Peter Jackson has been replaced by Peter Griffin

Rating: 1/10 (24 January 2013)

Well, the number of positive reviews is both disconcerting and ill-informative of reality. This movie was, by both LOTR and general standards alike, an atrocity. All the literary hype I'm reading must be the result of blind excitement being grandfathered into the series from the first trilogy's splendor.
I found the movie, almost from beginning to end, to be aberrantly campy, predictable, and empty of substance. The story lacked a sense of direction. The cast was given hackneyed, pith-less lines and the CGI department had a field day snipping the red tape on graphical limitations.
Most of the action scenes (and there was no shortage of them) were unbearably kooky, orchestrated almost as if the production crew was having a very expensive, inside joke to amuse themselves. Some of the scenes were contextually out of whack; anachronisms thrown into the mix for cinematic girth's sake. Even by fantasy movie standards, the deluge of special effects pushes the film into Pixar territory, at times making you believe you've unwittingly transcended the barrier between film and Monster's Inc.
Winching the book's plot avec a three year money-milking charade is nonsense and any right-minded fan could hopefully see the truth for what it is and not muddle it up with sentimental, pragmatically bankrupt perspective.
I went to the theater with nothing but high hopes, and left feeling distraught because I knew that somewhere in a dingy, wet cellar, duct taped to a director's chair was Peter Jackson crying for rescue while his captors sealed the fate of his legacy.
For a more detailed an in-depth reiteration of what I said, I would direct you to "dlpburke's" review because the truth should be read.