My thoughts on "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2013)

First of all, I would like to point out that my jaw dropped while watching this movie. I did not expect it to be this good, and I have to congratulate Peter Jackson for doing such an amazing job. I was afraid that it would turn out too childish, but the sequel to "The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey" is a bit darker, more powerful and serious than the first part of the trilogy. And I like it that way!
Unfortunately, there were minor things that I disliked:
The character of Bard was very predictable. He is the champion of the common folk, a good but poor man that is obviously going to be the one to slay the dragon. I didn't even have to watch to the end to know that he has the third black arrow somewhere or that his ancestor has failed to kill the beast and let the town down. No, Bard just didn't work for me, he was way too perfect to be a realistic person. I didn't hate him, but I can't say that I loved him either. The actor (Luke Evans) was good, though, so I can't say that Bard was a total failure.
The Master of Laketown and his loyal servant Alfrid annoyed me quite a bit. Regarding that they are evil, I wanted to be scared of them, not just annoyed every time they show up. Alfrid just reminded me of Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings.
Another thing that I didn't like was Thorin's relationship with Bilbo. In the first movie, there is a really cute scene in the end, where Thorin hugs Bilbo and accepts him as a companion and a friend. But, in the second movie - it's like that scene never happened! If you watch the trailer, on example, you will see him speaking of his 'friend' Bilbo with Balin, and he refers to Bilbo with just "burglar". Oh, come on! I thought that we have passed that stage, he saved your life! But, even though this mood swings sometimes made me angry at the character, I enjoyed Thorin much more than the perfect Bard.
These details almost made me lower the rating, but there were so many things that I loved about this epic story that I just couldn't force myself to rate it under 10/10.
The thing that amazed me in the very first half hour of watching this movie was the way they created the giant spiders. They were so realistic looking that I felt like I was standing right there, with Bilbo, in front of them. Of course, because of that and because of Martin Freeman's amazing acting, I felt connected to Bilbo and was rooting for him until the very end. What more can I ask from a main character?
I also loved the elves. Legolas appeared, and at first - I was afraid that he won't fit in the story. I mean, in the book, he isn't even mentioned, and isn't supposed to be in this movie. But, after seeing the whole thing, I have to admit that I'm glad that they put him in. His fight scenes were unrealistic, but fun to watch, and his little love interest for a she-elf that doesn't really love him back was interesting too. Speaking of Tauriel, while reading the other reviews, I noticed that people didn't really like the love triangle that the writers decided to put in. Well, I need to say that I did! And I'll tell you why:
I didn't expect one to appear. I thought that this love thing will be just as predictable as Bard is. Legolas falls for a fellow elf girl, and oh look - she loves him back! Isn't that just perfect and unexpected?! Well, no it's not. It would be much more boring to watch, trust me on this one. No one even thought of a dwarf-elf romance before the movie started, and no one knew how it would end... I was hooked, and I could barely wait to see how it turns out. I must say that I don't really understand why everyone is so upset by their little romance. I don't think it's love, because they don't know each other long enough, but they obviously have a crush on each other that might turn into love with time. Who knows?
Oh well, enough with the romance part. Let's move on to the best part of this almost three hours long movie: Smaug.
The best word to describe him truly is: stupendous. The voice acting done by Benedict Cumberbatch was more than perfect, the dragon was frightening and very realistic. His interactions with Bilbo were very interesting to watch, and I think that the most memorable scene in the movie is either the barrel scene (in which Legolas shines, by the way) or the great finale in which Smaug rises from the molten gold, flies towards Laketown and you hear him say: "I am fire... I am... Death!". That simple sentence was the best ending I could possibly imagine.
I was so blown away by this movie that I just wanted to stay there two more hours and watch it all over again. It would be even better to see the third movie, of course, but I'll have to wait a year to enjoy the finale of this great trilogy.