As the release date of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is almost here, a few reviews are in, and one has terribly panned the film.

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A very unflattering review by Slash Film actually calls the movie the worst of Peter Jackson's trilogy. The introduction itself is dismal, setting a negative tone, and following it up with reasons why the movie fails.

"Every time Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth, we expect something special. All of hisLord of the Rings films got Best Picture nominations and while The Hobbit films haven't lived up to the achievement of the first three movies, they've had their moments. In my reviews of An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug found things to like about each film, despite their flaws.

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So, following the trajectory of the first trilogy, I hoped The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies would be the best of the bunch. Imagine my disappointment to find out it was the opposite. Below, read our Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies review."

This review seems to stand out against the good reviews the movie has gotten thus far.

Most publications have given the movie a thumbs up, and some, like The Independent have gone as far as to say that the final in the trilogy is also the "strongest."

Here's what some of the early reviews for the movie have to say: 

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies promises to be the New Zealand director's final excursion into Tolkien territory, and for that some praise is due, for staying the course if nothing else...this film is a fitting cap to an extended series that, if nothing else, has transformed Tolkien's place in the wider culture.  -- The Guardian

This is the way The Hobbit ends: not with a whimper, but with an epic battle royale. True to its subtitle, The Battle of the Five Armies (revised from the initially more pacific There and Back Again), the final installment of Peter Jackson's distended "Lord of the Rings" prequel offers more barbarians at the gate than you can shake an Elven sword at, each vying for control of mountainous Erebor. The result is at once the trilogy's most engrossing episode, its most expeditious (at a comparatively lean 144 minutes) and also its darkest - both visually and in terms of the forces that stir in the hearts of men, dwarves and orcs alike. -- Variety

The new film marks a magnificent, Wagnerian-style finale, full of sound and fury, and with an unexpected emotional kick. The Hobbit trilogy started in tentative fashion, picked up momentum and ends in a way that is likely to satisfy even the most die hard fans of one of the most popular franchises in movie history. -- TheIndependent

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will hit theaters on December 18. 

Watch a trailer for The Battle of the Five Armies here:

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