THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR DESOLATION OF SMAUG IN THIS REVIEW
Many eyebrows were raised when Peter Jackson announced his intention to extend The Hobbit into three theatrical films. Cynicism plagued the film community, with numerous people remarking upon the obvious profit and merchandising opportunities that the project now had at its disposal. It seemed as though Middle-Earth had become, now in spirit as well as definition, a ‘franchise’.
So The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey debuted to a far more skeptical crowd than any previous film in the Lord Of The Rings mythos. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, the reception was quite mixed overall and it did not meet the gushing standard people had come to expect from Middle-Earth. It wasn’t a critical failure by any means, but a rating of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes is quite a downgrade from the high-90s attained by previous films in the franchise.
As for myself? I loved the film. Whereas some critics found the beginning segment at the Shire to be overlong and tiresome, I relished the gentle pace and almost slice-of-life feel to those early scenes. The rest of the film didn’t disappoint either, with the the troll sequence, Rivendell, and most especially Bilbo’s encounter with Gollum all in keeping to the quality I expect from Lord of The Rings. An Unexpected Journey wasn’t perfect, but I’d certainly say it deserved more praise for what it was.
But if An Unexpected Journey was the testbed for Peter Jackson’s three-film plan, The Desolation Of Smaug would be its proving point. It was here where the added subplots would justify themselves. It was here where the cynicism would, hopefully, die down. This was the make or break moment for the series. Did Desolation Of Smaug meet this challenge? Well, yes and no.
From the beginning it was apparent that Peter Jackson had heard the criticisms of An Unexpected Journey‘s languid pace. Desolation Of Smaug runs along at a blistering speed, transitioning quickly from one location to another and filling up its runtime with a wide range of action sequences. The Barrel Escape is a clear standout in this regard, with impressive stunts, drama and comedic timing all intertwining to form a truly exhilarating scene. However, this new-found energy has negative consequences as well. The quantity of battles throughout the film mean many of the encounters begin to lack gravitas and weight. Often it does not seem as though our heroes are in any real peril, as they’ve gone through about a dozen near-death scenarios without so much as a scratch. There are notable exceptions, and I still believe the Barrel Escape was one of the best action sequences in any Middle-Earth film, but overall I’d say that this is an area in vital need of improving.
Acting-wise, everyone is once again on top form. Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman continue to illustrate why they were chosen for their roles and Ian Mckellen is as excellent as ever in his portrayal of Gandalf the Grey. In terms of newcomers, Luke Evans has a notable presence as Bard of Laketown. The dynamic between him and his family keeps him grounded with the audience and ultimately he’s an improvement over the underdeveloped character from the novel. Introducing a pivotal main character so late into the second film is a strange decision in the movie industry, so I’m happy that the filmmakers retained Bard’s character and actually expanded his role.
Another new face to the series is Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel. This was a completely original film creation, added in order to counter the heavy presence of males in the story, and it quickly became a controversial talking point between many book purists. The filmmakers had the unenviable job of justifying a new inclusion into Middle-Earth lore. Unfortunately, Tauriel is a mixed bag. As a character she holds promise and Evangeline Lilly’s chemistry with other members of the cast is excellent, but ultimately her subplot falls flat. The relationship between Tauriel and the dwarf Kili feels distractedly shoehorned in(which it was: the sidestory was only inserted during reshoots) and lacks any real fleshing out. They share about three scenes together and suddenly we have Kili rendering his heart out for her on his sickbed? No, just no. It doesn’t work and it only turns an interesting female character into the customary love interest. I can only hope Tauriel gets more to do in the next film because this was a waste of a great actress.
Where Desolation Of Smaug truly shines is with almost anything relating to the dragon itself. I feel comfortable in saying that Smaug is easily the best depiction of a dragon I have ever seen on screen. The scale is awe-inspiring and the sheer physicality of what is inherently a digital creation cannot fail to impress; you can really sense the dragon’s presence in every frame. Much like Bilbo’s encounter with Gollum in An Unexpected Journey, his dialogue with Smaug is the real highlight of the film and it ends Desolation Of Smaug on an exciting note. An overlong action scene almost tampers with this(Seriously, there’s thirteen dwarves against one dragon-surely Smaug can roast at least one of them!), but the conclusion was still strong enough to leave me satisfied.
After some of my criticism it may seem as though I did not enjoy the film that much. This could not be further from the truth. I loved anything to do with Gandalf and never found myself bored throughout the entire sitting. Desolation Of Smaug is good, great even, but I do believe it is among the weakest of the five Lord Of The Rings releases. However, it’s still another trip to Middle-Earth and that by itself renders the movie a worthy watch. A ‘weak’ Lord Of The Rings film is still strong by any other standard. This film earns a solid 3.5/5
Plastic Galaxies 