The Hobbit:
The Desolation of Smaug
Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen
Directed by Peter Jackson
After a muddled and meandering start with his first Hobbit installment, director Peter Jackson returns in fine form with The Desolation of Smaug and reminds audiences why we fell in love with Middle Earth in the first place. That being said, the film still feels bloated and sags considerably at the halfway mark.
Picking up, after a short flashback, almost immediately following the events of An Unexpected Journey, Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and their band of not so merry dwarves are on the run from the vicious Azog and his fearsome pack of Orcs. The group soon enlists the help of a shape-shifting bear named Beorn (one of the films brief highlights), gets caught by some suspicious Wood-elves (including familiar face Orlando Bloom as Legolas) and eventually reaches the human settlement of Lake-town as they draw ever closer to the Lonely Mountain and its fire breathing inhabitant, Smaug the dragon.
The action scenes in the first hour of the film are breathlessly paced and, for the most part, brilliantly executed; the river rapids barrel sequence is jaw-dropping and makes for one of the most compelling parts in Jacksons films. Many of the characters have more room to grow now that overlong dinner introductions are no longer needed. However, The Desolation of Smaug inevitably becomes a chore to sit through as the filmmakers excessive padding becomes obvious; still, there are magic and thrills to behold that certainly pave the way for an epic finale.
