More briskly paced than its predecessor, this second chapter gallops from one impressively staged action sequence to another

Rating: Null/10 (13 December 2013)

For those who felt that the first verse of Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit' trilogy was a meandering slog, the good news is that his second proceeds at a gallop right from the get-go. Save for a brief prologue that flashes back to the snug bar of the Prancing Pony where our old pal Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield first hatched their plan to reclaim the lost dwarf kingdom of Erebor, this episode moves from one adventure to another with newfound energy, so rest assured that it is certainly a more engaging adventure than the first movie.
Whether it manages to capture the magic of the 'Lord of the Rings' films is yet another matter, and we're sad to disappoint fans that, in our opinion, it falls short on several counts. Indeed, even though it does offer the same sort of sweeping fantasy action of the 'Rings', it doesn't quite match its poignancy, owing to a thin plot that goes all over the place and a distinct lack of character development. Yes, at its best, it is a collection of impressively executed action set-pieces strung together by the quest of one particular hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and 13 dwarfs in search of lost treasure.
The highlight is no doubt a thrilling sequence in which a dozen dwarfs flee their elven captors by riding inside wooden barrels down a rapidly rushing river, only to encounter an even more dreaded enemy - the hideous looking Orcs - that force a temporary alliance between the Elves and the dwarfs. That sequence alone is testament to Jackson's ability to mount elaborate action with considerable flair and imagination - and worthy of mention is not just how he manages to find moments of levity in between a brisk edge-of-your-seat segment, but also how he juggles important character details amidst the flying arrows and numerous beheadings.
Nothing quite comes close to the level of fun and excitement of this centrepiece barrel chase, not even for that matter Bilbo's eventual encounter with the fire-bellied Smaug. But not to get ahead of ourselves, our protagonists also pass through a couple of obstacles en route to their assault on the dragon up in Lonely Mountain - a trek through the enchanted forest of Mirkwood brings them face to face with giant CGI spiders, and following their imprisonment and escape from the stronghold of the woodland elves, they find themselves among not so friendly human company in the village of Laketown. Like we said at the start, there is an urgency to the proceedings which was absent in the first movie, and aside from their time spent in Laketown, unfolds like a supercharged Saturday morning picture.
There is a tradeoff though. First and foremost is the fact that there doesn't seem to be much meat to the tale. Despite the efforts of the original 'Rings' screen writing team of Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens as well as the series' original intended director of Guillermo del Toro, there is no shaking off the feeling that there simply isn't enough in what was a book of less than 300 pages to fill roughly nine hours of film - not even with the interpolation of sections of "The Quest of Erebor", one of J.R.R. Tolkien's so-called "Unfinished Tales".
Neither for that matter is there much of the characters to speak of. Bilbo feels sidelined in his own tale, spending much of the time in the movie resisting the temptation of the ring he riddled out of Gollum in 'An Unexpected Journey'. Thorin is left to the end to do a little soul- searching whether he has allowed his obsession with regaining the throne to cloud his better judgment. Gandalf, on the other hand, goes off on his own to Dol Guldur to investigate the appearance of the Necromancer and a purported gathering army of darkness. The rest of the characters in the book are largely there to fill the backdrop.
Perhaps the most fully realised character here is Smaug himself, whom voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, is a mesmerising presence to behold. It is only after the two-hour mark that Bilbo confronts the serpent, and the faceoff between hobbit and dragon over dwarf land and gold is a sparkling exchange largely scripted with wit and purpose. Beginning with a glimpse of its open eye amidst mountains of golden coins, Jackson's rendition of Smaug is an awesome sight to behold, both in majesty and authority. Over and under the walls of the imposing castle under the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo and Smaug trade barbs and quips trying to outsmart and outguess each other's next moves, before Thorin and the rest of the dwarfs arrive to lend the newly brave hobbit some much- needed assistance. In all though, the confrontation is too drawn out for its own good, losing much of its own momentum during the concluding frames right before the cliffhanger ending that is supposed to whet your appetite for the third and concluding chapter.
And therein lies our central gripe with 'The Desolation of Smaug' and it seems with 'The Hobbit' series – borne out of essentially a kid's tale, it never quite reaches the epic heights of the 'Rings', lacking in compelling plot and character despite Jackson and his writers' efforts to augment Tolkien's tale. Sure it picks up considerably from the amiable pace of its predecessor, but it relies too much on spectacle to distract its audience from an absence of almost everything else. The familiarity with the 'Rings' trilogy is unmistakable – from composer Howard Shore's lush strains to production designer's Dan Hennah's elaborate sets to Weta's top-notch visual effects to Andrew Lesnie's lensing of the breathtaking New Zealand locations – but this middle instalment still fails to recapture the magic, the wonder and most importantly the heart of the 'Rings'.