Summary
6 tech score
Martin Freeman in “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”; photo courtesy of Warner Brothers
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Brothers)
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is the second movie in the three film edition of “The Hobbit.” This movie continues the story of the journey of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the rest of his group of dwarves as they march towards the Lonely Mountain which is ruled by the dragon Smaug. They have one adventure after another and some of them are quite dangerous but they persevere.
This is a transitional film in that it moves the action along but does not conclude it. That will happen in “There and Back Again” which will be released in late 2014. Since this is a movie that doesn’t have an ending the audience is abruptly released from the story. It seems to almost end in mid-sentence. This after a running time of two and a half hours. It would seem there could have been a more satisfactory conclusion offered.
But while the story is moving forward we are reacquainted with Bilbo, the wizard Gandalph (Ian McKellen),and the dwarves’ leader Thorin (Richard Armitage). We also get to see Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and others of the Wood Elves group. This includes new character Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). Her character was created for the movie and is basically the only female character in it. Oh we do get a glimpse of Cate Blanchett as Galadriel but blink twice and she is gone.
The acting n the film is impressive with McKellen always grabbing our attention as Gandalph. When he is on screen it is hard to pay attention to anyone else. Freeman is also good. He is the “eyes” through which the audience sees the story unfold. Lilly’s addition to the story is a smart move as she provides some romance to an otherwise all action film.
What really make the film impressive are the action sequences and visual effects. Director Peter Jackson knows how to keep the movie moving as he throws in one battle after another. A journey down a river in barrels takes up a large portion of the movie’s time and a battle with the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cummerbatch) takes up even more. It is all eye popping and breathtaking.
The movie is rated PG-13 for action and violence.
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is a fun filled movie that is hurt by its abrupt ending. The cast is cohesive, the action unlimited and the adventure amazing. It sets up the next movie perfectly. Still as a stand alone movie it is lacking in a feeling of completeness.
I scored “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” a middle film 6 out of 10.
