Fantastic

Rating: 9/10 (6 March 2014)

Fantastic addition to the Hobbit trilogy. I was thrilled to see so much of the Elves, especially Legolas (oops) and Laketown in this film (by far my favorite parts of the book) people who aren't familiar with the issues of adapting a book into a film tend to complain about the plot inconsistencies, but I think that tonally this film matches the previous Lord of the Rings film trilogy much better than the hobbit book matched the Lord of the Rings books. "Purists" will complain about the plot inconsistencies, but anybody who has read the Lord of the Rings appendixes or parts of the Silmarillion will recognize the elements of other works of Tolkien woven in; very little "made up" if you're familiar with his works. Tauriel could have fallen flat, but as it is the "captain of the guard" who briefly appears in the Hobbit realized as Tauriel in this film works quite well. Hm... all in all, cons: a little heavy on the fight sequences. The cgi on the orcs & wargs could have been closer to Lotr and a little less cartoony but that's an afterthought; other than that, great character development. Pros: Incredible production design, especially Laketown and Mirkwood; beautiful character design on Thranduil. Tauriel is a much needed breath of fresh air, a beautifully complex and realized character; a nice balance to the other, more serious attitudes of Thranduil and Legolas. I think if you can appreciate the books and the films as separate entities in their own right, and go in without too many preconceived ideas, and willing to experience the beauty of the incredible artists who have worked on realizing Middle-Earth, it will blow you away.