Peter Jackson Returns to Form!

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2013)

The second installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit adaptation is an immense improvement on the first, which (especially in the Extended Edition) is an excellent film, but falls far short of the historic brilliance of his LOTR. The biggest challenge facing Jackson and his fellow screenwriters in the entire adaptation was turning Bard into a full character worthy of Tolkien, and they have done so spectacularly well. A less obvious challenge was the fleshing out of the Elven King Thranduil (Legolas' father), and that's superb, too. The invented character of Tauriel doesn't have nearly the depth of those two, but she serves her plot purpose very well and is a treat to watch.
Unlike the first movie, which simplified and dumbed down the back-story of the Dwarf and Goblin / Orc War for no good reason, the changes to the story here are nearly all well thought-through, and some are so smart that Tolkien himself might have applauded (e.g., what they've done with the moon rune inscription). There's a sequence from the back-story that has been moved into the time frame of this film that's just stunning. The relentless pursuit by Orcs that I thought marred the first film (too much, too soon) here feels organic. The result of all these smart decisions is a film that, much more than Part 1, feels like part of the same Middle Earth epic as the classic LOTR.
Needless to say, the film is a technical marvel (although I don't think the 3D adds much), featuring some of the best action sequences of any of the films, and -- are you surprised? -- Best. Dragon. Ever.