I don't really know

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2013)

While I enjoyed the movie, I had a problem with the concept of the movie and the franchise overall. After viewing The Desolation of Smaug, I saw that the Hobbit franchise would have worked better as a TV mini-series if not for the profits.
As someone who hasn't read The Hobbit, I can't say whether this film stays true to Tolkien, although based on the reviews of others, I'd assume so. However, upon viewing the second Hobbit, I've decided that I don't take a liking to the fact that one book was divided into three films. What entails is that each but the third does not consist of a firm ending. The first left us with an immense hanging cliff; the second, The Desolation of Smaug, begins somewhat abruptly and ends extremely abruptly, without as much as a pretense of an ending.
This may not be a problem for those who have read the book, or who can easily look past it, being a fan. But for the viewer that hopes to indulge in the conventional format of a self-contained movie when she enters a theatre, it was enough of a problem to rate an enjoyable 8/10 instead of quality 9/10.