Poor show

Rating: 3/10 (12 December 2014)

So just left the cinema after having seen this and yeah a bit disappointed. The previous two films whilst still flawed still gave plenty of positive talking points but this was more negative. In short:
Script: Poor and and overly contrived in places
Billy Connolly: Gash, stick to bad comedy instead of adding bad acting to the list, to be fair he had some terrible lines to give like "let's get the bastards/lets finish these buggers" etc, and he can head butt, with his bare head (and impunity), orcs wearing metal armor helmets and kill them. Kind of diminishes the threat rendering it down to a more slapstick comedy level. Yawn.
Tauriel/love interest story line: Pointless, should have never been in the films in the first place. Unless you are covering demographics for short term returns.
Troll/giants?: Don't know what they were (more Hollywood style embellishment from newzealandwood) but they have never existed in Tolkien's world. Anyway they make an appearance for the orc/sauron side in the battle and given there size you would have thought unstoppable, but no, an arrow is enough. Again diminished threat, no scare. Yawn.
CG: Over used, very little organic feel to the films unless your are in bag end of course, but then that was real. Think there is a lesson there.
So that's most of it, there were more bad points, but that's the majority.
Why 3 stars? Well there are some moments, smaug at the start, Gladadriel v sauron + wraiths was interesting and would have liked to have seen more of angmar. But the good points are far and few between.
In sum this film was like what Sam called Gollum in LOTR "a stinker".
Yo Pete if you are reading this, try dropping phil boyens, andy serkis + any other toady sycophants that keep telling you stuff is good when it really sucks a*s. Oh and maybe get rid of Frans influence as well. Sorry, got to shoot from the hip.
Redeem yourself with the extended.
Actually while I'm here, make Bad Taste 2, watched Bad Taste the other week for the hundredth or so time, and yeah, its a wee masterpiece. What's Derek up to in space? Come on, your a Jackson...Jackson's don't run! :-)