I liked it, but...

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2012)

That's sadly mainly because of my enjoyment to be back in the universe by Tolkien on screen. There was another IMDb-reviewer here who called it "enjoyable but flawed", and that is exactly what it is. I gave it an 8/10 because I loved to be back in the world of Tolkien and Jackson but as a movie it isn't more than a 6, and here's why:
It seems to me that Jackson was too interested in portraying the appendices. Remember that the Lord of the Rings was adapted into a modern classic in 11 hours (in the extended versions) and The Hobbit is a book somewhere around 10 times shorter. Why don't just adapt it into one film 160 minutes in the theatrical version and then go for a 200 minutes (or so) extended cut? Then he probably could've found a way to adapt the appendices as a link between The Hobbit and LotR for next Christmas. If the second movie had become a failure as a result of difficulty in doing so, at least we would've had a great movie about The Hobbit in stead of three somewhat more or less mediocre. I can't see a way the two next ones can avoid the same narrative problem.
The problem is that unlike LotR, it is only an enjoyable experience for the Tolkien-fans, not others, because it simply isn't great. The narrative doesn't fit together, it feels like more action than Tolkien and a breaking point in such a lightweight novel is wrong. This movie will sustain Tolkien fans, not increase them, as the great previous trilogy did.
Still, some of its parts are great. I loved the riddle-scene with Gollum as well as most of what happens before the unexpected journey, and I can't say it wasn't fun seeing the White Council at work even though it is part of the destruction of the Hobbit-story. It fits in my vision about an appendices-movie.
Conclusion: Reviewed from the perspective of a film-enthusiast, which I am, it is a 5 or a 6 for the reasons mentioned above. It isn't cinematic greatness in other aspects than the wrapping (visually). For a starved Tolkien enthusiast it is a 9, also for the reasons above. Together it is a 7,5 for now.