Enjoyable

Rating: 8/10 (30 March 2013)

First of all: what was with the singing? The Hobbit was very much parallel to the LOTR trilogy in regard to storyline and setup (meet, different battles, let's meet the dwarfs, let's meet the elves). There are also a lot of instances that are cheeky nods to the originals (i.e., Gandalf sending a butterfly instead of a moth to get help). Fans of the series will probably get a kick out of them.
I haven't read the book, so I don't know how similar in story arc its supposed to be. To me, it seems a little tired and "hey, this worked last time, let's basically follow the exact same thread but change up the characters." The animals (inc. a dragon with a gold hoard that would make even Scrooge McDuck jealous) are simply AMAZING. To me, they were by far the coolest aspect of the movie.
If you liked the LOTR, you'll like this. You probably won't be as blown away by it (or maybe you will) but you'll find it enjoyable.
But, seriously, fire whoever wanted all of that singing.