. I don't understand why they didn't render in larger armies.

4) The movie moves at a crawl. They really drag out Thorin's Dragon Sickness and the only reason seems to be they gotta fill up time. I love it when Thorin sobers up and then asks his crew if they're willing to go out and fight... which is what they've been pleading for this entire time. What was with that sinking into gold scene? The CG was so bad I thought we were going to get a Beast Wars cameo.

5) The movie opens with Smaug's attack on Lake Town which SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED IN THE LAST FILM. Smaug's attack and death feel so anti-climatic that I'm 100% sure the decision to keep Smaug alive into this movie was just so Cumberbatch could help in the film's advertisement. For Christ's sake he has 3 lines.

6) Martin Freeman looks bored. Maybe the rest of the movie poisoned my mood but Bilbo seems like he's reading off lines. Hell, he doesn't even feel like the film's hero, Alfrid the Master's lackey gets more screen time.

All of this has been done before and done better in the original trilogy. This could have been something great if Jackson and crew didn't phone it in as a cash grab.

But I should end on a positive note: Hugo Weaving is still a bad ass and the only reason why this film doesn't get a 0.… Expand

25 of 48 users found this helpful2523

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1

nicholasbertJan 12, 2015

The worst episode in an already appalling trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies finally erases any doubts on the cashgrab nature of The Hobbit franchise, filling two and a half hours with action scenes and mindless dialogue, and tonnes,The worst episode in an already appalling trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies finally erases any doubts on the cashgrab nature of The Hobbit franchise, filling two and a half hours with action scenes and mindless dialogue, and tonnes, tonnes upon tonnes of CGI. I don't think there is one consecutive minute of this film which doesn't have CGI. What happened to The Lord of the Rings mentality, people say? It got corrupted, ironically in the same way Thorin gets corrupted in the movie; but unfortunately it doesn't redeem itself.

And let's talk more about the CGI. One would naively expect, since it's the primary feature of this movie, that it be at least done well. And it isn't: half of the scenes look completely fake - there is no desire anywhere to produce at least a technical masterpiece. The Return of the King was made with a third the budget and more than 10 years prior, but it's still technically better, from the costumes to the makeup to the scenery.

Now for the editing: especially at the beginning, there are several weird cuts to unrelated scenes, and it all results in a confusing storyline (not in the good sense, not in the Pulp Fiction sense), with the battle scenes lasting forever, to a point when, 90 minutes in, one finds theirselves asking "Are we done yet?" Moreover, they decided NOT to complete The Desolation of Smaug with its natural ending, that is the slaying of the dragon, but to drag it at the beginning of the third movie, I assume in an attempt to force people who liked the second to buy a ticket for the third to find out what happens to Smaug, with a cheap sit-com mentality.

The Battle of the Five Armies is a pain to watch, never wants to end, and if you were to take a nap during the middle of the film you wouldn't lose one single important element of plot. It's not epic, it's not funny, it's not beautiful, it's not anything positive really. The producers must feel ashamed, but don't say you weren't expecting this.… Expand

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FeralsteveJan 7, 2015

Not fan of these kids books nor the overly long and dull Lord of the Rings movies, so I'm totally not the target audience for this. That said, I enjoy quite a bit of sci fi/ fantasy films. This is not one of them. It suffers from all theNot fan of these kids books nor the overly long and dull Lord of the Rings movies, so I'm totally not the target audience for this. That said, I enjoy quite a bit of sci fi/ fantasy films. This is not one of them. It suffers from all the typical modern Hollywood bloat and excessive cgi. There is quite literally NO STORY to this film. No arch at all. Amazingly dull.… Expand

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2

jakubukajJan 19, 2015

A poor excuse for a finale to the Hobbit trilogy. Although I feel that the other two films were also rather weak, Jackson's failings as a storyteller really come into their own in The Battle of the Five Armies. The film is little more than aA poor excuse for a finale to the Hobbit trilogy. Although I feel that the other two films were also rather weak, Jackson's failings as a storyteller really come into their own in The Battle of the Five Armies. The film is little more than a showy collection of battle scenes and special effects that drown a poor screenplay, and in themselves are as tiring as they are bloated and pointless. Emotionally uninvolving, uninspiring and entirely forgettable: give me Jackson's old splatstick any day of the week!… Expand

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slumboodiDec 24, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The final entry to "The Hobbit" will leave you flabbergasted. The utterly incredulous "Trilogy" has finally hit rock bottom. Lines of actual dialogue are so few and far between that one can forget that the garbage in front of you is in fact a film, not a computer game. The characters are woefully underdeveloped as a result, and it is impossible to sympathise or care about almost anyone. The initial bit with Smaug was ok until he went all monologue **** on us and started the cliché "bad guy talks to much before he gets undone by a seemingly impossible feat" scenario.

As I've hinted, my biggest problem with this film is the absurd special effects. There is so much going on, and the shots so short - you barely have time to understand what the **** is happening. The aerial shots overlooking the battlefield are done so from such a distance, it is near impossible to tell what any army is doing beyond the first 3 minutes of fighting. Everything down to the loading of arrows, dwarf shield walls, Orc charges, or anything else in the battle worth mentioning is done with a computer.
I'd have really enjoyed actual people forming up a Dwarven shield wall, or loosing a volley of arrows, but it was not to be...

The "journey" that Thorin Oakenshield coming back from near insanity took approximately 3 days of my life in energy to care. The sequence when he comes back from the brink of insanity (walking around on the gold floor yada yada yada) is about 180 seconds of close shots of his glowing face, followed by a huge spanning shot of the room he is in. I chose this moment to use the toilet, and believe it or not, he was still ****ing around there when I came back.

I can't remember if this character was in the book, its been so long, but lets take a moment to talk about "Alfrid" played by Ryan Gage". Scratch that, I went and looked it up. He is an unnamed, barely mentioned character in the books. So why in ****s sake are we subjected to one of the biggest **** in film history? There is just no reason for him to be such an utter **** His plot within the film is totally inconsequential, ending with him running off dressed as a woman with boobs of gold. No I'm not kidding. His purpose, as far as I can gather, is to fill 15+ minutes of dialogue mainly showing just how much of a **** he is.

My final rant, because I just can't bring myself to remember and write about more of this diabolical film, is of course about a particular character. I saved the best till last..... in a sense.

Orlando Bloom. I think you are great. You are a funny guy and obviously switched on. Great in Pirates of The Caribbean, smashing in LOTR trilogy, and I especially enjoyed your performance in Extras (Ricky Gervais). With that in mind then...

What the **** was Peter Jackson thinking? Ok, I get that you have to option to include Legolas, seeing as he would have been around, but like... What the **** was he doing?
During this one film Legolas managed to:

- Fly on a bat thing up into some ruins.
- Drop 30m onto a troll then "Ratatouille" style 'drive' the troll (substituting hair for knives in the trolls shoulders)
- Defy the laws of physics on several occasions
- Slow motion run up a flight of stairs...........that are falling. Anyone with a braincell can work out why that is ****ing ridiculous, and that's saying something seeing as we are in a world riddled with magic.

So my main point here is, there is such a fantastic array of things that you could have done within the realms of the world you are bringing to cinema. Indeed, Peter Jackson has the ability to access one of the most interesting, descriptive and magical worlds ever written about. Why did you have to include such utter **** alongside it?

Other gripes include, but are not limited to:

- The endless fight scene between Thorin and Azog. I naively thought it was a really cool way to end the fight, by Thorin simply stepping off the precarious ice shard they were both balanced on. Only to have my enthusiasm crushed when his stupid ****ing face showed up under the ice... and cliché "bad guys eyes open again when you think he's dead"

- The **** with Legolas being told to go find "strider". At the time of that conversation, Aragon was 10 years old, and where did Aragon grow up? ****ing Rivendell. Thanks for the nostalgic **** Peter.

- Finally, towards the end of the film... which may seem to take months, Gandalf makes a quip to Bilbo about his knowledge of the ring? So why would he wait 60ish years to rush off to Minas Tirith to read old scrolls documenting the ring? The answer is... he doesn't. He doesn't know about the ring until he sees Bilbo vanish completely on his 111th Birthday.

Today I paid £8 to let Peter Jackson **** in my eyes and ears. I shan't make that mistake again.… Expand

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3

manofthemoonJan 8, 2015

With dialogue so continually bad, it's as though Jackson simply gave up at some point or decided to build a LOTR cliche theme park in which now you simply laugh at the eagles arriving, rather than cheer them on. Bilbo is a supportingWith dialogue so continually bad, it's as though Jackson simply gave up at some point or decided to build a LOTR cliche theme park in which now you simply laugh at the eagles arriving, rather than cheer them on. Bilbo is a supporting character again and you're left simply not caring because this final part of what should have been two movies at most is sadly just boring. A glorified extended battle in which Legolas tries to relive his best LOTR moves but, in a "Game of Thrones" world, it all seems so very dated. At times it borders on "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" or "Phantom Menace" complete with its own Jar Jar Binks. You can see why there's a petition to keep Jackson away from "The Silmarillion". This is lazy and bloated and believes it hype. A sad end to it all. There and back again and again and again and...etc.… Expand

4 of 6 users found this helpful42

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HanzidrownDec 21, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The only epic moment in the movie was the Star Wars:Force Awakens trailer in 3d.

So boring scenes and a very poor CGI was in the movie.
One hobbit can knock out 3 orcs with 3 little rocks.Somebody can explain me how?… Expand

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3

jourawskyDec 22, 2014

The hobbit, the unsuspected flop. Yes, i was very exited for this movie, but after I have seen, I've changed my feel with this type of movie. Ignorance and without atmosphere. Sometimes I've thought that movie is more marvel or twilight thanThe hobbit, the unsuspected flop. Yes, i was very exited for this movie, but after I have seen, I've changed my feel with this type of movie. Ignorance and without atmosphere. Sometimes I've thought that movie is more marvel or twilight than The lord of the rings. I'm disappointed.… Expand

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3

LaraRDec 21, 2014

To me, it was just a series of battles, one after the other. The love scenes were painful to watch since it felt forced. The plot was predictable, futile and monotonous.This "grand" finale does not do any justice to LOTR and practicallyTo me, it was just a series of battles, one after the other. The love scenes were painful to watch since it felt forced. The plot was predictable, futile and monotonous.This "grand" finale does not do any justice to LOTR and practically recycled the same elements from it.… Expand

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3

JacobDec 30, 2014

When I started watching these movies I was filled with joy and glee and excitement and now I could care less. If these movies were not a big phenomenon, I would’ve never gone. This movie was a whole lot of nothing. Lots of pointless action,When I started watching these movies I was filled with joy and glee and excitement and now I could care less. If these movies were not a big phenomenon, I would’ve never gone. This movie was a whole lot of nothing. Lots of pointless action, lack of characters, and was just empty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie that has made me feel so empty. Seriously this was just that one time I went ot the movies. This whole movie was just a let’s get this over with. I knew it was going to suck and suck. If you are reading this don’t see this movie it is waste of your time. Only see this if you have friends who are going to be talking that. If not stay away. If you aren’t a fan of these movies this one won’t change your mind. But thankfully its over and we can all move on. Congratulations Peter Jackson you are officially the next George Lucas. You created a beloved trilogy and then made a terrible prequel trilogy that we are all excited for and then were disappointed by replacing practical effects with CGI and great stories and characters with mediocre and terrible stories. I can’t wait for the abridged version.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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Doodle02Dec 28, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is one of the most disappointing movies I've ever seen. Smaug is dead almost as soon as the movie's started, and the rest is just Hollywood blockbuster style hero porn.

If you've read the book(s), enjoyed the original trilogy, or respect Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth, at all, don't watch this movie: It's a pathetic waste of time.… Expand

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El_TudorDec 24, 2014

It's gonna be a short review. Not only because English isn't my native language, but because the Hobbit trilogy wasted enough of our time already.
This 3d episode is the worst of the trilogy, and one of the worst movie of this decade. WeIt's gonna be a short review. Not only because English isn't my native language, but because the Hobbit trilogy wasted enough of our time already.
This 3d episode is the worst of the trilogy, and one of the worst movie of this decade. We have bad battle scenes, way too much 3D and CGI effects, ridiculous characters, ridiculous comedy/romantic storylines. Thorin is a failure. We don't understand what is at stake with the arkenstone at all, Jackson only try to copy/paste the Ring effect, regardless the true story of the King under the Mountain.

This movie is empty, ad should have been the theaters.… Expand

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3

giddyupJan 1, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Very disappointed with this effort. Felt like Peter Jackson sold out. He was all about the integrity of the story when he started and now, in trying to reap 3 films from 1 book, he has marred his reputation. The film is 1 big fight scene from start to finish with totally implausible physical feats liberally splashed throughout. There is also an amateurish attempt to introduce a side story with Leggolas which is underdeveloped and poorly explained, possibly the product of poor editing. If money is what now drives Jackson, then he would have made more with his next lot of films if he'd preserved his reputation with this one.… Expand

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2

KamamuraMar 19, 2015

Mostly rubbish, a disgrace to the fine Tolkien's story. Too much mindless action, too much Disney style jumping around, altogether silly and unnecessary love story that is not in the original, almost everything Jackson and his team added toMostly rubbish, a disgrace to the fine Tolkien's story. Too much mindless action, too much Disney style jumping around, altogether silly and unnecessary love story that is not in the original, almost everything Jackson and his team added to the story is of mediocre quality.… Expand

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TomHugDec 21, 2014

A preposterous blur of incoherent fight scenes, obscenely improbable and unnecessary plot "enhancements" and re-characterisations of already strong and appropriately-constituted characters.

The only time I wasn't bored during this movieA preposterous blur of incoherent fight scenes, obscenely improbable and unnecessary plot "enhancements" and re-characterisations of already strong and appropriately-constituted characters.

The only time I wasn't bored during this movie was when I was outraged at the stupid "embellishments" being foisted upon us.

I don't personally believe that the director needs to adhere word for word to the books. In fact, Mr. Jackson did such a fine job with the LOTR Trilogy, he's proved he can make excellent artistic edits for cinema. The Hobbit Trilogy has been infected by Hollywood. What a waste.… Expand

9 of 14 users found this helpful95

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3

austerusDec 20, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie is total injustice done to the Middle Earth universe and I took off points for being so far off an appropriate ending to the Jackson's Middle Earth saga.

Let's skip the fact that it's pointlessly bloated, focusing on stuff that's not part of the story (pointless elf/dwarf romance instead of the closure of returning Thorin's body and Arkenstone to Erebor) and have a look at what this movie is: a pure comedy. Compared to the Battle of The 5 Armies, the first Hobbit movie was a masterpiece (I definitely liked the first one as a proper Middle Earth piece, this one feels like a mess stitched in an attempt to be presentable)

There are some really funny moments that simply weren't meant to be like:

- Smaug's death reminded me of Mulan's Mushu the fire lizard: freeze, twitch, dramatically cough and fall flat, just like he got squashed in mid-air. Kind of like my cat when he runs out of energy after playing.

- Thorin is cheaply demonised (he simply goes crazy for no apparent reason, while in the book he's more ambiguous - unfair to people of Laketown because they seem to associate with elves who have no justification for their demands)

- Thranduil, majestic as *bleep*, doesn't seem phased by being in a fight (his hair remains perfect, tiara unmoved) - really, now?

- Legolas jumps on falling rocks like he's the Prince of Persia. That was hilarious!

- Were-worms pop out, roar and never to be seen again. Just like they realized they need to return to Dune!

- We get a really looooong shot of dying Kili. He dies, it's dramatic, but after a few seconds of drama he runs out of faces to make. I was expecting The Mask to pop-out of somewhere and demand an Oscar for this performance.

- Gandalf sighs and poofs with every opportunity, rolling his eyes and pausing for cheap effect. Not at all necessary.

- Tauriel drops orcs in a stride with two slashes at most, but gets bested out of the blue after poking the last one 5 times? Get real!

- Alfrid has no point in existing, at all. His comic relief made me think of Seth Rogen or Sascha Baron Cohen ... in a fantasy battle! Why torture the audience like that?

- The orcs are cut off cardboard, Defiler included. In the original TRilogy they had some personality, here they're nothing but props.

- THorin's group was all armored, helmets on and whatnot inside the mountain but when finally decided to fight they left all the battle gear behind. Huh?

- What happened to the Arkenstone? Bard just kept it? That's what the movie suggests (yeah, I read the book, I know what happens *there*)

- What happened with the gold, promises, etc? They spend 3/4 of the movie fighting over it and then just forget it?

Otherwise, the FX are nice, most of the battle is entertaining but the move lacks substance through and through. The first Hobbit was far superior and I really wish Jackson hadn't tortured me with this underachieving mutant, that's not how I want to remember his Middle Earth. The drama is artificial, cheap and the attempts at humor (where intentional) are even worse.… Expand

5 of 8 users found this helpful53

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2

AxeTJan 9, 2015

Excruciating! Yes big competently crafted fantasy production, but goes on way too long as expected from the adolescent director. A fitting end to a horribly over drawn bloated series that's as boring as it gets. Never have I wanted the endExcruciating! Yes big competently crafted fantasy production, but goes on way too long as expected from the adolescent director. A fitting end to a horribly over drawn bloated series that's as boring as it gets. Never have I wanted the end credits to roll more in a movie theatre.
Note to the auteur: WAKE UP teenager! MORE is NOT more! You ruined your King Kong remake this way. You turned a pulpy, fun adventure yarn (albeit a cinematic classic in the original and the 1976 for that matter, especially compared to your re-telling) into a long in the tooth epic of boring action that guess what Peter? RUINED the pathos at the end of the story due to the audience being so wiped out from all your bs dinosaur chases and bug battles. We didn't give a damn about the girl and Kong at the hour 3 mark! We just wanted to escape from your 12-year-old clutches. You rank in the pantheon of most over-rated directors working today who don't understand editing. You're in bad company with the ranks of such failed editorial directors as PT Anderson, Judd Apatow, and Wes Anderson. All self indulgent little boys in love with their own s---, none students of say Hitchcock and in service of the Audience.… Expand

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A_GamerDec 20, 2014

How people can like The Hobbit trilogy is beyond me. Peter Jackson completely disgraced Tolkien's work with this trilogy. The CGI is horrible and cheesy, the new plot "additions" (Michael Bay scenes, elf and dwarf love, lol?) are completelyHow people can like The Hobbit trilogy is beyond me. Peter Jackson completely disgraced Tolkien's work with this trilogy. The CGI is horrible and cheesy, the new plot "additions" (Michael Bay scenes, elf and dwarf love, lol?) are completely retarded and disgraceful. Any true Tolkien fan would feel it after watching these movies. They dumbed down the plot and added "cool action scenes" to appeal to people who don't even know Tolkien's work. I'm happy that Christopher Tolkien won't let Peter Jackson make another movie out of his father's work, respect. If you don't agree with me, read the interview with Christopher Tolkien. He described why these movies suck and he is right.… Expand

10 of 17 users found this helpful107

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2

jaydelzDec 19, 2014

I don't know how others are rating this so high. The long over-dramatic pauses and slow talking was painful. The action was insanely unrealistic that it was not enjoyable at all, like the first 2 movies. The off-book plot was confusing atI don't know how others are rating this so high. The long over-dramatic pauses and slow talking was painful. The action was insanely unrealistic that it was not enjoyable at all, like the first 2 movies. The off-book plot was confusing at times and I still don't know what happened to some armies at the end. I almost fell asleep at some parts. I would give each of the LOTR movies a 10 but each of the Hobbit movies less than 4.

7.5 hours in total of my life I wish I could get back. Even when these Hobbit movies are eventually free on cable I would not watch them. I'm a huge LOTR fan, but Peter Jackson made this Hobbit trilogy utterly ridiculous.… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

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NikopooOct 15, 2020

Nobody cares about the dwarves. I understand the premise of choosing a gruff species as the main characters is inherently going to be difficult, but there is so little balance with how they are portrayed, extremely little saving grace. TheNobody cares about the dwarves. I understand the premise of choosing a gruff species as the main characters is inherently going to be difficult, but there is so little balance with how they are portrayed, extremely little saving grace. The only character that was done well at all and to my surprise done extraordinarily well was Bilbo Baggins. The main story however, childish, patronizing, and with very little integrity and genuiness. This is in stark contrast to its' predecessors who took an opposite approach. At the end of the day you can tell the motive from Lord of the rings was to create a story in which people can deeply relate and the Hobbit was clearly to make money alone. For this I am deeply insulted, remove from the fact that Martin Freeman put in some incredible work into these films.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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3

bartzfact0rDec 19, 2014

I've been a fan of this series for decades, and the conclusion of "The Hobbit" trilogy is a disappointment in nearly every way possible. Peter Jackson has left his audiences hanging with a film without any of the superb acting, plot,I've been a fan of this series for decades, and the conclusion of "The Hobbit" trilogy is a disappointment in nearly every way possible. Peter Jackson has left his audiences hanging with a film without any of the superb acting, plot, character development, action, and significance of any of the previous films; it's truly a collapse of "Episode I" magnitude. Fans of LotR will see it anyways (as they should), but don't go in expecting a masterpiece.… Expand

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seventhbeaconMar 7, 2015

A **** end to a **** trilogy made in the grand mindless tradition of the Transformers movies. I can't express how much I didn't want to go and see this, but I wanted to get it over with, much like my experience of watching the third andA **** end to a **** trilogy made in the grand mindless tradition of the Transformers movies. I can't express how much I didn't want to go and see this, but I wanted to get it over with, much like my experience of watching the third and final Matrix movie.

But The Matrix Trilogy was far superior to this garbage, which I'm sure, buried beneath all of the extra crap, there's still a movie to be salvaged.

I look forward to viewing a proper edit, where all three Hobbit movies are condensed into one 2-3 hr sitting, and all of the ridiculous **** is gone.… Expand

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0

SH1Dec 21, 2014

The battles where predictable, and I cannot say that I cared about them. This movie contained too much deus ex machina for my taste. I saw no new interesting art work in the film apart from the other films. I can only conclude that theyThe battles where predictable, and I cannot say that I cared about them. This movie contained too much deus ex machina for my taste. I saw no new interesting art work in the film apart from the other films. I can only conclude that they re-used assets (ie. 3D models, sounds etc.) from previous films to cut cost as much as possible.… Expand

8 of 19 users found this helpful811

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3

foxgroveDec 17, 2014

The third and final instalment of this overblown adaptation of the rather slight book arrives with a whimper rather than a bang. Following on from the delight that was ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ this film is an exercise in tedium. Picking upThe third and final instalment of this overblown adaptation of the rather slight book arrives with a whimper rather than a bang. Following on from the delight that was ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ this film is an exercise in tedium. Picking up the story as Smaug wreaks havoc on Lake Town village, things start promisingly enough but with the dragon’s dramatic departure we are plunged into scenes of excessive chatter which all but stalls the interest. It doesn’t help that the extras milling around seem amateurish and under rehearsed and a lot of the ensuing dialogue provides unintentional mirth. The battle scenes are badly staged and unexcitingly edited and the film has a messy, untidy feel to it. One actually begins to forget what it’s all about.
Apart from Richard Armitage, who is excellent, the actors add little and Ryan Gage is particularly annoying as Alfrid. The score by Howard Shore is by turns soft and melodic and then overly emphatic as it tries to add drama to scenes that are singularly lacking any. Visually the film is still a success, although the CGI occasionally lets it down, but what the film fatally lacks is the fantastical magic and mystery that made the rings trilogy so wondrously brilliant.
The last 20 minutes or so improve somewhat as the dwarves fight the dark lord Sauron on the snow and ice. These sequences, along with the opening, sport the best of the visuals and provide the most excitement. Here we are treated to, amongst other things, collapsing bridges, giant birds and cohesive individual combat. Overall, though, one is just thankful when the song ‘The Last Goodbye’ warbles onto the soundtrack. This mercifully offers pleasing confirmation that the uneven trilogy has finally concluded. Amen to that.… Expand

13 of 31 users found this helpful1318

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3

ahnehnoisDec 17, 2014

There were moments in the Lord of the Rings movies where things got a bit cheesy, production values failed, writers went the wrong direction, or for some other reason things just didn't work. But this final movie of The Hobbit trilogy isThere were moments in the Lord of the Rings movies where things got a bit cheesy, production values failed, writers went the wrong direction, or for some other reason things just didn't work. But this final movie of The Hobbit trilogy is pretty much just that, and nothing else.

There just isn't that much substance to this movie. The locations are few, and mostly CGI; barely a hint of the spectacular New Zealand landscapes that fans flock to. The five armies are boring, and given that we already know where this is headed, there isn't much of a sense of stakes. Of course, before that, you get to kill some time watching Smaug destroy CGI Laketown and the wizard and elf crew fight some CGI wraiths. And frankly, for whatever reason; the frame rate, the 3D conversion, or whatever else, all that CGI looks terrible for a big budget movie in 2014. But wait until you see the five armies in all their CGI glory, and the absurd combat stunts of the dwarves and their allies. That looks worse.

The book's merits are mangled or buried. There are only hints of Bilbo's emotional journey and moral ambiguity. Thorin's obsession with (CGI) treasure is elevated to comic levels; his insanity is so over the top and his overcoming it is so gratuitous and forced that it's hard to watch. There's plenty of time, though, for talking about the feelings of elves and dwarves, and watching Legolas, the ageless elf who looks older than he did a century in the future, and wasn't in the book. And never mind the gratuitously sleezy laketowner, who decides he isn't in to fighting battles for no reason, but is branded a coward, who runs off and hides with the women and hides his treasure in the front of his dress, making him look like one. Ha ha funny. Way to offend everyone at once.

I think what tells the story is the title. The original title for the second, and then when they split them, the third Hobbit movie was "There and Back Again". And that's what I wanted to see. The Hobbit is a tough book to film, but it's really about the subjective experience of the title character, and him experiencing the epic and the supernatural and the horrors of war and returning home to reality. A movie that focused on that and ignored all the subplots could have been good. But they changed the title to "The Battle of the Five Armies" and that's apt. Because now the movie is about the part of the book that Bilbo slept through after getting hit on the head, and nothing else.

As much a fan as I am of the LotR movie trilogy, I'd suggest that people should pull a Bilbo and miss this battle completely.… Expand

8 of 21 users found this helpful813

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0

kingabbenDec 28, 2014

Nothing like the book at all.

Looks like it was shot in a studio with overloads of CGI and green-screen. Weak characters and plot development. Battle is way too over-the-top and THREATLESS. Tauriel didn't die, so where did she goNothing like the book at all.

Looks like it was shot in a studio with overloads of CGI and green-screen.

Weak characters and plot development.

Battle is way too over-the-top and THREATLESS.

Tauriel didn't die, so where did she go after the Hobbit? Continuity mistake.

The idiotic and greedy steward of Dale ruins the whole movie with childish humor (seriously, golden cleavage? STUPID).

Overall, the last 2 movies of the trilogy were just abominations of Tolkien's beautiful work (Unexpected Journey was alright!). Half the reviewers I read have never read the book... SMH… Expand

6 of 16 users found this helpful610

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2

LvceDec 20, 2014

An half-ass job. Lame dialogues, 15 y old cgi, annoying characters. It's just like a typical Transformers movie, except you weren't expecting it.
Still hoping he doesn't know about the Silmarillion

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

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0

Larry1Dec 22, 2014

This movie is an example of how to destroy a classic piece of fantasy writing and turn it to the mindless mentality of a video game. The director/writers decided to make one book into a trilogy, and therefore had to fill the time with cheapThis movie is an example of how to destroy a classic piece of fantasy writing and turn it to the mindless mentality of a video game. The director/writers decided to make one book into a trilogy, and therefore had to fill the time with cheap commercial tricks.… Expand

8 of 22 users found this helpful814

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3

jesse_diehlDec 18, 2014

The senseless accumulation of wealth and the pursuit of "more" (AKA Dragon Fever) is the supposed theme to this final instalment of the Hobbit films. The irony of these films is that this movie itself is cursed with this sickness.

TooThe senseless accumulation of wealth and the pursuit of "more" (AKA Dragon Fever) is the supposed theme to this final instalment of the Hobbit films. The irony of these films is that this movie itself is cursed with this sickness.

Too many characters and a unending amount of needless scenes, plague this movie and causing it to drag on and on. Less is more Peter Jackson. The sophisticated special effects and concept art that went into this movie seems to be what He was really passionate about. Not story.… Expand

3 of 9 users found this helpful36

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0

kinoralphJan 21, 2015

FAKE. Fake story about fake characters that go to save a fake kingdom being conducted by a fake director who lost creativity bringing the most fake of fights.So long middle earth. you start so wonderful but had a shallow end.

4 of 16 users found this helpful412

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0

boubadiopFeb 19, 2015

Just really really bad

I honestly believe half the film is spent fighting two big orcs on ice that scene seems to last forever. The amount of times characters are almost near death and get saved at the last minute reaches a stupidJust really really bad

I honestly believe half the film is spent fighting two big orcs on ice that scene seems to last forever.

The amount of times characters are almost near death and get saved at the last minute reaches a stupid number and starts to become so boring and repetitive one of the worst films I've watched in a long long time… Expand

3 of 12 users found this helpful39

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1

csw12Nov 26, 2015

Mostly rubbish, a disgrace to the fine Tolkien's story. Too much mindless action, too much Disney style jumping around, altogether silly and unnecessary love story that is not in the original, almost everything Jackson and his team added toMostly rubbish, a disgrace to the fine Tolkien's story. Too much mindless action, too much Disney style jumping around, altogether silly and unnecessary love story that is not in the original, almost everything Jackson and his team added to the story is of mediocre quality. One of the worst movies in years.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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1

Patrick94Jun 28, 2015

7 out of 10? Are you people stupid? What a mess. It's like Peter Jackson just threw his hands up in the air after running out of ideas and said "f*Ck it! let's throw in an hour-long war scene for the ending!". ****ty CGI, ****ty "plot" (hey7 out of 10? Are you people stupid? What a mess. It's like Peter Jackson just threw his hands up in the air after running out of ideas and said "f*Ck it! let's throw in an hour-long war scene for the ending!". ****ty CGI, ****ty "plot" (hey guys, here's that dude from the previous movie, hey there's that guy, hey, now they're talking to each other, this is exciting guys! Okay, now that everyone's in the same place at the same time.... war scene! THE END.) That's it, that's all you get. I almost feel like this is an attempt to get people to buy the LOTR blu-ray collection because people want to erase this **** from their memories.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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2

Bo33yJan 1, 2015

I liked the first. The second got worse. The third was abysmal. Made for Children!!

Don't watch the 4k version, or, you too, can count the blackheads on Alfred's nose, when having perfect pores with 4k. Somethings really don't need to beenI liked the first. The second got worse. The third was abysmal. Made for Children!!

Don't watch the 4k version, or, you too, can count the blackheads on Alfred's nose, when having perfect pores with 4k. Somethings really don't need to been seen on TV like the textures of a dwarf a nose. However it is all CGI anyway like Azog's contact lens, but, where did Legolas ears go?

I had hoped Thorin would have gasped "gimme back my Mirthril". Making this comedy worth it.

Curiosity how many times, did the troll stumble?… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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2

nablaDec 25, 2015

This whole trilogy is just a cash-in. And what a bad one... It's really sad watching Peter Jackson screwing it up a third time. Pale and boring main actor, no character buildup whatsoever, silly jokes all over the place and on top of thatThis whole trilogy is just a cash-in. And what a bad one... It's really sad watching Peter Jackson screwing it up a third time. Pale and boring main actor, no character buildup whatsoever, silly jokes all over the place and on top of that even more CGI. It's just way too much and it destroys the immersion completely IMHO.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

FrenchmanDec 27, 2015

What a boring one, bad CGI, predictable events, useless things just put there out of nowhere to fill the tape. An awful way to finish the saga, did they even care?

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

spirytusDec 29, 2014

The Battle of the Five Armies takes the podium for being the longest, PG rated, CGI battle sequence in history of film.

I'm a passive fan of Tolkien's work, and enjoyed Peter Jackson's interpretation until now but the endless CGI perfectlyThe Battle of the Five Armies takes the podium for being the longest, PG rated, CGI battle sequence in history of film.

I'm a passive fan of Tolkien's work, and enjoyed Peter Jackson's interpretation until now but the endless CGI perfectly choreographed fighting scenes have taken their toll.

I can't wait until someone out there edits out all the fluff and puts together a single movie edition.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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0

ThunderMonkeyJun 16, 2022

I can only think of one expression for this, cheap.
You can tell that the film was produced quickly and did not cost much money.
No comparison, not even close to Lord of the Rings.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

ViljanenSep 21, 2016

It's basically 2+ hours of action that is supposed to be the battle of five armies. There is none of the epic feeling of the battles is the LotR movies, none of the buildup or character development. Instead Jackson decided to make this aIt's basically 2+ hours of action that is supposed to be the battle of five armies. There is none of the epic feeling of the battles is the LotR movies, none of the buildup or character development. Instead Jackson decided to make this a comedy action movie with a fast-paced "funny" action scenes after one another. I got bored at one hour mark and after realizing that it would still go on for more than an hour more, completely lost my interest to the movie.… Expand