Big improvement. SPOILERS FORM THE FIRST 30 MINUTES!

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2013)

I was a big fan of The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey, however it wasn't as good as the original trilogy. This one on the other was much better. It has likable characters, great effects, stellar action, good acting, great directing and camera work, and Smaug (won't go into further details on why this dragon is so freaking awesome).
My only problem with the movie is that the first 30 minutes are a bit rushed. The entire segment with Beorn and Mirkwood should've been dragged out more. Martin Freeman i fantastic as Bilbo, Ian McKellen is terrific as Gandalf, and all of the dwarfs are well acted. A common complaint about the movie is that there are too many characters, i would've been lying if i didn't notice this as well. The do take liberties with the source material. I didn't mind with most of them, even though there are changes I didn't like.
Overall: this movie improves greatly on an already great film.