Certainly there are things to love; Bilbo's character progression and his untimely addiction to one precious ring is welcome (although not nearly as prominent as it ought to be), the set
design and telescopic vistas are almost as epic as ever, seeing the majesty of gold - diggin» dragon Smaug realized in impressive CG tantalizes the little boy in me (the one who listened to The Hobbit audiobook until it wore out), and one particularly fun scene involving dwarves in a barrel is a blatant film highlight; but
other elements that ought to stand out
fall flat on their face and never recover.