An epic improvement over An Unexpected Journey, but not on par with the original trilogy

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2013)

When my siblings and I along with a friend of ours came to the movie theaters today, we've watched the entire film and later, it blew me away. While it's not on par with the original trilogy, it left me totally excited to see the final Hobbit film be released next year.
First, let me point out the negative things I do have with the movie. The pacing does drag the film a bit too fast and while the ending is very exciting, it's very abrupt much like the previous movie.
Flaws aside, everything else is great. The acting is brilliant especially Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, and others including the return of Orlando Bloom as Legolas. Benedict Cumberbatch (who played Khan perfectly in Star Trek: Into Darkness) pulled it off very well as the voice of Smaug the dragon. He really terrified me with that voice it would get stuck inside my head for a few years. The storyline is faithful to the spirit and tone of the middle half of the book and the action sequences are beyond epic.
The music score from Howard Shore is solid with some great new action cues while keeping the atmospheric tone it brought to the first Hobbit. The direction from Peter Jackson is great and flows the story very well. The CGI effects have improved a bit and it's a start. The visual effects and scenery is great and gives an epic feel to the entire film.
Overall, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is an epic improvement over the first Hobbit and it leaves you excited for The Battle of Five Armies in the final installment next year. Recommended to Tolkien fans and fans of the original film trilogy! :)