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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies backdrop
12 December 2014English144 min

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

6.013 reviews
CriticsMixed

Bayesian avg · 13 critic reviews

7.5+ Exceptional · 6.5 Recommended · 5.0 Mixed

7.310 ratings
UsersRecommended

User Score · avg of 10 ratings

8.0+ Exceptional · 7.0 Recommended · 5.5 Mixed

Peter Jackson DirectorFran Walsh Screenplay

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is a 2014 epic fantasy adventure film. After the Fight for the Lonely Mountain, Smaug is released and attacks Laketown. In the meantime an incoming army of Orcs and Wargs from Dol Guldur led by Azog and Bolg provokes the war between the human, dwarf, and elven clans.

Critic Consensus

Critical reception for 'The Battle of the Five Armies' is mixed-to-positive, with most reviewers acknowledging it as a satisfactory if imperfect conclusion to the Hobbit trilogy. The film's visual spectacle, special effects, and large-scale battle sequences drew the most consistent praise. However, several critics noted weaknesses in storytelling and narrative substance, with some pointing out that the film falls short when compared to Jackson's original Lord of the Rings trilogy. A few reviewers framed their recommendations cautiously, suggesting the film is worth watching primarily as a farewell to Middle Earth rather than as a standalone achievement.

13 reviews · 9 positive · 2 mixed

Praised: visual spectacle and battle sequencesCriticised: weak storytelling compared to LOTR

AI-generated summary of 13 critic reviews · may contain errors

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Critic Reviews (13)

Rajeev MasandTop Critic· IBNLive
7.0
"There's awe and spectacle and some nice light-hearted moments too, but it still pales in comparison to Jackson's original LOTR trilogy. For Tolkien nuts though, understandably it marks the end of an era."
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Mihir FadnavisTop Critic· Mid Day
6.0
"'The Battle of the Five Armies' is the most interesting movie of this trilogy, in that it is the least disappointing movie of this trilogy. So if you walk into the theater expecting something as mediocre as the previous movies, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. The 3D is still terrible though."
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Shalini LangerTop Critic· Indian Express
4.0
"In story terms, nothing much happens in The Battle of the Five Armies."
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Bryan Durham· DNA India
8.0
"Whatever you do, don't miss this film. And before you do, fish out the DVDs of the first two Hobbit films and watch them back-to-back. It's a treat for the senses."
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Soumya Srivastava· Hindustan Times
8.0
"It maintains the light and often humorous spirit of the prequel franchise and still manages to remind us we are coming close to the actual LOTR with its lessons in the sins of greed and avarice."
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Sukanya Verma· Rediff
8.0
"Almost one hour of the feature's 144-minute duration is dedicated to lavish combat and a crucial turnabout in allegiance -- a rather awkward stage in the narrative -- handled with great tact by its quick-witted director."
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Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri· Deccan Chronicle
7.0
"...is more engaging than I expected it to be. The fight sequences and Jackson's mastery over the cinematography department has meant that we've gotten to see a fair bit of New Zealand but obviously in a made up way. It is a good finale film of a trilogy, but there a lot better ones."
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Rohit Khilnani· India Today
7.0
"With this Peter Jackson's 6 film middle earth series reaches the finale...there couldn't have been an end better than this!"
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Sachin Chatte· The Navhind Times
6.0
"Compared to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit trilogy is a slight letdown primarily because it has not been sustainable from a storytelling point of view. Jackson has lived upto the challenge of using superior special effects as a creative tool."
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Piyush Chopra· NowRunning
6.0
"It isn't quite the finale that you imagined and deserved, but it is still worth the price of an admission ticket, if only to say your final goodbyes to Middle Earth and its citizens ..."
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Paloma Sharma· Rediff
6.0
"...the most unspectacular in the series and it makes you thank your stars that it is the last one."
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IANS· IANS
4.0
"Visually, the film is stunning with visual effects and computer generated images, but again it shares the same palette of all its previous editions. The only exception here being, set in winter; the action on frozen ice adds drama and freshness to the otherwise staid output."
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Devesh Sharma· Filmfare
"The film is designed in such a way that even a non-Tolkien or LOTR fan would easily enjoy it. And there are enough nuances for true fans to make it seem like an early Christmas present. Go watch it for the visual treat even if you don't follow high fantasy… you might come back as a convert to the genre…"
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Cast & Crew

Details

Release Date
12 December 2014
Runtime
144 min
Language
English

User Ratings & Reviews

Users7.310 ratings

10 ratings from the community

Community Reviews (1)

SADec 2014

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The master of his craft, Peter Jackson bring the finale of the Hobbit trilogy and as expected, he stuns with his command on visuals, cinematography and creation of memorable characters and action set-pieces. Movie starts right in the middle of action where last movie's star Smaug the dragon is furious and firing all over the city. As movie moves forward, the danger keeps on rising and you are well treated with slick one hour long CGI based detailed battle of the five armies. This is shortest and most action oriented movie among all middle earth movies so there is not a single dull moment. You might find it underwhelming when compared to LOTR trilogy but it is still a satisfying finale. I am going with fantastic 8 out of 10 for The Hobbit 3. If you are not a fan, you will be entertained and if you are a fan then you will feel sad because the saga of middle earth movies spanned over 13 years has come to an end.

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