on par with episode I

So, as Star Wars episodes I-II, it brings shame to the original trilogy, while appearing not so bad compared with subsequent efforts (Rings of Power comes to mind, but thankfully briefly).
Full disclosure, I have not watched the 6 latest SW.

Inexplicable ethnic diversity grows worse, extraneous girl-bosses too.

The elf CGI are atrocious, worse than the oliphant-surfing scene in RotK (I think).
Gandalf looks cool, though. Smaug's alright, although the economics implications of his gold stash are, well, it's fantasy.

Let me not forget Frye: as much as I like the chap, his attempt to portray the evil right-wing capitalistic despot of Laketown is incredibly heavy-handed, and evokes only infamous right-wing dictators such as Stalin, Mao or Pot.
Seriously, Laketown's problem is not free market, it's obviously its socialist utopia, its historic charismatic leader having been overthrown by a garden-variety populist communist.

Visually impressive but regrettably forgettable, my youngest liked it, we bailed out before the end.