More so than either of the other Hobbit films, the titular character is virtually a supporting player in the film and, whilst in the previous two films, the expansion of the book did not overwhelm the central story it was based on, it is here that Jackson's desire to frame this trilogy as a prequel to the Lord of the Rings is far more prominent. Perhaps the lack of material left to cover from the book is the reason for this ( the rousing opening sequence held back for this film would clearly have played equally well as a finale to the previous entry ). As an adaptation of the tone and focus of the book, this is as far removed as you could get and it is evident that two films would have been more than sufficient. There is equally a sense of déjà vu in some scenes in the build-up to the battle that is reminiscent of Return of the King. Yet the book is its own thing and as a film and finale to the previous entries, this is a fitting conclusion and a largely successful segue into his Rings films. Importantly, the elements that are from the book itself are the strongest part of the film - Freeman again is excellent as Bilbo and his scenes with Armitage as Thorin are certainly the best and most emotional moments. This is as much Thorin's film as anyone else and the resolution to his arc is well handled. Despite initial similarities to the finale of his Rings trilogy, this becomes less of an issue as the film progresses and Jackson manages to create a near hour long action sequence that never becomes confusing or repetitive. If there is a one criticism that stands out, it is that some characters are lost amidst the sheer number fighting for screen time, but this has been evident throughout the Hobbit films, especially with the Dwarves, and Jackson wisely chooses to keep the focus on those characters that made a impression in the previous instalments. Elements that tie the films more closely to the Rings trilogy are cleverly done, even though they do feel a little episodic in nature, with cameos from characters that play a much more prominent role there. Jackson's decision to include Legolas and create a new character in Tauriel may annoy book fans, but it has a strong emotional pay off here and serves as an interesting personal backdrop to the character of Legolas. If nothing else, it is fun to see Jackson create another action beat for the character. The film is beautifully shot throughout and Jackson's penchant for sweeping camera moves capture the stunningly realised environment. Equally, it is difficult to review this film without looking at it now in the greater context of the six film saga that it has become, and this is some achievement for Jackson to have accomplished. Fellowship of the Ring remains the strongest film ( and fittingly it is probably the one that sticks the closest to the original story ). But, Jackson has created a series of films that will be the benchmark for future fantasy films and this final entry can hold its own with the rest.

Perhaps because this movie tries hard to mirror Lord of the Rings - to be an "LoTR prequel" - it does not succeed too much in being a good movie. First we get the continuation of Smaug's terror on the Laketown. This whole event that eventually leads to Smaug's demise feels so much hurried. We see Smaug ravaging the town, we see people fleeing in fear, but we don't see any actual horror preyed upon the people of Laketown. It feels like "just another dragon's burning routine on another town nearby". And the hero who is destined by blood to beat down dragon seems to have lost his mind when jumping straight into the tower without preparation. He even forgot to carry the legendary arrow! Perhaps because the action, the tense, has been drown so much. When the great dragon is finally taken down, there is no sense of accomplishment at all. This Smaug scene should have been included in the previous movie. The film opens with a rather unsatisfying pace, a rather tedious 30 minutes, before diving into the main event which is the subtitle of this movie: "The Battle of the Five Armies". This, as the subtitle indicates, should have been a grand event as much as the LoTR's Battle of the Black Gate or Battle of Pelennor fields. Especially since the movie tries so hard to be a LoTR's prequel: epic story of war and a rising darkness. But nope. The battle itself is not as grandeur as LoTR. The occasional comic relief (like we usually see between Gimli and Legolas) does not work here either. First, there is almost no buildup for the war. None. We suddenly get an elf army, Thorin's hard-headedness, his distant kin, all out of nowhere. We are presented with bunch of gold-hungry people ready for war without a strong reason to go for war. We see no explanation for Thranduil's hunger for their crown jewel (except for "it's our people's jewel") and so is for Thorin's sudden craziness for gold. Thorin's greed is supposed to be the main theme of The Hobbit, but we only a slight clue leading to his greedy craziness. It was foreshadowed in the second movie and I was expecting it to be more laid out in this third movie. Second, the war itself is rather... how to say it, just a clash of weapons. The pacing is very terrible. Especially when the orc armies finally came. The tense between the dwarves and elves were building prior to the orc's arrival, but it gets broken fast (the dwarves just go after the orcs very soon as if they're really that blood-thirsty). Also the title is "Battle of the Five Armies" but the ones who get into action are only dwarves, the elves, and the orcs. The human is just there struggling to survive and the eagles, the fifth army, came very late and were only shown in a flash. We don't even get a view how the war is resolved except for a distant view - a glimpse - that the orc's army is waning. We don't even told how is the Arkenstone - the supposed cause of the conflict - is doing after the war broke! All this are accompanied with a too-often comic relief brought to you by Alfrid, the former Laketown mayor's second-in-command. Seriously he is really distracting. He bears no relevance to the story at all but the writer keeps bringing him up again and again. Third, the ultimate showdown between Thorin and Azog is really disappointing. Thorin, who bears so much grudge with the orc who killed his grandfather, fights with no passion at all. The hot-blooded guy who we usually see being rash to many people, do not seem to show his contempt to the very person who brought death to his own family! As a king with remarkable combat prowess, Thorin also looks really clumsy fighting Azog, like his previous combat experience has just gone suddenly. I just can't understand how easy he thought Azog was dead. I mean it's Azog; it's the guy who he knows himself (indicated in the previous two movies) is very hard to kill. He doesn't even bother to deal a finishing blow and hopes freeze will caught Azog dead! It's like the burning passion in his eyes, when he met Azog face-to-face in the forest (in the previous movie), it's like... it's like that passion has just gone. Gone with the wind. Last, the epilogue. The dialogue between Tauriel and Thranduil when she is mourning is REALLY REALLY cheesy ("because it was real," really?). Thranduil also sounds so confusingly random when Legolas decides to go ("your mother loves you"... so? Wasn't it Tauriel who brought up the whole "love" stuff?). It's such a shame because the first and second movie are at least decent.

Espetacular com seus efeitos especiais fez desse filme o melhor de o Hobbit.

By far the best of the hobbit films..

After the superb LotR trilogy, Peter Jackson's three-parted "The Hobbit" cannot reach the same level of greatness: the movies are to intent on being funny and depend to much on the fact that they are shot in 3D to be anything better than good (but not great), fun and entertaining action flicks. None the less, it was an enjoyable series and I do not regret having watched it!