The bigger/higher they are ...

Rating: 7/10 (18 June 2014)

And I'm not only talking about Smaug here, although this being part 2 you can imagine there is a lot more to come (obviously). No I'm talking about Peter Jackson and the Tolkien universe in general. It's obvious that some people will get fatigue after a long series. Especially one that gets stretched even more than necessary. The movie itself is technical on a level that is really great. The acting is solid and the story holds its own.
Still I won't tell anyone how to feel about this. Especially considering the fact that we get a teenage formula integrated into this. The very well known two male fighting over one girl thing that worked for Twilight, Hunger Games and other movies that came out recently. It's obviously to reel in a bigger female audience or at least to keep them interested, while the male audience is there from the get go (Fantasy, action, adventure, who could say no to that, with Special effects to enhance it all).
So while it feels stretched and Jackson does take liberties (giving us new characters like the one played by Lilly or inserting ones that weren't there in the original book), you can still have a lot of fun watching it. You just have to find a ground to enjoy this for what it is ... a bridge to part 3 ...