Is it really that bad?

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2015)

Bottom line: an action-packed movie with lots of wow moments.
Like many here I'm a fan of the original fiction, and have been since before LOTR was filmed. Also like many here, I agree that this installment of the Hobbit did not follow the story as well as it could have.
But is it really that bad?
I don't think so. What I saw was a good movie, but I did not expect it to hew to the story. And that's not bad, even though it's what the purists are getting offended about... but folks, Tolkien was a linguist, not a novelist. His books are not easy reads even though they are filled with complete worlds and amazing stories. The addition of Tauriel as a character bothered me none. The only true fault I have with this particular installment is the additional script work to tie it to the LOTR trilogy, that felt cheap and unnecessary... but it WAS entertaining to watch.
With that in mind, I paid for a spectacle, and I got one. I enjoyed my return to Middle-Earth even if it wasn't exactly what Tolkien described.