Sam Finlay
The Battle of the Five Armies is the worst out of the Hobbit and LOTR trilogies. It makes up fake drama which never occurred in the book. It would be cool if these additional drama scenes were intriguing and drew you into the movie, however it doesn't do so. I feel Jackson rushed this movie and only released it to make a few extra bucks in his pocket. The only interesting part is Smaug's death, but after that the movie goes downhill. The extended scenes make this review worthy of 2 stars, the version without the extra scenes deserves 1. If any more of Tolkien's works are made I hope and pray they go more according to the storyline within the books and not add too much unnecessary scenes that don't contribute positively to the story.
Tom Kazansky
Stop with the damn CGI already, you use practical effects as much as possible, and then use CGI where practical effects are impossible. not just CGI literally the entire movie. Nothing looks believable, it takes you out of something that would be engaging. Go watch the 2 towers, or the opening battle scene in the original, now, do that.
Heath Silvern
I think it's crazy to pay $75 in 2021 for a digital movie set from over a decade ago. However I am not a connoisseur of movies; I'm just a rational human being with my finger on the pulse of the world.