One of the best movies I've ever seen

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2013)

This is easily one of the best movies I've ever seen. The moment I saw Smaug, it was instantly my favorite out of all The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies. But there is so much more than just him that makes this show great. Adventure, Suspense, etc. There are creepy parts, funny parts, intense parts. It's got everything. "Spoilers below" OK, so if you're looking for character development, for most of the main characters that happened in the first movie. There is some in this movie, but it flushes out other characters such as Bard who is a great character who seems just like an all around good guy. Smaug is by far the best. He isn't just some dragon, he has emotions and a personality. He's insane with greed, super smart and a truly evil villain. Just as with Gollum, the motion capture puts real emotions into his face that are really believable. I was worried he was going to end up like other movie monsters, such as the Kraken in both Clash of the Titan movies, where there is a huge build up throughout the movie to them, but they are only in the movie for like 2 minutes and they die. Smaug isn't like that. He has like a whole 30 min. of screen time, but I won't spoil how that ends. Benedict Cumberbatch is a perfect Smaug and a great actor. He should get an award for this portrayal. Bilbo, Thorin, Gandalf and many of the dwarfs have their characters develop as well, but it only adds to the first movie. Yes, Peter Jackson adds things that weren't in the book like he did in the other movies. But they make sense and only add to the story. Gandalf leaving them and visiting the Necromancer was in the book, just not detailed like it was here. This is a movie for the whole family, though Smaug and the Spiders are scary. Easily 10 stars. If you didn't like the first, just go into this with an open mind. Enjoy it, don't nitpick it. It's a great film.