As Thorin, Kili and Fili lie dead, the battle ends (thanks in part to Azog and Bolg's defeats) and the Free Men stand triumphant. At that point Jackson has a number of final loose ends to tie up, as well as that looming promise of a bridge to the Lord Of The Rings films, but not everything is really delivered on. Bilbo obviously returns to the Shire, where he discovers that his house and possessions are up for auction as he is presumed dead; Legolas is told of a "young ranger" he should go and keep an eye on (Aragorn in his '20s since he's the grand old age of 87 in the LOTR film continuity) and Tauriel sort of wanders off after scolding Thranduill, who himself returns home with his tail somewhat tucked between his legs. Overall the end does feel somewhat rushed, but probably only because of the length of the battle sequences, and it deals rather abruptly with some of the characters (Bard will rebuild, the dwarves have Erebor back, nobody thanks the Eagles or Beorn), but there is a very smart bit of fan service that amounts to the biggest bridge to the LOTR films when the final flash forward ties directly into the first lines Bilbo utters at the start of The Fellowship Of The Ring. In the end perhaps it could have all been done differently, but no matter how much fans complain, the source material was considerably less in substance and quality than the Lord Of The Rings and for many what Peter Jackson has done will be considered good enough. Quite how you feel about that will determine how you rate this final film in general. The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is out now in the UK, read our full review of the film here.
