Fun, entertaining but far from a classic, wildly deviates from the source material

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2014)

Saw the high frame rate 3D version. Very entertaining. But also surprising to me because of how far it deviates from the book. Peter Jackson seemed more faithful to the source with the Lord of the Rings movies than this, this is really more like an "inspired by" instead of "based on".
Still fun though. I thought I'd hate the Tauriel thing but as far as subplots go it was enjoyable. Legolas looks a lot older which is a little jarring. The orc subplot was handled a lot better than in the first movie too, didn't seem quite as shoehorned.
I think Peter Jackson really wants to direct movies like Spartacus or The 10 Commandments, big war movies with thousands of people wearing sandals. In all this spectacle, admittedly entertaining, he seems to have lost the heart of the book.