The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth with this visually spectacular concluding chapter of his cinematic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic. The story picks up exactly where the last film ended—with the fire-breathing dragon Smaug attacking Laketown residents after the Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed their gold. Meanwhile, the Dark Lord Sauron returns, ordering Azog and his legions of malevolent Orcs to attack. As the conflict escalates, the Dwarves, Elves, and Men must decide whether to unite or be destroyed. As massive factions prepare to fight one another in the ultimate battle at the Lonely Mountain stronghold, this final film becomes almost completely combat-driven, with little character development aside from the psychological transformation of power-crazed Dwarf King Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Interwoven are more scenes (mostly fighting) involving the love triangle between Wood-Elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), Dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner), and Elf soldier Legolas (Orlando Bloom), who has a tortured relationship with his father, King Thranduil (Lee Pace). Genial Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is cast in the role of peacemaker here, while Ian McKellen returns as the wizard Gandalf, and Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and Christopher Lee reprise their Lord of the Rings characters. A rich-looking epic that unfortunately lacks much emotional depth, this is recommended for those who own the first two films, and a strong optional purchase elsewhere. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “Completing Middle-Earth” making-of featurettes (19 min.), the production segments “Recruiting the Five Armies” (12 min.) and “New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth, Part 3” (6 min.), a music video for “The Last Goodbye” by actor Billy Boyd and companion “making-of” featurette (11 min.), trailers, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. The Blu-ray release also includes a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an action-heavy finale to the trilogy.] (S. Granger)