The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
I went into Desolation of Smaug with caution. After all, Unexpected Journey let me down quite a lot. There were a lot of problems I was worried would carry over. Some did, but some were fixed, making this a solid effort at an epic fantasy, even though it still pales in comparison to its big trilogy brother.
I think this time I’m going to shorten things up by putting my thoughts in bullet form.
- The first hour or so has some realy bad pacing and editing which carried over from the first film.
- The barrel chase sequence was simply awesome. Very adventurous and fun as well as an inventive action set piece.
- A romance between a dwarf and an elf? Really? Come on!!
- Martin Freeman was really coming into his own as Bilbo in this one. Very believable.
- Is it just me or is anyone else getting sick and tired of orc attacks?
- Smaug. Simply awesome. Design, dialogue, personality, the overall effect. Awesome.
- Not a big fan of the cliffhanger ending. At least the original trilogy was still able to wrap up their current storylines and give some closure.
- Laketown looked cool. Bard and his kids were less cool.
- The HFR was even more noticeable this time around.
- Did I mention Smaug was awesome?
Overall, its an improvement over the first Hobbit, but still doesn’t reach the heights of the Lord of the Rings.
8/10
Ian's Movie Reviews 
It’s still a little long, but it also a bit better than the first. Let’s hope this means that Jackson will end on a good note with the final installment. Good review Ian.
CMrok93 - December 21, 2013 at 12:51 pm |
Great review, I had a brilliant time watching this film 😀
Its still a bit too long but if I had to stay in any imaginary world middle earth isn’t too bad ;D
Smaug stole the show and I am glad he did, great visuals and just an all over better film than the first hobbit, hope the trend continues into part 3 😀
Tim The Film Guy - December 21, 2013 at 2:28 pm |
I saw the movie today, and I was really disappointed. I love The Hobbit, it was one of my favorite books growing up. My biggest problem with both movies is that Bilbo seems to have been relegated to a secondary character. The movie is called The Hobbit, and for some reason keeps focusing on stupid love triangles (SERIOUSLY?!?) and wandering off to follow Gandalf’s adventures. I don’t mind some extra character exploration, but part of the point of the book is Bilbo’s transformation from a shy and nervous hobbit to someone much more adventurous and fulfilled, and I’m honestly not getting any of it. It’s not Martin Freeman’s fault – I think he was a perfect casting choice. He’s just not getting enough to do.
Smaug was very good – great voice, great look, everything. But I almost went to sleep during the climactic fight scene. It was way too drawn out, and we didn’t even get to see Smaug cause any desolation. Just a throwaway line by one of the dwarves (Balin?) as they looked on the ruins of Dale.
I really hope they do better in the third movie. I did think this was better than the first movie, but it’s painfully obvious that this should have been no more than a two movie series.
asutbone - January 2, 2014 at 12:04 am |
I agree with everything you are saying. The love triangle was beyond stupid. Beyond. And the final fight with Smaug I believe felt drawn out because we as the audience knew that no result would come from it. Not only book readers who know what happens, but even for those who don;t they’ve already foreshadowed exactly what will happen to him!
ianthecool - January 2, 2014 at 9:15 am |