It is the second instalment of the three part film adapted from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Directed by Peter Jackson The Desolation of Smaug follows An Unexpected Journeyand stars Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lily & Orlando Bloom.
Premise: The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.
Review: A similar method to An Unexpected Journey was used to introduce this movie before dived right back into the action. This time the flash back didn’t last as long and it answered a question I had about Gandalf & Thorin. The second installment is better, action packed, a real sequel to a movie franchise, they’ve upped the scale and made it more impressive. The running theme of this story is that History has a way of repeating itself and peace only last as long as it takes to prepare for war. I can easily illustrate what I’m saying, it seems defeated foes have their way of coming back, it seems Bilbo also got caught in a spider’s web, and there was also an interracial love interest blooming. This one is more subtle but it leads up to a weird love triangle, in which this time there’s some unrequited love thrown in the mix (you know what I’m talking about it you’ve seen the movie).
The Dwarves are impressive, I mean, I did not realize the scale of their might until I saw Smaug in the mountain. I know there were a lot of them living in their back in the day but boy there were filthy rich. And what about the size of that place? It told me one thing, they were suffering from some serious megalomania and Napoleon syndrome. They really are greedy little beasts. I understand the Dwarves a little bit better, hell if I had that much gold and jewels and it was taken from me, of course I would want to get it all back.
Martin Freeman is showing us he can carry a franchise, in TheHobbit: AnUnexpectedJourneyhe showed that he was Bilbo Baggins, the only Bilbo that made sense. In The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug he gave Bilbo more depth, an edge where the darkness crept to the surface, a daring quality that Frodo never had. I guess Frodo was the sensitive soul of the family. Bilbo revealed himself to be sneakier and more brave in this one.
Thorin (Richard Armitage) is still, if not more, annoying, the other dwarves are showing more personality, I can now tell apart four of them. Lee Pace, was regal, a real king, firm and mysterious. Gandalf is proving to be more resourceful and powerful in the second installment, I guess he really was older and “wiser” in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which translated as “I’m a wizard but I won’t be using my powers much don’t have.”
Tauriel is a very good addition to the mix, it was only when she came in that I realize that the movie is a bit of sausage fest, yes Cate Blanchett was in it but i think she served the same purpose. Evangeline Lily’s character might have been added for the sake of having a female in the cast but she is in no way a weird stand in that has no business doing there, she is bad-ass, incredible and elevates the movie. The same goes for Legolas (Orlando Bloom) but she clearly out-shined him.
Smaug was incredible in this movie, one of the most memorable moment of this movie. Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job voicing Smaug. This Dragon looked awesome, he was menacing, dominating, enormous and mighty. The dialogues between Bilbo and Smaug were just really good.
In the endThe Desolation of Smaug was good, better than the first. I was thrilled and impressed and now wish that I had seen in the cinemas.
The next step will be my review of The Battle of the Five Armies but first tell me what your thoughts about the movie? You can tweet me @wornoutspines or comment in the section bellow?
Worn out Spines 