'The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies' Reviews Round Up; A Box Office Hit But Does It Live Up to Expectations
After undertaking a rather unexpected journey and enduring the wrath of Smaug, Peter Jackson's most talked-about adaptation to the popular J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" is now closing with the finale "The Battle of the Five Armies." It would be much fitting to know what the movie connoisseurs have to say about the epic conclusion.
Spoilers may contain on the following reviews. Proceed at your own risk.
In a review written by ScreenRant's Sandy Schaefer, it was noted that though the "Battle of the Five Armies" ends on a "somewhat underwhelming tone," it is nonetheless "worth taking the final trip to his [Jackson's] Middle-earth."
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Screen Rant, meanwhile stated that talking "visually and technically," the finale "reaches the bar set by previous Hobbit films."
Forbe's Erik Kain pointed out the mix of enjoyment and irritation offered in the conclusion. He mentioned how Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) has become "quite a cinematic and special effects achievement."
"It's these moments of devastation and beauty that show Jackson at his best," Kain said.
He also wrote about how Jackson toured his audiences into the "tremendously lovely world" by way of Bilbo's (Martin Freeman) journey to the Middle Earth.
"No fantasy film has ever been so immersive in its scope and beauty. And I would bet good money that it will be some time before we see anything quite like it again. This is truly epic fantasy at its best," he said.
"After six films, 13 years and 1031 minutes of accumulated running time, Peter Jackson has concluded his massively remunerative genuflection at the altar of J.R.R. Tolkien with a film that may be the most purely entertaining of any in the collection," The Hollywood Reporter said.
Bill Gibron of Pop Matters chimed in to say that TBFA "is a fine goodbye" although he speculated how the movie could have turned out if new directors were tasked to make their treatment on the adaptation.
"Fresh blood behind the lens could have doomed this project, but it could also have provided the kind of perspective needed to alleviate some of the obvious familiarity," he said.
Overall, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" garnered 4 stars out of 5 in Imdb.com, 3 out of 5 in RottenTomatoes.com, and on Metacritic it holds a score of 59 out of 100.
