Should you have any doubts that you won’t enjoy visiting Middle Earth once again (especially with this solid cast and amusing, adventurous story), feel free to cast those doubts into the (ridiculous) chasm from whence they came!
Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Thorin (Richard Armitage) and his band of dwarves must reclaim their land stolen from them by an intensely, domineering dragon, Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch).
As this is the second installment of ‘The Hobbit’ series, it is befitting and reassuring to see Bilbo’s character a lot more confident in succeeding in their quest than in the previous film. As a result, it confirms for the rest of the gang their choice in having Bilbo join their mission and provides a nice balance for whenever the others start to doubt. Director Peter Jackson has highlighted our main characters’ evolution throughout this journey and it’s fantastic to witness in an action fantasy.
As with a lot of sequels generally being darker in plot, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ is actually funnier than its predecessor. Although a bold move to include so much humor, in this case, it works. Like Gimli in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films, our dwarves in ‘The Hobbit’ provide hilarity in much of the circumstances surrounding them (i.e., a particularly fun escape/fight scene). Another reason as to why this works so well—other than the actors being skilled at getting the comedic timing just right—is because of the or scenes in which there is very little action—a trait often brought up in conversation when discussing this franchise. It is in these scenes that audiences get to enjoy and witness such power and passion behind our casts’ words and gestures.
For those unfamiliar with ‘The Hobbit’, this story brings back some familiar faces and/or mentions of characters from the beloved ‘Lord of the Rings’ series. Combined with the cinematography (unless you saw it in HFR 3D), ‘Desolation’ has more of a ‘Lord of the Rings’ feel to it, which only adds to the enjoyment.
Earlier this year, we got a glimpse of how domineering and intimidating Cumberbatch could be as a villain. Although it’s only his voice (and some of his mannerisms thanks to motion capture), Cumberbatch’s Smaug makes John Hamilton—his role in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’—look like small practice in comparison. To be fair, a dragon has more intimidation than a genetically engineered rogue command officer, but without his presence in this role to make you sit very still in fear of this creature, Smaug would not be the same under someone else’s approach.
While ‘Desolation of Smaug’ is an enjoyable enough film to want to see repeatedly, it is not without its misses unfortunately. Arguably, films that have come before it have featured a lot of computer-generated images and with many of the feats being performed, this is understandable. However, it takes you out of the film once it’s blatantly evident that half of the action scenes (i.e., elves and dwarves fighting orcs) are simulated. Going in with this knowledge is a good way to avoid being bothered by this as much in theaters. Nevertheless, in some scenes, it seems as though special effects weren’t as up to par as one would expect given our advances in technology.
Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), an elf not originally included in the novel, The Hobbit, and the only female in the film has one purpose. Tauriel is pigeonholed as the love interest of 2 male characters. Her action scenes are really cool to watch (as we find out how skilled of a fighter she is), but otherwise her character is extremely close to pointless.
‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’, although a little over 2 and a half hours, manages to keep its audience entertained for its duration. As mentioned there are many humorous scenes as well as intense scenes that are both entertaining and very well acted. If you haven’t seen ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’, you’re missing out on an incredible adventure.
Jim’s Rating: 8.5/10