Meh! A very long movie that leaves you without a conclusion.

Rating: Null/10 (26 April 2014)

OK, I admit I am not a big "Ring" and "Hobbit" fan, I didn't read the books growing up and have a moderate appreciation for the movies so far. The very first "LOTR" movie is my favorite, it introduced the themes and the characters. But now I see these movies just for the novelty and for the sound. Yes, the sound. I like theater sound. In my home theater I have a nice surround sound system with a monster powered subwoofer. I would enjoy this movie as much with my eyes closed.
But I must mention one revelation, Evangeline Lilly as the Elf Tauriel. I had not heard of her before seeing this movie and I find her just about the cutest thing on screen. At first she reminded me a bit of Cate Blanchett, but a lot more attractive. A lot more attractive. And a good actress also.
(I took the liberty of looking up more web images of her in a bikini and she is a real doll!)
Anyway Ian McKellen is of course Gandalf and Martin Freeman is of course the young Bilbo Baggins. This is actually a big spoiler throughout the movie, because we know Bilbo grows up to be the old Bilbo we see in the LOTR movies, so any time he gets in danger we are certain he will escape to safety, we just don't know how.
Most of the rest of the cast are interchangeable, almost generic actors. In costume and with the Hobbit languages it is hard to distinguish one from another.
So, while I enjoyed the visuals and the great sound, the ending was a big disappointment. The last scenes were inside the mountain with Smaug in the dragon form, lots of fire, lots of close calls. But Smaug is not destroyed, in fact flies away as the movie ends, and all the others wondering what kind of evil they might have sparked Smaug to do now. Sort of an "Oh, spit..." moment.
I will see the next installment, as I watch pretty much all the movies my public library gets on DVD or Blu-Ray. But these movies are definitely for the fans who can immerse themselves in the make-believe world of the Hobbits.