THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is the 3rd in the trilogy of films adapted from the literary masterpiece The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The story continues as Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his company of Dwarves battle to save the kingdom from the fearsome dragon Smaug which is intent on destroying Middle-Earth.
Fans of this incredibly profitable franchise will be mesmerised, unbothered by the many flaws within the film, but the remainder of movie-goers will breathe a sigh of relief that Peter Jackson’s saga of Middle-Earth has finally come to an end.
At a shorter duration of 2hrs 24mins, much time is devoted in tying up loose endings from the previous chapters and the urgency to conclude the film is apparent.
The CGI is artificial video-game quality and the live-action footage has a detracting soap-opera appearance. The long action-packed battle sequences are overkill and attempt to revitalise a franchise which has clearly lost the magic. (MMo)
***
