A great sequel! OK visuals, but awesome acting...

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2014)

This film is one of the hardest for me to review... There are so many points that make me love it, but others that make me wish it was something different... #1: The Visual Effects The CGI in An Unexpected Journey was some of the best I've ever seen. The creatures were spectacular, the scenes were dazzling and it made me feel like I was in middle earth with the company. This film however disappointed me in some ways. In the teaser trailer, the barrel scene, lake-town, and the halls of Erebor looked very well done and realistic. But when I saw the film, I was surprised by how much it was changed. The whole film looked like a grey instagram filter was placed over the camera lens. Now mind you this doesn't change my overall opinion of the film, but it does make me think. I am confused about how the greatest CGI animators money can buy, are making melted gold look like a video game and pointless CGI horses. My final thought on the visuals is just that they need to step up their game for The Battle of the Five Armies!!! I still have hopes... #2: The Characters The only problem I have with the characters is the completely forced love story between Tauriel and Kili. It just seemed that the whole thing was just hollywoodified to please who knows who. But it was a minor price to pay, because the rest of the actors play their parts very well. Overall, this movie didn't thrill me as much as the first one, but did have me on the edge of my seat wanting more. I still lay awake at night hearing "what have we done" :)