Disappointed but greatly amused

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2013)

*** Minor Spoilers*** The good: If you're looking for a visually stunning, edge-of-your-seat film with an awesome dragon and a hint of romance (or miss the Super Kill Action of Legolas from LotR), you absolutely must see this film! The bad: If you love Tolkien's work or are a die hard fan of authenticity... drop the word "Hobbit" from the title and you can still immensely enjoy the film.
Bias: Huge Tolkien fan... read The Hobbit at least 14 times, LotR 8 times, blah blah. That said, I don't watch a movie expecting it to be word for word, scene for scene with the book it is based on.
The bad: After watching a loosely interpreted LotR in the theater with Hollywood embellishment I felt prepared for "An Unexpected Journey". While it journeyed off the road many times, it still managed to find a side path to the same destination and held on to the playful and light climate from the book.
Part II, however, was so loosely based on the book that "Bored of the Rings" seemed a better retelling of Tokien's trilogy. They took the standard big screen cheese and heaped on all the cheese from the LotR films on top, then tossed in the beans.
Don't misunderstand... I think it is inventive and enriches the story when they break away for a flash-back of Gandalf's adventures that connect it more strongly with LotR. But to add in ridiculous characters, drama and love scenes that are not only absent from the books but in fact distract from the movie and ruin the essence of the book is completely demoralizing to Tolkien fans.
On top of the unnecessary and confusing scenes to add an extra hour to film, taking away from the focal characters and scenes from the book make the movie simply an exercise in futility (except making a wonderfully scenic and exciting super-CGI film!). For example, making Beorn into a Neanderthal was upsetting and completely altered the fun scene in how they met with the intelligent animals and booming laughs, and only to drag on the ridiculous "orcs can now comfortably travel in daylight" hunt of Thorin that never existed.
Next film: Dwarf-Elf marriage legalized, Smaug is a protected endangered species, Sauron the Boy Scout Troop Leader, Galadriel drops to 1/4 speed.