This movie picks up at the exact same spot that its predecessor ("The Hobbit-The Desolation of Smaug") left off with the dragon known as Smaug in the process of destroying Laketown. Likewise as a prequel to "The Lord of the Rings-The Fellowship of the Ring" it ends at the same spot where the later film begins. In other words this movie fits right in and ties "The Hobbit" trilogy in with the three "Lord of the Rings" films quite nicely. That said, I would strongly recommend that a person new to these movies begin with "The Hobbit-An Unexpected Journey" and then continue on through "The Hobbit" series before beginning on "The Lord of the Rings" movies if at all possible to gain a better understanding and appreciation for this particular film. Of course if a person has read all of the books in the "Tolkien series" then perhaps that might not be necessary. However that's just my opinion and I suppose a person can perhaps still enjoy this movie without any previous knowledge. In any case, I found this movie to be a notch above its predecessor and I believe that fans of this genre will certainly like this movie as much as they did all of the others. Accordingly, I rate this film as above average.
