A fun way to spend a couple of hours. Don't expect too much more.

Rating: 6/10 (31 December 2014)

I'm going to send Peter Jackson a copy of the book. He obviously hasn't read it.
Seriously, though, throughout the movie I found myself wanting to like it, but not being able to. It could have been so much better if he had been willing to fill in the actual story, rather than adding in sub- plots that only detracted from the whole. For instance, if he would have left out Alfrid, plenty of time would have been made available to finish up the story without leaving the audience with lots of questions.
Some of the things that annoyed me:
-Lack of character development/dialogue. I realize that these aren't as 'exciting' as battle scenes, orc beheadings, etc., but it's hard to get into the story, when you don't feel any interest in the characters.
-Couldn't they have found time to include a funeral for Thorin, Fili and Kili? They're pretty major characters to be so lightly dismissed after their deaths. But, no, they're dead so we're moving on to Gandalf obnoxiously cleaning his pipe.
-Alfrid. 'Nuf said.
-Where are all these absurd mounts coming from? I mean, elk, boar, goat-bighorn sheep things, Radagast's rabbit team. Maybe they're all hipsters and think that horses are too mainstream.
-Failure to observe how the laws of physics work. Need I say more? (*cough* Legolas *cough*)
Some things that I did appreciate:
-Billy Boyd's song at the end was a very good choice.
-Bilbo's return to the Shire was great although rather rushed.
-I really liked the Lake Town set and inhabitants, they were beautifully done.
Over all, It was an entertaining movie to go see, and a fun way to spend an afternoon. It could and should have been so much more.