The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Thirteen years after Middle Earth first appeared on screen, Peter Jackson’s epic saga comes to an end with The Battle of the Five Armies.

After having driven the gold-obsessed dragon Smaug out from the dwarves’ city of Erebor, Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and the dwarves must face the terrible consequences of their actions as the infuriated Smaug makes his way towards Laketown, determined to cause more destruction. Willing to sacrifice all in his search for the Arkenstone, the jewel which signifies his right to rule, Thorin (Richard Armitage) succumbs to the ‘dragon sickness’ of his family and soon gold means more to him than honour. Meanwhile, an army of Orcs heads towards the Lonely Mountain to claim Thorin’s head and lay waste to Middle Earth. To save their world from destruction, Dwarves, Elves and Men must put aside their own conflicts and come together to fight the evil that threatens them.

As the final chapter of both the prequel trilogy and the Middle Earth saga, The Battle of the Five Armies delivers everything you expect from Jackson: a myriad of interwoven sub plots, spectacular use of CGI and incredible battle sequences. And as the shortest film of the Hobbit trilogy (a mere 144 minutes), it’s fast paced and full of action. It acts as both a bridge between and a tribute to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy and it definitely has the feeling of ‘made by fans for the fans’ with references to the earlier set of films. All in all, it’s a fitting goodbye to a well–loved franchise.

Jess Walker