Film Review: The Hobbit "The Desolation of Smaug"

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

               Last night my father and I went out for dinner and a flick (we really need to do that more often) and the film that we chose to spend our hard-earned cash on was the next installment in the Middle-Earth saga. I had heard mixed reviews about this one. Some people said it was excellent and ten times better than the first while others said that it was like watching a long, tedious video game. Needless to say I went into this experience uncertain of what to expect, though I was very excited. 

                 And it...it wasn't bad. Certainly not as good as The Lord of the Rings (Though, if I'm honest, I'm a bit tired of all the comparisons because it's not LotR, it's The Hobbit!) but definitely better both than the first.

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

 - I really liked the way this movie began with going back in time and showing us the meeting between Thorin and Gandalf (taken straight out of Unfinished Tales) that started this whole venture. That was fascinating...and I laughed at PJ's cameo.

- Martin Freeman. 

- The elven-caves of Mirkwood were fascinating. I always tried to picture them as a child when I was reading the book - but the image I came up with was cramped and musty and definitely NOT elven-like. So I liked the design in the film.

- Smaug was absolutely amazing. Ever since I was a child I have longed to see a version of Smaug the Stupendous on the big screen. I grew up with the old Rankin/Bass animated version where he was...well...just look at this picture:

- Yeah. Not exactly the diabolical stuff of nightmares that the book describes. But the Smaug from this movie? Even with the gratuitous changes from book-to-movie he was still everything that I wanted to see from this character. He was intelligent, cruel, and very powerful. 

- Did they turn Mirkwood into some sort of acid trip?!

- There was too much CGI in this thing! Remember that opening scene that I so enjoyed? Well as I was watching it I noticed that the rooftops and roads are glowing. Not just wet and reflecting light - but actually luminous like the underbelly of a cuttlefish. And that was just the start of it. Thankfully things were a bit more tastefully done here than in the final act of An Unexpected Journey...but the fact still remains that there was WAY too much reliance on CGI.

- Too much Tauriel and Legolas action. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the character of Tauriel a lot and felt that she really meshed nicely into the Tolkien Universe as presented by PJ. But we didn't need that whole fight scene in Esgaroth. Not only was it not in the book, but it added virtually nothing beyond a bit of cheap action that broke up the psychological tension of the confrontation between Smaug and Bilbo.

- The whole 'Kill Smaug Sequence'. Filled as it was with improbable stunts and extremely-obvious CGI, this sequence did little more than create a forced climax. And it wasn't what I wanted to see. I wanted to see the confrontation between Bilbo and Smaug that highlighted both of their minds and strengths. That confrontation was funny and scary and it showed off Tolkien's grasp of human nature in the way the Dwarves sent poor little Bilbo down to do their dirty work. I like those dwarves better than this noble, squeaky-clean lot. Their greed and manipulative ways made them flawed which means they were more interesting and real. Not to mention the fact that this whole 'rescue Bilbo and kill Smaug' twaddle almost completely ruins Bilbo's big scene. This could have been something memorable and amazing, along the lines of the Riddles in the Dark sequence from the last film.

- Why did they split the dwarven company split up? I just don't get it. It was dumb and probably utterly pointless. We'll see whenever the next movie comes out.

- The romance between Tauriel and Kili feels forced. It isn't sweet or cute or meaningful. We already have seen an elf and a dwarf learn to get along with Legolas and Gimli. We don't need this. Next thing you're going to be telling me is that the reason Legolas hates dwarves is because they stole his crush away from him!

- I enjoyed the barrel-ride sequence quite a bit though I am annoyed that they changed some of Bilbo's lines. He was so funny in the book! The dwarves fuss at his plan to stuff them into the barrels and how does he respond? "Very well. Come on back to your nice cells and I'll lock you all in again and you can sit there very comfortably and think of a better plan. Though I don't suppose I shall EVER get hold of the keys again...even if I feel inclined to try." That's hilarious and is the exact sort of deadpan snark that Martin Freeman is so good at delivering.

- I was WAITING to see this costume!







- Probably my biggest hang-up with this film was the excessive deviance from the book. Now I understand that in a book-to-movie adaptation there has to be changes made. It's a medium transfer and nothing can ever be perfectly adapted. That being said - THE CHANGES HAVE TO MAKE SENSE!!! It doesn't make sense to have Tauriel there just for a bit of girl power and a romance with Kili. It is stupid to have the dwarves split up and leaves some behind in Lake Town. It is ridiculous to have Thranduil undulating his neck like a drunk serpent and offering Thorin his aid. And it is absolutely unnecessary to have the dwarves meet up with Smaug. The scenes worked perfectly well in the book the way they were. They've even been transferred into a film with perfect ease. The animated special wasn't perfect...but I think you'll find that the scenes I mentioned above were the best parts. Everyone LOVED the Riddles in the Dark sequence from the first film. Why? Because the dialogue was lifted practically word-for-word from the book, that's why. And because the focus was kept on Bilbo rather than on some faux-romance between an OFC and a delirious dwarf. I don't mind changes. What I mind is when they fix things that weren't even broken.

- That cliffhanger was pretty daring and awesome, though...

           So that's all I have to say on the film at this point.The pacing was better, the scenery and sets...when they were real...were gorgeous, and the actors all did a superb job. Though I moan and complain about all of the unnecessary changes, they at least managed to preserve the magic and feel of the original novel through it all. I give The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a 3/5 and say that I can't wait for There And Back Again.



What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?