The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

I still maintain that the Hobbit did not need three films to tell a complete and satisfying tale.  In the novel, Bilbo misses the majority of the climactic battle, resulting in a battle that only lasts a few pages. Comparatively, this battle lasts for over two hours.  The movie is mostly this one gigantic battle, and it gets a little old.  The whole movie is literally battle scenes without much room for plot, not that much plot was left after the second film. That being said, this is the shortest film in either trilogy, rightfully so.

Nonetheless, this movie is the culmination of over a decade of work by Peter Jackson.  This is the capstone on JRR Tolkienn's imaginative masterwork that is Middle Earth (I don't see Peter Jackson making a film version of the Silmarillion).  It is a fitting end to an excellent series.  If the series was characterized by epic battles, this movie certainly epitomizes epic battles.  If Peter Jackson was a master of visual effects, the opening sequence in which Smaug the dragon destroys the town is stunning.  Remember that magical score by Howard Shore from the original trilogy?  The final scene in the Shire (coming full circle) closes with the theme we know and love.  The ending credits have a familiar voice in Billy Boyd (Peregrin Took from the original trilogy) who fittingly sings "The Last Goodbye."  Goodbye Middle Earth...