Review Detail

This cut was put together very professionally and was quite enjoyable. But for something calling itself the "Bloat Free Edition" there was still quite a bit of bloat. Most of the bloat comes in the Battle of the Five Armies. There are a few moments and scenes peppered throughout the rest of the movie that I could have done without, but the battle is far too long and preserves many of its most ridiculous moments.

I actually had never watched the extended version BotFA, so this cut was my first exposure to a lot of that footage. I found myself simultaneously shaking my head at how over the top it was AND having a good time. It's definitely a lot of fun. But I want my Middle Earth movies to feel grounded. There was so much focus in LotR to making it feel like a real place filled with real people and real history. This cut could benefit a lot from trimming back some of the more cartooney moments in order to make feel real.