Whither now, Peter Jackson? The Tolkien well finally runs dry - there can't be enough takers even in the world of fandom for a pounding of
The Silmarillion into cinematic form -
and it's just as well as the series has been running on empty for a long while now. Piling on more and more battle scenes does not an interesting film make, particularly when the superheroics involved have got so ridiculous that they invite guffaws, which partly come as just an emetic reflex against their sheer repetitiveness as well.
This is not to say that the last chapter is without any assets: the scenery, both the natural and the studio-designed, is as breath-taking as ever; the build-up to the final showdown with the orc horde is paced patiently and the scenes involving the dwarf leader Thorin in the throes of gold-induced madness almost touch the level of Shakespearean tragedy. It's just a shame that one is constantly aware that this is all in the lull before the interminable CGI storm to come.
5/10
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