Ok spoilers(from the film anyway) lie ahead
Things I had issues with, the above mentioned changes and other which I hope with the extended edition will have answers. Things such as after Gandalf is rescued from Dol Guldar where he gets a new staff and did he snatch up Glamdring on the way out?
The confrontation with Smaug....That could have ended the second film for the amount of time that took.
Digital Orcs and Goblins...though the way Goblins are talked about it sounds like 100 Goblins and doesn't\t really have that army number I'm used to seeing and hearing from PJ's films past. My wife thought the bats were the 5th army so shows how much they were used. Also again trolls and earth worms....things also people might say \hey in 60 odd years why don't they just use those tunnels to travel to Mordor?'...there it is
Rhadaghast and his and Beorn's cameo in the battle.....why bother having them at all?
Legolas....seems to get new elf abilities each film and each one become just a bit too much for me. Faster then a falling walkway, More spy jumping on dwarves heads then a frog, able to leap trolls, stairs with shields and Olaphants in single shots.....he's not in the book like that so if your going to show him make it mean something like Frodo's scene in AUJ.
The simple non closure of a lot of it. Thorrin, Fili, Kili....no funerals seen, no dialogue about the fate of the mountain or Dale...the elves and Men...stuff that should be said whether it was in the book or not. Not just pop Gandalf and Bilbo go back home now. See ya. Bye
CGI Orcs, Goblins and such.......I really miss seeing people in suits....I'll take avoiding any of the Urak Hai or Orcs from LOTR then any scary designed Orcs and Goblins here. Why?...They're real most of the time
Plot points that needed to be spoken more of such as the gems/ necklace Thranduril is looking for and why.
Things I liked were capped off with one word. Gandalf. While I have issues with the new films I love love love seeing Ian as Gandalf. He just was the perfect man for it. His eyes, nose hair, poise and speech whether the scene is a bad one or not, there he is and it's like ...wow. The scene with he and Bilbo cleaning the pipe and at the end were my favs. No cgi really, no new plot points or hidden things, just Bilbo and Gandalf and that's where I sat back and said THIS is the Hobbit. Simple, clean.
Martin and Ian as Bilbo. Martin really makes you smile more at Ian's performance in LOTR. You just know how spry and wily he was and see the effect the ring has on him more especially the Bilbo face change in Rivendell. The loving loyal Hobbit we see here tries to fight that feeling the ring has on him especially near that end scene. I loved the casting of him as Bilbo and liked his acting even if lines and scenes were changed
The fact that the whole trilogy is remembered by old Bilbo in between his intro in LOTR on his birthday. You can got right into LOTR and know where you are.
The last goodbye. Merry himself sings it and out of the three songs for this trilogy it's my fav next to Neil Flynn's Misty Mountains version. Howard Shore I thought wrote music as well as the previous trilogy and if one were to listen to all 6 soundtracks it should feel like one solid story...even John Williams had trouble lining up prequel SW music to his OT versions imo.
Strider gets a shout out.
The acting. I thought all the cast perform well. Oddly I don't find issues with the performers, just the cgi and changes to things. I even liked Tauriel.
I do enjoy the HD film even if at times the speed is a little off. I would have liked to have seen LOTR the same way if I could.
Overall I'll say 3 out of 5. Not nearly as close as his LOTR films because I felt that trilogy was a more tangible set of films and I just didn't see this on these ones. I view it as it's a kids book and maybe the aim was to market it at kids more...hence very little blood and almost none on the weapons....really? Are you on PBS? or an IMAX screen?
I like to think that the books are the truth and nothing but the truth but the LOTR and Hobbit trilogy's are more of a recall by say someone who was there so things are fuzzy or changed or missing because maybe old Bilbo and Sam are a little fogy on things now. Just my two cents.
I loved going back to middle earth and will miss the fact that there will be no Disney purchase and new film possibilities
BUT am glad at least a lot of the same crew were on the films so it does line up as a 6 story deal somewhat well. I did want to do a shout out to the battle with Elrond, Galadrial, Rhadagahst, Saurman and Gandalf. I felt like that could have indeed been one to the prologue scenes from LOTR. These are just my thoughts and people may have different ones. To be honest...I was just happy to go on another adventure because when we were kids and dreamed of Dragons and Hobbits and Rangers....in our tech world...this and GOT maybe as close as a lost of us get to doing it anymore