Not the saga's best, but still a great movie

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2014)

If you like the saga you will like this movie a lot. If you are not a fan of fantasy worlds, you won't like it as much but it's still a movie worth watching.
One dilemma I have with these movies is their running time. I always think they could have been broken down into several shorter episodes and be much more enjoyable than the 3-hour movies they turn out to be.
This particular segment of the Hobbit's story is more transitional than the previous and the next, so the viewer might feel the beginning and the ending of the movie are lacking in "introduction" and "closure". This is why I argue the movie doesn't need to be that long, since the director is cutting it wherever anyhow.
The special effects are absolutely outstanding and the action scenes are incredibly dynamic and original. The music is always beautiful, and wardrobe and make-up are as good as it gets.
Character development is given less importance in this title compared to the rest of the trilogy, and the storyline is more focused on the adventure itself. There's a few new colorful characters, but, again, not greatly developed just yet in the saga.
It is, all in all, a great movie to watch, specially in theaters. The problem is that we can't help but to compare it to the other Lord of the Rings titles, which are overall, in my opinion, better than this one.