The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2014)

Okay part 2 of Peter Jackon's second Middle-Earth trilogy. So The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug continues the story of Bilbo Baggins who joins a company of thirteen dwarfs in order to reclaim their homeland from Smaug the terrible. Okay, so how was The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug? AMAZING! I could not believe the sheer amount of impact this film had given me when I walked out of the cinema. I have seen the film twice now, and I can safely say that I was very impressed. Having read the book, the filmmakers have split this film appropriately. I think that The Desolation of Smaug was probably the trickiest of the 3 to make because there's no beginning or end, it's the middle of a trilogy which is one story. From beginning to end this film really keeps you interested. The pace is surprisingly brisk for a film that is 2hrs 41min and only covers about 6 or 7 chapters of 1 book. Also the added material that isn't in the book really gives the story more detail and also ties into The Lord of the Rings. Also The Desolation of Smaug has a lot more action than An Unexpected Journey. I loved the spiders scene, that was just tense. What impressed me about that scene was Bilbo(Martin Freeman) and how he realises just what the ring can do. It gave me chills. Also the barrels scene is extremely exciting accompanied by Howard Shore's brilliant score. I laughed when Bombur's barrel knocks around on the land and he starts spinning around fighting the Orcs. The sets are gorgeous and I love the visual style of the film. Also Orlando Bloom returns as Legolas which makes sense because his father is Thranduil who is the elven king during the time line of The Hobbit and it also adds a lot of nostalgia for The Lord of the Rings fans. And Legolas contributes heavily in a lot of the action sequences in the film. Also we have some new characters. The main one is Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lily. Who does a good job with what she has to do here. It seems she is just shoehorned in as a love interest for Kili. However, the love story is handled well enough and doesn't come across as forced.Also Luke Evans plays Bard who is good also and Stephen Fry plays the Master of Lake-Town and he is far to brief in my opinion. Another brief character is Beorn who had a much more longer section in the book, I hope the extended edition adds more of Beorn. The highlights of the film are definitely the scenes with Smaug, played brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch. The scenes are really tense and Smaug's voice is really booming. Smaug could quite possibly be one of the best villains of movie history. The climax goes on a bit, but that's good in my opinion because it cannot just be a 2 minute throw down, it needs to be big and spectacular which it is. And the very last scene is tense with Smaug's lines and him flying towards Lake-Town and by the time the credits appear, I think everyone, or most people, wanted to see more. Also Ed Sheeran's song "I See Fire", is very good and fits well with the film. Overall, I loved The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug it was incredible. My favourite film of 2013. The acting was fabulous, the action was spectacular.Howard Shore's musical score was phenomenal. The visuals were fantastic. Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug killed it. It was better than The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey. The pace is extremely brisk which is impressive considering the length of the film. A film that I will remember for many years to come. I am very much looking forward to The Hobbit:There and Back Again and I will be stunned if Peter Jackson and co can top this. Bring on There and Back Again! :)
The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug-10/10 :D AMAZING piece of film!