The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

In contrast to the middle film of the "trilogy" I really enjoyed this one, and it is with almost a tear in my eye that I say farewell to what has become almost an annual event: the Tolkien inspired Christmas blockbuster. 

The fact that this one was so watchable and didn't really drag is confirmation of my thought that making a long winded trilogy out of such a short book was really taking liberties and spinning things out for the sake of money. The second film didn't really go anywhere but this one moved to a conclusion, with more story and characterisation, as well as the fantastic special effects. 

It's a long time since I've read the book, but my feeling is that there is a lot in this trilogy that was never in the story, which is a direct contradiction with the Lord of the Rings, where I think far too much was left out to keep it down to three films. The Lord of the Rings ends up looking slashed and missing much of what makes it a great read, whereas The Hobbit looks bloated and self indulgent by comparison. 

Another quibble is that I never really got to grips with who "the five armies" were, and what they were fighting about. Following from that, what was the whole point of Smaug (the dragon)? I suppose it's clear enough in the book, but explanations here are swift and flimsy: blink and you miss them. It rather gives lie to the feeling that this is mainly intended as a spectacular action film, rather than a sensitive adaptation of a classic story. 

Anyway, it's all over - no more Tolkien at Christmas. It would be desperate stuff if they tried to make a film of The Silmarillion, as it is so dry and boring that I gave up after about twenty pages. I suspect that I will now wait until the deluxe DVD set comes out, and - maybe next Christmas - I may make a point of watching all six films - director’s cuts - in order, one per day. Whatever, it's just GOT to be better than looking forward to the dreary Star Wars episode 7, or even the next Star Trek film, now that they have ruined the franchise. (02/01/2015