It's finally on HBO so I can see it for just the cost of having HBO in the first place. And boy, I have to say, I really wanted to like this but, nope.
WAY WAY WAY too much special effects and a sense of "We have to outdo the ludicrousness of the previous movies or fans'll be mad at us" There is seriously a scene where a piece of a bridge Gandalf and the dwarves are on falls off into a rift. They fall for a good 30-45 seconds and crash into the ground only to walk away completely unscathed, and that's after the Goblin King (I believe, who must weigh a good 1500 lbs. falls onto all of them (from the same height of course)).
I'm real glad I didn't pay money to see this. I'd have been pissed.
EDIT: Oh and is it just me or was it just a bit too creepy that the Goblin King had a scrotum under his chin?

