The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Jackson turns a footnote skirmish into an endlessly inventive battle full of tactics and variety while punctuating carnage with gags and tenderness. The ending provides a restrained, perfectly pitched farewell to Middle-earth.

Jackson’s pumped-up final hobbit movie really works: it’s exciting, spectacular, genial and rousing. It makes do with one ending.

The critic finds the final film the most purely entertaining of the Hobbit series, praising its action-packed war sequences and the warm, amiable mood of the finale. They single out the combat choreography and character resolutions for praise.

The film goes out with a 45-minute baroque, virtuoso battle scene that could be an entire tragi-comic film in itself, with breathing space for personal drama and humour.

The film transforms Tolkien's brief battle into a thunderous, inventive melee that concludes Jackson's Middle-earth saga fittingly. The critic praises the physicality of the combat, Thorin's arc and the restrained ending but notes some set-pieces feel truncated.

Robustly entertaining, occasionally affecting and sometimes thrilling, very much of a piece with the first two Hobbit films though not groundbreaking. It showcases Jackson's skill for large-scale action scenes but doesn't stir the soul as much as it rocks the senses.

The critic highlights the film's strengths in dynamic action sequences and depictions of platonic male friendship, while noting issues with the romantic subplot and the overall sense of it being table-setting for prior films.

The critic calls it the trilogy’s most engrossing and expeditious episode, with a rousing battle and emotional payoffs, though only for fans.

More of Jackson's proven formula of battles and elaborate action set pieces, enjoyable if you've liked the previous films but lacking in honest emotion. The hour-long climactic smackdown is one of the grandest sequences he's shot and a fitting tribute to his ambition.

The review criticizes the film as a plodding finish to the trilogy, with excessive padding and reliance on CGI spectacle over substance. It praises Martin Freeman's performance as Bilbo but notes the marginalization of the protagonist.

The critic says five armies are too many and the spectacle overwhelms, though Thorin’s internal battle is the film’s most interesting fight and it satisfies fans while wrapping up loose ends.

The critic praises the battle sequence and attention to detail but notes the film feels like a drawn-out conclusion rather than a vibrant standalone, with the story centering on greed and dragon-sickness.

The film is essentially one long battle scene after a lively dragon prelude, with monotonous fighting and excessive CGI. The critic finds the hair, beards and overall spectacle wearying and notes it offers more of the same for fans.

The critic finds the film vexing, with Bilbo sidelined in favor of destruction and war, and criticizes the emphasis on greed overriding reason and friendship.

The critic declares a lack of interest in the Tolkien adaptations and finds the film uninvolving, with quasi-robotic characters in a simplistic good-vs-evil struggle. A match-cut linking Bilbo's return home to the earlier trilogy stands out as the most moving moment.

The critic argues the film proves Peter Jackson has lost his soul, calling it a bloated mess of inconsequential spectacle that fails to engage with characters or the pointlessness of war.

The critic calls it a triumphant if flawed end to the saga, a solid and stirring conclusion with hidden emotional force, spectacular battle scenes and strong central performances.

The critic calls it an action-filled and excellent end to Peter Jackson's journey with the Tolkien tales. It highlights the returning cast and the director's long involvement with the material.

The film is a satisfying ending to the saga and a strong final chapter, ending on a high note with emotional force that matches its visual power. The critic singles out the emotional depth in character relationships, particularly the Tauriel triangle and Thorin’s arc.

The critic sees a thrilling yet exhausting spectacle of carnage that smothers the cast and character interaction, though it showcases impressive technical prowess and some strong performances from Freeman, Armitage and McKellen.

The critic finds it the worst of the Hobbit films: a two-hour string of big action moments without emotional weight, character development or a real arc, feeling like an overstretched final act.

The critic finds the film a disappointing conclusion to the trilogy, filled with hollow spectacle, poor characterization, and CGI battles that lack emotional stakes, with Bilbo as the sole saving grace.

The critic finds the film lumbering and overstuffed, proving Christopher Tolkien right with its excessive battle scenes, sloppy resolutions, and fan service. Visual details like character designs receive praise amid the overall bloat and lack of emotional resonance.