By Haley McNulty – Entertainment Editor

The final movie of “The Hobbit” series was recently released into theaters. “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” was a riveting finale to the three-movie series, filled with incredible graphics, a great plotline, and a satisfying conclusion.

Bilbo Baggins, along with the company of dwarves and wizard alike, has finally made it, after a long and dangerous journey, to Lonely Mountain. Releasing the dragon Smaug from the mountain and into a neighboring town, Smaug destroys the town, before a simple townsman kills him.

Entering into the mountain, riches are uncovered: but Bilbo has a secret. While Thorin Oakenshield orders the dwarves to search for the Arkenstone that he has rightfully inherited, Bilbo has already found it, and refuses to give it up. Meanwhile, the power has gone to Thorin’s head, and he is driving the dwarves into defeat.

Word of Smaug’s death, however, has traveled around, and soon the Wood-elves- in search of their jewels, goblins, the Men of the Lake, as well as the Giant Eagles of Misty Mountain, all come to claim the riches that lie inside the mountain. From here, the Battle of Five Armies begins.

The scale of the movie was simply massive. Wide camera angles captured the enormity of inside the mountain, as well as the battle scene in front of the mountain. Thousands of gems and golden coins were stored in the mountain, and thousands of soldiers could be seen fighting in the field. The different places in which the battle took place were easy to keep up with, as well as to recognize.

The movie was easy to follow despite the many different armies and species coming together to fight. Many plot twists, like the leader of the goblin’s difficult defeat, kept the viewer entertained and interested, and graphics- especially Smaug, the dragon that haunts Lonely Mountain- were intricate and well-developed.

However, sometimes these plot twists were difficult to keep up with, namely when Bilbo was juggling what he was going to do with the Arkenstone.

The movie was a great adaptation to the book, not straying too far from the plot, but definitely kept it interesting.

Overall, “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” was a thrilling finale to the three-part series, with great graphics- especially the dragon Smaug and the riches of the mountain- a capturing plot which kept the viewer interested, and a great adaptation to the massive battle scene.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars