Witness the defining chapter of the Middle-Earth saga.
The third 'Hobbit' film picks up shortly after where the second left off. The people of Laketown are in a panicked frenzy as the dragon Smaug (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch) flies down to exact his revenge. The Master of Laketown (Stephen Fry) and his deputy Alfrid (Ryan Gage) try to evacuate with their treasure while the rest of the townsfolk also try to escape. Smaug descends and breathes fire all over the town, destroying a whole row of homes and killing many people.Meanwhile, Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) tries to break free from his cell while his children are leaving with Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), Kili (Aidan Turner), Fili (Dean O'Gorman), Bofur (James Nesbitt), and Oin (John Callen). On the boat, Bard's son Bain (John Bell) sees his father as he climbs the bell tower to get high enough to shoot at Smaug. Bain grabs a hook and swings over to join his father.From atop the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), along with the other Dwarfs - Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Balin (Ken Stott) Dori (Mark Hadlow), Nori (Jed Brophy), Ori (Adam Brown), Bifur (William Kircher), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), and Bombur (Stephen Hunter) - watch as the dragon continues his reign of terror, while their leader Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) is unable to watch with them.Bard shoots his arrows at Smaug as he continues to fly by him, but they are unable to penetrate his flesh. Bain arrives with a black arrow big enough to do the job. Smaug taunts Bard and his son as Bard aims the black arrow while balancing it on Bain's shoulder. Smaug flies toward them when Bard shoots the arrow. It strikes the dragon, causing him to scream in pain as the light leaves his body. Smaug plummets to the ground, where his body crushes the Master and the gold supply. The dwarfs see that Smaug is dead and they rejoice.The surviving people of Laketown gather the supplies they have left. Alfrid tries to swipe some off a lady, but Bard stops him. The people recognize Bard as their savior for killing Smaug. They then grab Alfrid and try to punish him, but Bard stops them. As their new leader, he decides they will take refuge in the town of Dale.Kili and the other Dwarfs are heading back to rejoin the rest of the Company. Kili asks Tauriel to join him. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) cuts in and tells Tauriel to leave Kili. He then hands her the medallion that he showed her when they first met.In the mountain, the Dwarfs return to Bilbo, who tells them that Thorin has started to lose his mind after being corrupted by the gold. He is going mad in his search for the Arkenstone. It turns out that Bilbo had it all along, but heeded Smaug's words over Thorin going mad with the stone. Bilbo goes to Balin, who says it's best to keep the stone from Thorin.The Orcs and their leader Azog (Manu Bennett) are marching toward Erebor when Bolg (John Tui) arrives to inform Azog that the Elf army is approaching closely. Azog orders Bolg to go to Gundabad, an Orc stronghold, to rally a greater army of Orcs to join them.In Dol Goldur, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is still caged after learning that the Necromancer was Sauron. A giant Orc comes toward him until Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) arrives and vanquishes it. Then the Nazgul (nine ghost-like men who fell victim to Sauron) show up to attack, when Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman (Christopher Lee) come in to fight them. The two of them defeat the Nazgul as Galadriel tends to Gandalf. Radagast (Sylvester McCoy) comes back in his sleigh to take Gandalf away. The image of Sauron appears and tries to tempt Galadriel, but she overpowers him by casting him out. She falls in a weakened state. Elrond suggests they warn everyone of Sauron, while Saruman says he will deal with the villain.Legolas and Tauriel learn that Bolg is going to Gundabad. They decide to find them after Tauriel has been apparently banished from the kingdom by Thranduil (Lee Pace).Thranduil arrives in Dale with his army close by. He speaks to Bard over forming an alliance, as Thranduil wants to get into the Lonely Mountain to reclaim a bunch of white gems, including a necklace made of them.Bard travels to the Lonely Mountain to speak with Thorin to try and get him to join forces with him to avoid anymore bloodshed, but Thorin refuses to listen and does not want to share any part of his treasure with anyone else. Bard leaves angrily.The Dwarfs suit up in their armor to prepare for battle. Thorin gives Bilbo a mithril vest that is supposedly strong enough that no blade can pierce it. As the two of them speak, Thorin continues to sound more distorted and dazed as he vows not to share the treasure.Gandalf arrives in Dale, and Bilbo sneaks out of the mountain at night to a tent where Gandalf, Bard, and Thranduil are talking. Bilbo gives them the Arkenstone, claiming it was his share of Thorin's treasure within the mountain. Thranduil tells Gandalf that he will finish this fight to protect his people.The next day, the Elf and Laketown armies stand before Erebor. Thorin and the dwarfs come out. Bard takes out the Arkenstone to offer a trade for the gold. Thorin thinks it's a trick until Bilbo admits that he gave it to them. Feeling betrayed, Thorin orders the Dwarfs to throw Bilbo over the edge. They refuse, and Thorin nearly does it himself. Gandalf arrives to stop this, allowing Bilbo to escape and join his wizard friend. Bard asks Thorin if he will have peace or war, and Thorin growls that he will have war. Then, an army of Dwarfs led by Thorin's cousin Dain Ironfoot (Billy Connolly) arrives to help Thorin and his Company. They attempt to attack the Elf army until the Orc army shows up. The other three armies join together to fight the villains, and thus, the Battle of the Five Armies BEGINS!Legolas and Tauriel get to Gundabad and discover Bolg summoning the rest of the Orc forces, along with a horde of giant bat creatures.In the mountain, Dwalin attempts to reason with Thorin, who seems more disillusioned and angry. Thorin threatens to kill him if he does not leave. Dwalin does so, disappointed. Thorin goes down to the Gallery of Kings and walks over the hardened gold where he had tried to trap Smaug. He hallucinates seeing the dragon swimming beneath him, as well as himself sinking into the gold. Thorin snaps out of it and overcomes his madness. Together with the Dwarfs, they smash through the wall of the mountain with a bell and join in the fight.Bard has the women and children get to safety while the men fight. He hands Alfrid a sword, but the dirty coward is more concerned about staying hidden and getting his treasure. Meanwhile, many innocent civilians are slaughtered in the battle.Thorin resolves to kill Azog to defeat the Orcs. He rides up to Ravenhill with Dwalin, Fili, and Kili. Elsewhere, Legolas and Tauriel return. Thranduil finds Tauriel going off to help the Dwarfs and warn them of Bolg's army, but Thranduil doesn't think they are worth it and believes her love for Kili isn't real. Tauriel holds her bow and arrow to Thranduil, but he cuts it up. Legolas stands in the way to defend her. They join forces with Bilbo, who made it through the battle with the One Ring, and go off to warn their friends.The heroes find the Orcs, but in the chaos, Bilbo is knocked unconscious while Fili is impaled by Azog. Enraged, Kili runs to the top, decapitating every Orc in his path. He comes before Bolg as Tauriel joins in the fight. Bolg overpowers her and throws her against the wall. Kili comes to her defense, but Bolg stabs him through the heart. Tauriel watches him die. In her fury, she grabs onto Bolg and pulls him down the edge. Legolas watches and tries to shoot an arrow, but he's all out. He gets a giant Orc to ram into a tower that forms a bridge and lets him run to Tauriel's aid. He battles Bolg on the crumbling tower. From atop on the icy falls, he sees Thorin nearly killed by an Orc, until he throws his sword into the Orc's chest. He then takes out his knives and drives one of them into Bolg's head. The Orc falls through the tower, which crumbles completely. He hits the ground and is crushed by a piece of the tower.Radagast and Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt) swoop in on the Great Eagles as they take down the rest of the Orcs. Beorn morphs into his bear form and runs the Orcs down.Thorin battles Azog on the icy falls. Azog swings his boulder to try and slam Thorin, only to break the ice around him. Thorn grabs the boulder and throws it to Azog, causing him to sink into the water. Thorin watches Azog float by him, seemingly dead, until the Orc opens his eyes, stabs Thorin in the foot, and bursts through the ice. He pins Thorin down and nearly impales him until Thorin holds him back. However, realizing the Orc is too strong, Thorin lets Azog impale him, until he has a clear moment to impale him back. Thorin drives his sword through Azog's body into the ice as the Orc finally dies.Thorin walks over to watch the rest of the battle continue. He collapses as Bilbo comes by his side. Thorin says he is sorry to Bilbo for how he acted and for what he's put him through. He acknowledges Bilbo's friendship before he dies. Bilbo weeps for his fallen friend. The surviving Dwarfs come and kneel before Thorin.Legolas tells Thranduil that he is leaving the kingdom. Thranduil tells his son to meet with one of the Dunedain, a man who is referred to as Strider (Aragorn). After Legolas leaves, Thranduil finds Tauriel crying over Kili's body. She rejects love and asks why it hurts so much. Thranduil responds, "Because it was real." Tauriel kisses Kili's lips and plans to properly bury him.Bilbo leaves the mountain and tells Balin to tell the Dwarfs goodbye. He turns around to find them standing behind him. Bilbo properly bids them farewell and invites them to come by his home should they ever find themselves traveling toward Bag End.Gandalf guides Bilbo back to the borders of The Shire. He knows that Bilbo had the ring with him, but Bilbo claims he lost it. Gandalf provides him with a word of caution before they depart. When Bilbo comes back toward his home, he sees all the people in the area walking off with his belongings. Since he was presumed dead, his belongings are being auctioned off. He demands the people to put them all back while trying to find something that proves his identity. He goes inside his home and takes out the ring.The final scene shows the older Bilbo (Ian Holm) holding the ring in his hand. A knock is heard at the door. Bilbo says he wants no visitors, until he hears Gandalf's voice. He goes to the door to greet his old friend, and the last thing we see is Thorin's map of Erebor (thus beginning the very first scene of the second Middle Earth trilogy of 'The Lord of the Rings').
Score:
74 %