3. Save Fan Service For The Extended Edition
The Hobbit is absolutely steeped in fan service, quite understandably milking its links to the Lord of the Rings franchise by having an absolute glut of cameos once the dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo make it to Rivendell. We get to see the likes of Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman show up for what largely seems like tokenism more than moving the plot forward, and so it really felt like something that could have been left for the inevitable Extended Edition. It's at this point that the narrative really sags for a period and things grind to a halt temporarily. Though we don't at all expect Jackson to do it, The Desolation of Smaug needs to be more focused and just stick to the A-to-B plot; keep the cameos for the home version, and focus on a more streamlined narrative that's more liable to go over well with the core audience (the Tolkein nerds are all going to buy the Blu-Ray anyway, let's be honest).