Too many flaws to ignore

Rating: 6/10 (30 December 2013)

This installation is an obvious step down from the previous films. Don't get me wrong, this is a good movie, but considering that Peter Jackson is capable of creating three incredible masterpieces such as The Lord of the Rings, this film is disappointing on multiple levels.
First and foremost, this film does not display the masterful storytelling, directing, character development, and visuals as was abundant in LotR.
The battle scenes are far too silly to be exciting. Believable battle scenes were sacrificed for the sake of CGI characters performing ridiculous acrobatics and stunts: Elves and Orcs climbing, swinging, and jumping from trees while shooting arrows at absurd speeds and angles; Dwarfs rolling downhill in a barrel, effortlessly killing dozens of Orcs at once; Dwarfs surviving an extremely turbulent river while being ruthlessly attacked by countless enemies. These scenes feature unnecessary effects and are immature.
The length is not necessarily a problem, however, this movie could have easily been 20 minutes shorter. The film doesn't display the essence of the quest, which was superbly done in The Lord of the Rings. Instead, it wastes far too much time pathetically forcing a romance between one of the dwarfs and an elf, who are both very underdeveloped characters, giving the audience very little reason to care for their part of the story. The first 30 minutes of the film were done well, and the final hour was decent, but the middle was forced, and its contribution to the main story line was mediocre.
That being said, the scenes with Smaug were satisfying, but Peter Jackson should have used more of his time building up the audience's anticipation for Bilbo and the Dwarfs to reach the Lonely Mountain rather than adding unnecessary scenes. This movie is enjoyable, but Peter Jackson is capable of so much better - this movie did not have the power I was hoping for - the power that made Lord of the Rings so beautiful.