yes it deviates from the book but so what

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2014)

I am a fan of Tolkien. And thus far in this trilogy I have not been disappointed. People are complaining about Beorn's section being shortened. Umm, it wasn't very important in the book. It was a stopping point for the dwarfs to rest and then they move on.
Just before they enter Mirkwood Gandalf leaves as was done in the book. The Spiders of Mirkwood was actually shortened and done better for cinema. Also how the dwarfs came upon the elves was done better. If they would have done it as done in the book it wouldn't have been as good. There are some things that work better on paper than visually. Things had to change.
The love triangle Evangeline Lilly apparently didn't want but was done in reshoots. The Kili and Tauriel thing was there from the beginning. But the Legolas wanting her was added in later. I don't find a problem with it. Jackson said that there will not be a romantic angle between Tauriel and Legolas. Legolas may want her but I think Tauriel seems him as more of a brother than anyone she would want to be romantically involved with. I also think that Tauriel may die in the next movie as to explain why she isn't in LOTR. She is being used I think to actually have Legolas's tolerance of dwarfs be increased and explains the drastic change between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings of how he acts.
I also think it is better to have the orcs in constant pursuit of the dwarfs than to have them just show up at the Battle of the Five Armies. I think it makes more sense. And I also want to see The Battle of the Five Armies. That was the one part of the book The Hobbit that disappointed me. When you mention The Battle of the Five Armies. Don't just mention it and say its over and then tell me who lived and died. Have me experience the battle. This was probably going to be rewritten as the orcs pursuing the dwarfs. Since Tolkien was rewriting the Hobbit when he died it would be nice to know what he would have possibly changed. I do think the Dol Goldur and Necromancer stuff would have been added instead of the footnote in the final chapter of the book.
All in all while yes the movie deviates from the book but I think it had to. There was a plot, the plot was actually in the action. So the people saying there was no plot need to rewatch the movie. Peter Jackson has followed the book closer than people realize. Yes there is more action but so what. That really is the only thing that deviates from the book. Tauriel and Legolas were not in the book but they very well could have been in the rewrite. The Orcs in constant pursuit of the dwarfs wasn't in the book but it should have. The dwarfs trying to kill Smaug wasn't in the book but maybe it should have. And its not an insult to Smaug to make him not very intelligent. There is no evidence in any works that Smaug was particularly intelligent. He was greedy and he was lazy.