While all of The Lord of the Rings films received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, The Hobbit Trilogy hasn’t lived up to those achievements, but nonetheless, had its moments despite obvious flaws. With The Battle of the Five Armies, we are now at the end of Peter Jackson’s odyssey. Unlike The Lord of the Rings films that can be enjoyed individually, The Hobbit trilogy is much different. Remembering what transpired in the previous film is crucial to your understanding of what’s happening now, because Battle is off and running quickly.

Things begin right where the last film left, with Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch heading off to Lake-town where Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) lives, to burn it into oblivion. Smaug is defeated before the title of this film appears on screen. After the destruction the survivors choose Bard to lead them up The Lonely Mountain to claim a share of the treasure that lies inside. But with the once noble Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) succumbing to a kind of morbid greed known as Dragon Sickness, there’s no sharing to be had. Despite Bilbo’s (Martin Freeman) pleas, the dwarves barricade the mountains entrance, while Bard forges an alliance with the elf leader Thranduil (Lee Pace).

Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) whose been locked in a birdcage suspended over a cliff by Sauron (also Cumberbatch) and the ghostly Nazgûl is rescued by Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Saruman (Christopher Lee), and Elrond (Hugo Weaving); and just because there isn’t enough going on, the romance between dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner) and non-canonical elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) continues, despite its forbidden status.

The same issue that plagued the first two films—a surplus of characters but a lack of characterization—has become a more glaring issue here. For much of The Battle of the Five Armies, we’re watching all of them fight it out without context. I kept asking myself, “Why are they fighting?” The battles in The Lord of the Rings were exciting because we felt a palpable connection with the characters. Without that connection, the battles feel like little more than chaos.

It would be easy to forget that the whole thing started with Bilbo accompanying the dwarves on an adventure, given his lack of relationship with them in this installment. Admittedly, The Battle of the Five Armies has moments of excitement in a rollercoaster kind of way, but when taken as a whole, the film feels padded and lacking.

Presented in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio, this is a striking 1080p presentation. While I noticed some crush on occasion, it’s quite minor. Even the darkest scenes look great, while colors look bleak and appropriate throughout. The image is clean, free from significant artifacting, banding, aliasing and other issues. Detail is wonderful, sporting crisp edges, refined textures and illuminating close-ups. Like the two films prior, this is a fine high definition transfer.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track is great stuff. Fires rage, dragons roar, wargs snarl and the rest. Low-end output is surprisingly powerful, offering real heft to anything and everything. Rear speaker activity is fully engaging, offering precise directional effects and panning, which adds to the immersive feeling.

English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles are included.

The following extras are available:

  • New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth Part 3 (HD, 6:07) The third and final overview of the New Zealand locations used to bring Jackson’s Middle-earth to life on screen.
  • Recruiting the Five Armies (HD, 11:30) Meet the extras of The Battle of the Five Armies as they get in costume, prep for battle, eat lunch, and make the lead actors look especially heroic during the climactic showdown.
  • Completing Middle-earth: A Six-Part Saga (HD, 9:54) Director Peter Jackson introduces “the last piece of the puzzle” and discusses how it fits within the six-film Rings
  • Completing Middle-earth: A Seventeen-Year Journey (HD, 8:59) Over the course of nearly two decades, Jackson and company immersed themselves in Tolkien’s Middle-earth, and they discuss the production.
  • The Last Goodbye: Behind the Scenes (HD, 11:18) Jackson, writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens and others take a look at the writing and recording of the song that graces the film’s end credits: actor Billy Boyd’s “The Last Goodbye.”
  • Music Video (HD, 4:18) “The Last Goodbye” with Boyd.
  • Trailers (HD,) A Five Armies trailer and a Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition promo.
  • DVD copy of the film.
  • UltraViolet Copy of the film.