The epic trilogy of the Hobbit movies (although only one or two was necessary) was finally brought to a close with the release of The Battle of Five Armies. This movie brings all of the separate storylines to a close, uniting the elves, the dwarves, and Gandalf in a free for all climatic battle for control of the lonely mountain and the treasure within. 
The movie suffers from many of the problems that the two prior did; mostly a result of the three-part split, causing poor pacing, unnecessary scenes, and overall a somewhat bloated, drawn out feeling. One of my main problems with the movie is its focus on characters and scenes that were not in the book. (You know how I can get with that stuff).
However, they can often be beneficial to the story, like in the case of the added comic relief Alfrid, a character so cowardly and lazy that it is quite amusing. Azog the Defiler, a movie-exclusive villain, combines an epic design with a good motivation, making for a grand and intimidating villain. 
The movie focuses less on character development than its predecessors, but if you have watched the two prior films, you are most likely quite familiar with the characters already. For those who don’t like action, or are faint of heart, this movie may not be for you, as the majority of the film is taken up by the aforementioned battle. The action ranges from a fearsome dragon destroying a city, to hordes of orcs clashing with elves and dwarves, to intense one-on-one duels between major characters.
The movie also packs an emotional punch, with a subplot of a noble warrior being twisted and turned against his friends by his lust for power, and the deaths of several major characters as well. In conclusion, although it has a drawn out feeling, and would benefit from better pacing and character development, this movie has some awesome action sequences, and makes a great ending to the epic Hobbit trilogy. I highly recommend watching this film while it is still in theatres, especially if you have already seen its predecessors.
How do you feel about The Battle of Five Armies? Please leave your opinion in the coments, and don’t forget to leave a suggestion for next week, because I’m all out of ideas
