the series is not as good as the original films, but really what made u think that this film would be as good as the amazingly spectacular film trilogy that is Load Of The Rings, also the films based on a book that's only about 200 pages, Peter Jacksons done an amazing job directing the films and i for one really enjoyed the film, although the one real big disappointment for me in this trilogy is probably the CGI, orcs where better when they weren't CGI, overall The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is a great film that is very entertaining and engaging two watch that is bigger and better then the original Hobbit film and i for one cant wait too see the final in the series