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Stephen Fry
'The Battle of the Five Armies' a roaring blockbuster of a war movie

J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth tales of elves and men and hobbits are fittingly set in mountainous country. They reach a heroic level of entertainment with their characters and material. They are enthralling stories about the value of true friendship, the meaning of love, courage, corruption by evil and salvation by unity, themes inspired by Tolkien's military experiences in World War I. The "Lord of the Rings" fantasies and their forerunner "The Hobbit" are colossal, and so are Peter Jackson's mammoth adaptations. Since their debut 13 years ago, his six-film series has richly exploited (and at times rewritten) the books' massive resources....