I don't consider lord of the rings or these new hobbit movies to be separate films. they are just one long episode that is split in three.
Having said that, this was just a joy to watch. It was different to everything that had come before. We get to see Sauron rising to power, we see elves who are less like their noble cousins who we are accustomed to and we see action sequences which are very well choreographed. That barrel scene was incredible.
Legolas is the greatest elf ever...Tauriel is a close second now:P Damn they were good.
Giant spiders, holy fuck! I liked the affect the ring gives the wearer when they are near the spiders.
As for Smaug....OMG!!!! He was the best thing i have ever seen next to Gollum. I always wondered if they could pull off a dragon that could talk and they did! I found him to be absolutely terrifying and that voice made me tremble...literally...!!!!
This was an amazing movie for me. I'm a big middle earth fan so I have loved all the moves so you guys may think im biased....and i don't care lol. This was the real shit.
Im just thinking how scary it will be when i go see it in HFR 3D...the spiders and Smaug..already giving me chills.
Totally loved the Gimli reference...was a nice touch.
A grade. Just like all the other movies.
Cant wait for the third part
Only gripe i had was that they didn't use the misty mountains theme at all...i know there was not much heroic acts happening that could warrant it but subtly squeezing it in there could have been done at some places.
Really liked the Lake Town theme though.
Oh and it seemed the audience with me also loved it. We were laughing and gasping and cheering at the relevant scenes. One of the best viewings I have ever had.