The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug

Introduction:
Many of my friends described how utterly terrible The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey (2012) was.  They gave reasons such as the pacing being too slow, mainly due to the lack of substantial action, and that many of the plots within by the end were left unresolved.  I did not have these problems because I viewed the whole film as the first act in accordance to the three act structure that most scripts/films follow.  Thus I naturally thought many of the plots would be left unresolved because I knew it would be a mere introductory course to the many characters that need to be covered.  However I do think it was a bit slow and did not like the cgi of many of the orcs/goblins in the Misty Mountains.
The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug(THDoS) (2013), I naturally thought of as being the second act, is directed by Peter Jackson and penned by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, and Guillermo del Toro.  So I expected it to be filled with action and to be faster paced.  Needless to say the film delivered the goods with many more memorable action sequences and a much better paced film that ended on the perfect note.
The Goods:
As aforementioned, there were vast improvements from The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey to THDoS.  There was more prosthetic use for the orcs/goblins versus cgi.  There were more memorable action sequences, from the spider sequence in the Mirkwood Forest, the barrel ride when the dwarves and Bilbo were escaping the Mirkwood Elven Land, the Laketown fights, Gandalf the Grey and Sauron in Dol Guldur, and the fight between the dwarves, Bilbo, and Smaug.
The pacing was greatly improved. I believe this is due at least in part to the artistic liberties of adding characters that are not in the novel.  These additions include Radagast the Brown, Bolg, Legolas, Tauriel, and Sauron.  These additions allowed for more cut away points for a better rounded film that doesn't seem to drag on and some interesting subplots.
Smaug:
Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job voicing Smaug.  His voice along with the added effects was a slightly raspy low bass of a voice that boomed with power that sounded as though it belonged to an enormous dragon.  At times I could not tell if Smaug was actually cgi or animatronic because of how real life it looked on screen.
Performances:
Everyone did a great job.  I believe the stand out performances were Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, and Richard Armitage.  They showed a progression in character traits that helped evolve the character.  Legolas is slightly darker than in The Lord of The Rings and Bilbo is waning ever so slightly under the influence of the Ring as Thorin becomes obsessed with the Arkinstone to the point that he is reminiscent to Boromir of The Lord of the Rings.
Minor Qualms in the Grand Scheme of Things:
I wish more time could have been spent with Beorn.
Ending:
It ended with Legolas chasing Bolg, Gandalf in captivity in Dol Guldur, Smaug flying off to destroy Laketown, and ends with Bilbo saying something along the lines of "What have we done?".  The cherry on top of the sundae is the song by Ed Sheeran "I See Fire" which encapsulates the tone which was set by the hung cliffhangers which leave the audience dying for The Hobbit There and Back Again.
I give THDoS an A.