Just got home, and I enjoyed it. Here is my review (filled with spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie yet scroll past quickly).
You've been warned...........
The opening scene with Smaug attacking Lake Town was mind blowing. I loved when you could see his silhouette in the clouds as he spiraled down, and then doing the low pass over town so the people could see the face of their coming death. Smaug landing amongst the buildings and taunting Bard was fantastic. His eye fading out as he dies is a nice touch, and you feel sorry for Smaug in a way. It's hard to explain.
After the Lake Town scene I thought the following scenes were kind of random and jumped back and forth. I'm on the fence about the Dol Guldur scene. I would have much preferred to see the Nazgul in their cloaked form, or at the very least in their Twilight form as seen in FOTR at Weathertop. I would have also liked to have seen the Witch King have a moment, perhaps one on one with Elrond with some dialogue between the two.
The scene with the Elves and the Men of Lake Town assembled in front of Erebor was great. I had a good laugh when the Dwarves ducked when the Elves drew arrows. Dain arriving was almost fantastic, but where was his bagpipe theme? Also why weren't the Dwarves on rams? One more thing to add here- Billy Connolly made a great dwarf!
Absolutely loved the Dwarves forming their line against the orcs and almost started clapping when the Elves jumped over top with swords drawn. Simply awesome!
I liked Legolas telling Tauriel the story of Gundabad and the surrounding area. It was great to see a new location and one so menacing and dark.
Throughout the entire movie I was pleased with the neat armor worn by the orcs and battle trolls- especially the trolls. I'll need to watch the movie a few more times to appreciate this (among other things).
I felt so sorry for Thranduil when his creature was killed as he seemed to have a bond with it. The following scene, with him surrounded by orcs after rolling off his fallen beast, was excellent. Loved the dual sword action. Thranduil is a great fighter, period, and enjoyable to watch as he slayed orcs left and right.
Thorin and his trio randomly hopping on random rams was, well, random. I feel this scene wouldn't have been as random if the rams had been featured when the Dwarves of the Iron Hills initially arrived.
You really felt the shock and devastation of Thorin when Azog appears on the ledge with Fili in his grip, eventually killing him and throwing his body to the ground.
Bard was a great leader of his people and I enjoyed watching him rally his men on a number of occasions. Definitely could have done with less Alfrid.
The first battle between Azog and Thorin was enjoyable but the final showdown between the two on the ice was simply exhausting.
The arrival of the Eagles, like all of their arrivals in the past films, was nothing short of goose bump causing. How they dropped from the sky and laid havoc upon the incoming Gundabad orcs was deadly. Beorn's moment, although far to quick, was stunning.
Being a fan of Legolas was the LOTR trilogy I was pleased to hear he was going to be in the Hobbit movies so maybe I'm biased but like DoS I enjoyed him in this movie. I would consider the scene when he hangs upside down and shoots the bat over the top not because it's impossible (because it is a feasible shot), but because all of his arrows should have fallen out.
Legolas having Thorin's back was nice. You could almost see the bond Legolas shares with Gimli starting to form. Not to mention the fantastic scene where Legolas throws Orchist into the chest of the orc looming over Thorin. Legolas could have thrown one of his daggers at the orc, but he chose Orchist. I'd like to think he did this not only to save Thorin, but to give his sword back to him.
The dual between Legolas and Bolg was very entertaining and well done. Yeah, Legolas jumping on the falling rocks was a little over the top, but I don't think it's nearly as bad as some are making it out to be. Legolas spinning on his knees and then busting out the daggers was a nice sequence and I just loved the look he gave Bolg when he was holding onto the dagger. "This almost worked for you in Lake Town, but not this time!"
The passing of Thorin with Bilbo at his side was nothing short of heart wrenching. You felt how helpless Bilbo felt as his friend passed, telling him to hang on and trying to get him to look at the Eagles.
Bilbo saying goodbye to the Dwarves by telling them to stop in for tea is a perfect way to say goodbye in Hobbit fashion. The Hobbits of the Shire auctioning off Bilbo's possessions was a perfect example of their tomfoolery.
Before I end this review, it's worth mentioning that I've never seen a movie that lacked so many scenes that were in the trailers, or had scenes that were altered from how they appeared in the trailer. I can only imagine what the EE is going to have in store for us. Please more Beorn, Saruman following Sauron to Mordor, the funeral for Thorin and his nephews, Dain being crowned King Under the Mountain, Dwarves of the Iron Hills on rams, Bard rolling down a rooftop and using an arrow to hang on, Gandalf and his "How shall this day end" speech, and probably more that are not at the top of my head at the moment.
And that brings me to the final scene, an old Bilbo holding the Ring and spewing his displeasure when he hears a knock at the door, only to find out it is a very old friend. As he answers the door and the camera pans to Thorin's map to end the film- cue the tears. I sat in the theatre for a while after taking it all in as staff cleaned up garbage around me. One cannot simply get up and leave after something has had such an impact on you. And I'm not talking about this one film, but both trilogies.
Thank you to all involved in bringing this story to the big screen. What a marvelous adventure it has been. I really hope if I have kids one day they allow me to share my love of these movies with them.
