Better, Darker & Longer

Rating: 7/10 (22 December 2013)

After finding shelter with a shape-shifter named Beorn, Thorin and company must pass through the much feared Mirkwood Forest without Gandalf. Meanwhile, Bilbo begins to use The Ring to protect himself and help his new found friends.
This second installment of The Hobbit starts off much stronger than the first. It's darker, the special effects are better and the story is actually interesting. The bright, cartoon-look is gone, for the most part, and the action sequences are perfectly composed.
The first film, An Unexpected Journey, was stretched out 80 minutes too long and it's bright, 48fps high-definition made it obvious these great actors were on a sound-stage, surrounded by green-screen filled in with CGI. What it did was it delivered a great ending, promising a non-stop action thrill-ride of a sequel. However Peter Jackson and company went too far and too long, again. Too much attention is spent focusing in on side plots of possible romance and characters we are never given much reason to care for. The darker visuals help to keep the dramatic moments from becoming as cheesy as a made-for-TV sci-fi/fantasy movie but this time, the acting from the new supporting cast doesn't.
The Desolation Of Smaug will be as good as we're going to get out of this Hobbit trilogy. It proves 2 films would have been more than enough for the film adaptation of the book. As for the ending, it's enough to make you want to throw things at the screen and boycott the third film.