A Dreadful Movie

Rating: 3/10 (29 March 2014)

I thought all three of the Lord of the Rings films were enjoyable because they, in my mind, improved on the source material. It is not that I don't enjoy the books, they are just sort of dull in my view. The plots are fine, I just have never been a fan of Tolkien's writing style. So, in spite of the differences from the source material, I thought the first trilogy of films was great.
Both Hobbit movies have done the exact opposite. Where the first trilogy cut much from the books, this movie adds way too much that is not part of the story. I am well aware that some of the included stuff is from Tolkien's other work and notes, but some is completely made up by the film makers. There are so many needless action scenes thrown in. They are long, pointless and drag down the story. Then, in between some of the action scenes, we are treated to a glimpse of the actual story.
So, what we get is a movie called "The Hobbit," which almost has nothing to do with the titular character at all. These movies have none of the charm of the book, and none of the light hearted feeling that accompanied the story.
If Peter Jackson, a man I generally have tons of respect for, and company wanted to make a movie with all of their fluff, they could have done it better. They could have done The Hobbit as it was meant to be done and thrown all this trash into a separate movie.
For this second installment, subtitled "The Desolation of Smaug," we do not even get to see Smaug until two hours into the film. And that is a shame because he is really the only good part about this movie. Benedict Cumberbatch was the perfect choice to play the character and he may have been able to save this dismal script if he were in the movie if it was actually a film about him.
But it's not. This is not "The Hobbit." I have no idea what it is, other than a huge failure that the film makers should be ashamed of.