Anyway, pronunciation discrepancies aside, we really enjoyed seeing the Hobbit part 2 and can't wait for the final installment. Peter Jackson is a bit mean to leave us hanging, but it's not totally unexpected.
So what did I like? Pretty much everything really. My favourite part was the most true to the book: the barrel ride to escape the elven kingdom. Of course having Legolas and Tauriel playing along in the skirmish was an added bonus.
Ah Tauriel, yes, she is vaguely referenced in J. R. R. Tolkien's works, but here she is quite an influential character, being the captain of the guard, a sharp-shooting archer, mean fighter and even has a little romance on the side. Well, I guess they had to embellish a few things to turn a 300 page novel in 3 full-length movies. For that matter, I don't recall Legolas in the Hobbit, but am not complaining. The dwarf-detesting elven prince is always good value. He was great in the barrel scene.
I must admit that I'm still trying to figure out the names of the 13 dwarves. Thorin, Balin, Bifur, Bofor, Fili and Kili are OK, but the rest I must admit are a bit of a blur.
The only thing I found lacking was Gollum saying 'my precious.' I'm such a fan of Andy Serkis' portrayal of Gollum and kinda missed him a little in this movie. Bard was pretty good and the orcs added the right amount of tension. King Thranduil was also quite good in his dismissiveness of the world going to Hades around him. Gandalf and briefly, Radagast were good too. I'd better not forget Bilbo and the dragon, 'cause that was the main point of it all, hey?
Smaug. Yep, he's good in a big, baddass dragon, flame-throwing kinda way. I love it when he is gold-coated. Absolutely awesome!
All in all, it's a rollicking ride and I'd bet money that my 12 year old enjoyed it at least as much as I did. Bring on part 3.