Well, I made a mistake: I ordered a copy of 'Desolation' thinking it was the extended version, but I didn't read carefully enough. It has extra material, which turns out to be those vlog things that PJ makes, and not the extended edition. Drat. After I saw this in the theatre, I decided that I could live without it.
So I watched it again last night and, if anything, I'm even more disappointed in it than I was in the theatre. It's a cartoon. The computer graphics are so obvious that it's hard to suspend disbelief. The barrel-riding scene is just absurd, as is nearly all of the action inside the Lonely Mountain. The acting is largely kitschy: Ian McClellan even fails in this regard, as does Martin Freeman in many places. It looks like they don't believe in their material, so they have to add strange twitches and reactions that are so distracting. Orlando Bloom is simply wooden. The only passing grades I'd give are to Armitage and Lilly, who at least seem like they believe I what they're doing.
I've noticed (too late!) that we don't have an EE yet and no vlogs for the last movie. Maybe that means PJ and company are working extra hard to make it a good one? Or maybe it will be even more of the same.
I am hoping for more than just Bombur in that version ... like more Beorn.