Wow. Really?

Rating: 2/10 (29 December 2014)

Kudos to Martin Freeman who has been excellent throughout the whole trilogy. My low rating is certainly not because of his acting.
I love The Hobbit stories and LOTR. The Hobbit was originally intended by Tolkien as a children's story. The 1st Hobbit movie preserved some of the fun of the book by including the dwarfs helping Bilbo wash up while singing and juggling his precious plates - "smash the dishes, crash the plates, that's what Bilbo Baggins hates".
By the 3rd Hobbit movie all sense of fun has been hopelessly and utterly lost. It has become simply one epic battle after another. I don't mind a little extra action, but there was really a lot of gratuitous, pointless action added simply because it will be good for the upcoming games.
And that really is my big complaint, some extra action/adventure, extra romance, updated goblins (Orcs), updated elves - all of this could be fine. But they messed with the STORY too much.
In conclusion - I am deeply disappointed in this movie, and in the entire Hobbit trilogy in general. It really could have been done in 1 movie or at most 2. The ONLY reason for 3 movies was to milk us for yet more money.
Perhaps this weekend I will curl up with the book and enjoy the story the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
** SPOILERS, SPECIFIC DETAILS BELOW **
The part where Legolas climbs up the falling bridge stones? REALLY? It might work in cartoons, and yes this is a fantasy movie, but to me that was utterly ridiculous. The part where Legolas grabs a ride from one of the bats? Totally useless, probably included just so it can be added to the game - just like the water ride in the previous movie.
Everything to do with The Master of Laketown and "Alfrid". Ugh. These are not characters, they are caricatures. There is nothing redeeming about them. Their slapstick antics are stupid, add nothing to the story and were not funny.
The whole thing with Bard the Bowman being a criminal/outcast/in jail. Being the Captain of the Guard who stands his ground with a small platoon of archers against the dragon wasn't dramatic enough? Will he get out of jail in time to fight the dragon? Will his son die a fiery death? By that time I didn't care.
And finally - the most egregious change of all. The entire White Council vs. the Necromancer sequences. Gandalf and the Council did not know that the Necromancer was in fact Sauron until well into LOTR. But here in the Hobbit everyone knows that Sauron has returned. So how can they be so surprised in LOTR? Gandalf knows Sauron has returned but waits to the last possible moment to research the ring and confront Saruman? If Gandalf knows Sauron has returned, and he knows Bilbo has a magic ring, then why can't he put 2 and 2 together?