Easily the weakest of Jackson's six Middle-Earth films, I personally still think it is unfairly maligned. The many weaknesses are easy to hammer, but the movie has many excellent and memorable things. Naming but a few, there is the end of Smaug (possibly the best CGI scene I've ever seen), the corruption and redemption of Thorin, Bilbo's heart-breaking relationship with him (and the rest of the dwarves), the utter delight that is Billy Connolly's dwarf king, the touching portrayal of Gandalf and Galadriel's bond, the beautifully played moment where one almost _feels_ Saruman's mind as it starts spinning the wrong cogwheels. I could go on and on. So for all its many issues, I still have a grand time watching it -- and as it is but the third part out of six in any rewatch I'll ever make, it is as good a place as one could wish for if there has to be a temporary drop in quality anywhere in the narrative. ( )

Después de haber recuperado el reino del Dragón Smaug en la montaña, la Compañía ha desencadenado, sin querer, una potencia maligna. Un Smaug enfurecido vuela hacia la Ciudad del Lago para acabar con cualquier resto de vida. Obsesionado con las enormes riquezas en su poder, el rey enano Thorin se vuelve codicioso, mientras Bilbo intenta hacerle entrar en razón haciendo algo desesperado y peligroso. Pero hay aún mayores peligros por delante. Sin la ayuda del mago Gandalf, su gran enemigo Sauron ha enviado legiones de orcos hacia la Montaña Solitaria en un ataque épico. Cuando la oscuridad se cierna sobre ellos, las razas de los Enanos, Elfos y Hombres deberán decidir si unirse o ser destruidos. Bilbo se encontrará así en la batalla épica de los Cinco Ejércitos, donde el futuro de la Tierra Media está en juego.

Action packed. Spectacular. Wonderful mountain and Medieval ruin-like settings. Gritty. Dragons spouting fire. Battle scenes. Did I mention battle scenes? The bulk of the movie is a seemingly endless battle (or rather a series of battles). All well done, with massive armies and lots of swords, shields and exotic animals, though the "bad guys" tend to die quite easily, after only a slash or two. One fight scene with Leoglis is a bit too unrealistic (even for this movie) with crumbling "bridges" that hold up just long enough or he is able to climb the falling stones with perfect timing as they fall away under his feet. Enjoyable, but not the best of the Tolkien franchise films. ( )

A power vacuum causes a small war.

I've noted before that there's a great two-hour movie buried in this nine-hour trilogy. Only about 20 minutes of that would come from this movie. Bilbo is barely in this. It's mostly one long fight scene, which is considerably less boring than the first two movies, but does not belong in The Hobbit. Peter Jackson's Bloodlust: The Movie would be a more apt title.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: C
Cinematography: D
Special effects/design: D
Acting: B
Music: C

Enjoyment: C minus

GPA: 1.6/4 ( )