The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

7/10

Starring

Ian McKellen

Martin Freeman

Richard Armitage

Benedict Cumberbatch

Directed by Peter Jackson

Well then, to be honest, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) felt like a waste to me. It was only interesting based on the idea that something was about to happen—an idea I have to give Peter Jackson credit for, because he rode the movie for almost three hours on that idea alone. He filled the screen with singing, long walks, forgettable scenes, needless conversations, and elongated fight scenes, all screaming something good is coming in the follow-up movie.
The drag in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey seemed like a useless tactic to make the film longer. Now, The Desolation of Smaug is a little different. Although it’s also purposely elongated to fit a three-hour runtime, Peter Jackson decided to add appendices from Tolkien’s The Return of the King. This made the movie more fun to watch, as many things tied to the events in The Lord of the Rings trilogy made sense.

I liked this movie better than the first and you will too, and I think it’s a good one for everyone to see. I delayed watching it because I didn’t like the first one—mostly because I couldn’t understand why someone would turn one book into a trilogy and fill the first part with wasted screen time. This time, Jackson decided to add more substance to the film.

I’m sure you’re tired of the buildup to this review, so here it goes. The plot follows our beloved Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), continuing his quest with thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) investigates a growing evil at Dol Guldur.
What I still don’t understand about these events in Middle-earth is why Gandalf always has a reason to go away and investigate something, leaving this poor, helpless group he’s united to solve a problem that he could’ve been useful in solving if he’d just stayed put.

But, you know, he can’t be in two places at once, so he has to go resolve or call for help elsewhere.

The movie is all that and a bag of chips—well done, Peter Jackson.

Now that he’s done with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, I hope he creates something just as creatively interesting in future movies. I’m definitely looking forward to the last installment of this trilogy.