Loosely based upon characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2014)

Another year, another Tolkien-inspired Peter Jackson film.
"The Desolation of Smaug" is, ostensibly, the second instalment of Jackson's three-part adaptation of "The Hobbit", although it contains so much material not found in the original, especially the romance between the dwarf Kili and the elf-maiden Tauriel, that it might be better described as an original epic fantasy adventure film loosely based upon characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien. I leave to others the task of enumerating the ways in which the plot of the film differs from that of the novel. The main story describes how the hobbit Bilbo Baggins continues his quest with the thirteen Dwarfs to reclaim the Dwarfs' lost kingdom of Eribor and its treasure which have been stolen by the dragon Smaug.
I set out my arguments against turning "The Hobbit" into a trilogy when I reviewed the first part, "An Unexpected Journey", and need not repeat them all here. Suffice it to say that, as "The Hobbit" is a very different type of book to "The Lord of the Rings", much shorter and lighter in tone, it seemed inappropriate for Jackson to give it the same epic treatment as he had lavished on his first trilogy.
That said, I actually enjoyed "The Desolation of Smaug" more than its predecessor, and there is a lot to enjoy. The Kili/Tauriel subplot is a bit of an unnecessary distraction, but Jackson is able to generate a lot of excitement from his main story with some cracking action scenes. The best come at the end when Bilbo finally comes face to face with Smaug, perhaps the most impressive cinematic dragon of recent years. (Much better than anything in, say, "Eragon"). I was also impressed by Jackson's elaborate realisation of Lake-Town, a sort of carved wooden Northern European version of Venice.
On the acting side I am warming to Martin Freeman's Bilbo and Richard Armitage's increasingly autocratic Thorin Oakenshield. Ian McKellen is as reliable as ever as Gandalf, and there is a good came from Stephen Fry as the Master of Lake-Town, played as a pompous, self-satisfied aristocrat. Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Smaug gives the dragon a personality of his own, making him more than just an impressive piece of CGI.
"The Desolation of Smaug" might not be authentic Tolkien, and it does not approach the standard Jackson set with the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It is, however, an entertaining piece of fantasy film-making, and did enough to make me want to come back and see the third instalment, "There and Back Again" when it comes out at the end of this year. 8/10