The single most boring movie that PJ has ever made.

Rating: 5/10 (23 December 2013)

The first half of the movie has no plot. There are no character developments, apart from the attempted drama in Mirkwood where Bilbo first uses the ring other than to escape. And the elves have no personality. Actually, I'm sure they do, but it's not portrayed as well as in LotR or the first movie.
The Hobbit is two films, not three. I could have seen the first film ending on the way to Lake Town. And the second (and final) film starting in Lake Town. The whole Mirkwood thing doesn't say much at all for the story apart from creating more (irrelevant) tension between the elves and the dwarfs. Thranduil should have been a greater part of the story on a personality level, instead we get more Legolas stunts. And the Beorn thing is a waste of time. PJ should have taken his own advice from the Tom Bombadil "issue" in LotR, and just cut him out. He has nothing useful to say either way apart from that he hates orcs more than dwarfs. Yay for that or something...
The introduction of Legolas is actually extremely cheesy; it takes the Legolas moments at the battle of helms deep and the mumakils and shits all over it. It's like a preteen girl trying out makeup for the first time, and not knowing when to stop, when it's borderline absurd. Not to mention that this time it's TWO elves being circus artists at the same time. Yes, elves are agile, fast and efficient, but they are NOT there to be a tribute to the comedy of Jackie Chan or the artistry of cirque de soleil. Even the fight in Lake Town is pitiful. And how is it that Legolas almost dies to an orc standing right behind him (and twice is being saved by one of the dwarfs and Tauriel respectively) but somehow anticipates every move from 3 other orcs at the same time?
Enough about the elves. Dwarfs next. There are what, 13 of them? At most two develop through the film. Kili plays a major role with the Tauriel love story thing, but his dialog is very - in lack of a more suitable word - amateurish. It could have been Aragorn/Arwen all over again. Instead it's more like Clerks II. And it's the only part of the story in this film that would have lifted the movie to its own feet. Instead it's more like a footnote.
The other dwarf that changes through the film is Thorin. As in he becomes more like his grandfather. Perhaps he does realize at the end that this is not the way to go, but that's pretty much it. No deeper thoughts, no contemplation or any influence from other characters. Just a sudden change of behaviour.
And another thing this film is very poorly equipped with: Acting. Especially in Lake Town. It was bad. The first film was fantastic with all the dwarfs, the goblins, and even Martin Freeman being very into Bilbo. It doesn't even show in part 2. He's never the focus of the story (movie-wise), nor is any other character apart from Smaug, who - let's face it - is a villain whose feelings we could not give a flipping toss about. What would have been more important to show even more (or at all, really) is Thorin's struggle to not be his grandfather. Make it stand out from the rest of the story, which at the end of it felt like nothing more than filler between parts 1 and 3.
What else is there to say... oh yeah... The intro sequence is never followed up throughout the film. As in, it says nothing useful, and all it does is give PJ his annual cameo. It doesn't even reach the LotR intros to the ankles in terms of relevance.
Stephen Fry as the Lake Town master (not a bad casting decision, but I suspect mainly for the PR) is reminiscent of the Goblin King, but he is not projected as that powerful and consequently the tension of being in Lake Town is very weak, even after Bard switches to become the "enemy". He still helps them, perhaps with a desire to avenge his forefather's reputation. But the movie is so shallow it never explores these things. It just says what happened before and the acting fails to portray the characters' deeper intentions, if there even are any.
NOW WHAT IS GOOD WITH THIS MOVIE?
Well, quite a few things, but things that should be secondary to what is already mentioned, in order to make it worth sitting through two and a half hours.
Smaug is fantastic. CGI, voice, story, everything about him. Nuff said. But he does not carry the movie. His part in it starts well into the second half, and that is not enough to make him carry it.
The sets are (as usual in middle earth) amazing. Especially Lake Town this time. Knowing the behind the scenes from LotR, I'm sure they just built a very small section and shot from different angles to create an illusion of size. Still impressive.
CONCLUSION?
This trilogy should have been two films, not three. The second film is an artistic liberty that should not have been granted. It does not qualify as a worthy 2.5 hr film. The only things tipping it into 5 stars is Smaug + the visual look of the film. I can imagine the 3d aspect possibly carrying the first half on just that experience, because there are a few action packed scenes. But in 2d the story just doesn't entertain enough for it to work.