Finally .. Peter Jackson finds his inner .. Peter Jackson

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2013)

After the disappointing first entry in the new trilogy -- which should been titled "Everything you Ever Wanted to Know About A Hobbitt's Larder, and shown on the Cooking Channel -- Jackson reminds us he is the man who, after all, did Lord of the Rings. Part II is everything Part 1 was not -- a non-stop adventure that compares with the best rides at Disneyworld, especially in 3D. The barrel scene is unforgettable. Smaug clearly has Shakespearean training -- a very educated dragon, he -- and Cumberbatch does a better job here than in Star Trek; Ian McKellen was born to play Gandolf, there is no makeup on earth than can substitute for a face with life experience. This was an almost perfect film, save for the last 60 seconds, when they essentially advertise the next instalment. In 3D raindrops are as big as bees and bees as big as raindrops. And, no charge, a love story too. Wow.