Mr Jackson, sir: you left me wanting...not in a good way. ***SPOILER ALERT***

Rating: 3/10 (29 December 2013)

Dear Peter Jackson;
Call me old fashioned.
When I watch a movie (read a book, listen to a song, etc.) I have an expectation that there will actually be an ending. You did that with the LOTR trilogy, and with the first Hobbit movie. But this one...it didn't end. It just stopped.
I actually stood up in the theater when the screen went black and let out a scream: "Noooooooooo."
OK, granted. It is hard to turn a single novel into a movie trilogy. That was the advantage you had with LOTR. Each book had it's own conclusion written by a master story teller. Three independent stories. So, given that, maybe you shouldn't have tried to turn one rather average length novel into three more-than-full-length feature films. You were bound to have problems stretching it that far.
But to end it where it did. Really, Peter? This isn't TV. This isn't a season ending cliff hanger. It is a feature film. It needs an ending in order to satisfy your audience.
One problem with Hollywood-from its beginning-is the inability to end a story. Screen writers have always had this trouble. Novelists always seem to end their stories well, why can't screen writers?
There would have several logical places to end it. The most logical would have been when we first saw Smaug. Smaug opens his eyes, we see the look on Bilbo's face followed by a teaser. Another logical place to end would be after the killing of Smaug, which we know is coming (and who is going to kill him). There would have been cheering and a happy ending, and perhaps a teaser about what was coming next. Even during the battle when it is unclear whether Smaug or the people will win.
But that didn't happen.
But it just stopped.
Stopped.
No ending.
I'll give you credit where it is due. The production design was beautiful, the green screen was as expertly accomplished as we have come to expect from you. The characters were very well developed-particularly Thorin and Balin and Kili. They came a long was since the first film and all the characters had a greater depth, perhaps more than Mr. Tolkien had conceived. Character prosthetics were absolutely gorgeous.
The effects were a bit over the top but you did have a lot of time to fill, so I will give you a pass on that. We kind of expect that now. But my feeling here is that just because you can, does not mean you should.
As for the story-with a strong story from a master story teller you had more meat on the bones than most film makers. Who could lose?
In fact, Peter, you had me absolutely hooked. I was right there (suspending disbelief when I needed to), feeling the tension build, feeling sympathy for the good guys and hatred for the bad guys. Tension during the epic battles-Orcs vs. the world, Gandalf vs. Sauron. Tension when Bilbo is discovered by Smaug. Very well executed.
But you absolutely lost me when Smaug delivered the last line and the screen went black.
Naughty, naughty Peter Jackson. That is no way to treat an audience. You did not give us the respect that we are due. It was just crassness, plain and simple, obvious that you were milking the story for the money. You forgot our needs. Naughty, naughty.
My prediction: you will end up losing between one third and one half your audience for the final film...all because you stopped the story abruptly, instead of giving the story a resolution-an ending, and the respect for the audience that we deserve.