PodBill Just what I expected

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

arhanisch This movie is pretty boring, and its accolades pretty much ride on the success of LOTR and the first movie. The best scenes were throwbacks to LOTR. Overall feels like long periods of dull atmospheric build up punctuated by scenes of gratuitous orc-killing. Some neat scenes. As a movie does not stand on its own. As an episode, however... As a movie it feels too much like filler. "The Hobbit" probably should have been two movies, IMO.

Gavin Purtell If you've liked the other four Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films, you'll like this one, simple. I found it highly enjoyable and well-paced - not as meandering as 'The Fellowship of the Ring' or 'An Unexpected Journey'. It's not as good as 'The Two Towers', but does an good job of moving the story and characters forward.It also has a great score - every time you hear that motif, you think of Sauron and the ring's temptation - and plenty of great visuals. It's pretty amazing how just watching a film can make you feel comfortable, as you recognize parts of Middle Earth/New Zealand. But most of all, it's fun - there's a bear, plenty of 'catch-me-if-you-can', a waterfall/rapids chase, some spelunking, some gold mining - oh, and a dragon!It's good to see Legolas and some Elves, as well as men, helping out the Hobbit & the Dwarves. Gandalf has some good moments, but this is definitely Bilbo's film - and it's left on a nice cliff-hanger.

morganstephens512 What I liked1. The barrel roll scene2. The introduction and debates between Smaug and BilboWhat I didn't like1. Terrible climax and cliff hanger2. The female elf3. All of the scenes with the leader of the townOver all this was not a terrible movie but it was not good at all either and this is the first movie in that universe I simply just did not like that much. Wish that this film wasn't so filled with filler

tapio_hietamaki 'An Unexpected Journey' showed promise. I was hyped at the end when we get a shot of Smaug's eye buried in a mountain of gold. There were goofy battle scenes, especially the ones with the goblins under the mountain, and it was much too long, but after that movie I still believed there was some hope for this trilogy.After 'The Desolation of Smaug' I knew that there was no hope. This trilogy was not going to come even close to the predecessor trilogy, 'The Lord of the Rings'. Of course it was a tall order to begin with.The pacing is bad, the CGI fight scenes are laughable, the addition of a love triangle doesn't work. Eagerly awaited scenes such as wandering in Mirkwood, or staying the night at Beorn's, or knocking on the secret stone door simply fall flat emotionally. Gandalf blasting white forcefields in Escherian ruins was certainly not what I had in mind for his research of Dol Guldur. The movie has its moments - at least Bilbo's conversation with Smaug was tense and the dragon really had a presence, but overall it was a disappointment.I still gave it 7/10 because I think that if you disregard the source material and its utter failure to live up to it, it's still an enjoyable fantasy adventure. Compare it to titles such as 'Conan the Barbarian' (2011), 'Eragon' or Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Prince of Persia' and you will notice that it is a worthy addition to the rather narrow selection of high fantasy movies. It has orcs, elves, wizards and a dragon, the story runs along smoothly although it's rather generic, and the production design is appreciable. You just have to ignore the brilliance that could've been.