Didn't reach the heights of LOTR

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2015)

I really wanted to enjoy this movie more than I did. The CGI is perfect, as you'd expect (although Legolas jumping up falling rocks was a bit OTT), but I wanted the film to be darker. The acting is awesome, can't take anything away from that. However Bilbo is pretty much a side character in this instalment.
After the film I thought "wow, that was amazing" & then an hour or so later that all changed. There are so many unanswered questions that easily could have been tied up at the end.
1. What happened to all that gold? 2. What did Bard & his community do? 3. Did the Elf retrieve the jewels he was after? 4. Why did those giant worms turn up for 10 seconds & then not be seen again? 5. What happened to the Arkenstone?
I did really like the 45+ minute battle though, that was really good, but overall I didn't feel the peril &/or attachment I had to the character of the LOTR trilogy.
A generous 8/10 from me - but it missed the mark.