Much more LotR-esque!

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2013)

MILD SPOILERS! For me there were three issues with An Unexpected Journey, first, the uneven pacing, second, the silly tone, and third, bloodless swords and weapons (which for whatever reason just irritates me in many a fantasy movies, but hey, Lord of the Rings had bloody weapons). As far as I'm concerned, all was fixed in The Desolation of Smaug, except maybe the latter even though the violence is really ramped up here. After seeing it last night I've come up with two things that I really disliked, though one is minor; first, there are some terrible GoPro POV style shots in the water with the barrels, and second, Azog and now Bolg, are simply pitiful villains. But really, this was so much better than the first and more akin to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I adore.
My favorite scenes were all the stuff with Gandalf in Dul Guldur, just badass, and also Smaug and Bilbo, very tense actually, I thought. Oh also, the scene where a baby spider gets close to the ring and Bilbo goes crazy on it, good stuff. Beorn was pretty cool too, and I wish we spent a bit more time with him. A lot more character development with the dwarfs (and others) happens here too, I still wish Bofur would speak in Dwarvish though! Another plus, multiple stories/perspectives! I think that's something that was also probably sorely missing in An Unexpected Journey. So yes, the dwarfs get split up, there's Tauriel and Legolas, Bard, Gandalf, and Bilbo separated with Smaug for a time. It made things all the more grand. Last bit, this is much darker too. More violence, darker themes, and even a literal darker colour palette, which I really prefer, as stated.
The Fellowship of the Ring: 9.0 The Two Towers: 8.9 The Return of the King: 9.5 An Unexpected Journey: 8.3 The Desolation of Smaug: 9.2
A very solid second entry, I and many others are eagerly awaiting There and Back Again! Hopefully it is as great!