I was very pleased with the added material from the appendices. It really made this film a proper 'prequel' to the events in LOTR, and I'm looking forward to seeing the dwarves try to take back Moria in Pt.3. When it was over I was ready to sit another 6 hours for the end of the story.

On the other hand there were a few howlers which marred my enjoyment. The sun seems to set far too quickly when dramatic license requires. Bilbo's toes don't move as he walks. Thror's golden halls irked me, because I see dwarves hoarding their gold in a more sensible manner, but maybe the huge piles were a symptom of his dragon-sickness. Radagast was silly, but a valuable part of the children's film and more 'adult' Morgul lead-up.

The CGI, at least in 24fps, was sometimes jarring. Several parts of the film, especially the goblin town, looked exactly like a modern platform game and seemed excessively inspired by the LOTR games. Azog was fine, but I'm not sure why he's white - it's not a feature I remember from the book. And the Wargs' heads are too big. I preferred them more hyenah-y in LOTR.

I'm looking forward to benefiting from the 3D immersion my second time round, and having better expectations of it being a lighthearted, childreny film - which will excuse some of the dodgy chase scenes.

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