The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

What often enters my mind while watching the LOTR trilogy, or the newest Hobbit trilogy, is just how many times did poor Peter Jackson have to watch these near 3 hour movies over the countless hours and years he's spent making these 6 films? He must never want to hear another word about Middle Earth or whatever for the rest of his life. Now don't get me wrong, the LOTR's/Hobbit books, as well as the films are masterpieces, even if I'm not overly found of the stories and the the first Hobbit film was moderately effective entertainment. Yet The Desolation of Smaug just takes far too much time to get going. It's almost two hours before Smaug arrives, though once he does, the film seems like quite a thrillingly worthwhile experience. Orlando Bloom's Legolas helps add to the excitement a bit with some nifty Elf combat, but for someone whose not a true fan of the material, almost 2 hours of stuff you don't really care about is just too much to warrant a soild recommendation.