The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (part 3)

The last installment of the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings Franchise was released yesterday, and as has been tradition going on for 6 years (not consecutively), I went opening day.   For the Lord of the Rings series, my friend and I actually stood in line!  Yes!  But movie times, availability, and being able to purchase tickets ahead of time has taken away that necessity.  Now we can show up for a noon show, walk in, and be one of 8 people in the theater. 

But I digress.  This is about the movie.  Which we saw in 3D because on-line movie times didn't match real-world movie times and I didn't want to wait 45 minutes for the next 2D show.

Ultimately, I was underwhelmed.  It was and hour and a half battle scene bracketed by 30 minutes of getting the armies of Man, Elves, Dwarves, Orks, and Orks into place.  Then it was 30 minutes of tears.  I found the battle scenes to be overly large, improbable, and, well, boring.  We have our main characters dancing around, swinging swords and rocks and knives and wielding bows and arrows against impossible odds.   We have a shield wall that wasn't used properly.  We have ranks and ranks of archers that weren't used at all - even with a shield wall right in front of them! 

I sat in my seat, fidgeting, wishing I had my knitting. I sat there lamenting that if Peter Jackson was going to do his interpretation of the Hobbit, why couldn't the dragon have lived and smote all the armies and put everyone out of their misery right off the bat.  Poor dragon.  Always get the short stick right in the chest cavity.

I will maintain, Jackson took a fantastic adventure story and turned it into an action film. 

I don't need to say more, because if you've read the Hobbit, and seen the first two installments, you'll know what's coming.  

Recommended with reservations. 

Well, boys, this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into...