Great fun, but again, I ask: WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE SO LONG?!

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2014)

"The Lord of the Rings" are not just some of the best fantasy films of all time, but three of the greatest films of all time. Period. Jackson's return to Middle-Earth in "An Unexpected Journey" was an enjoyable time, but suffered because of its length, pacing, and effects. Now we have "The Desolation of Smaug", Jackson's second installment in his new "Hobbit" trilogy.
There's much improvement in this film from "Journey", especially in terms of pacing. "Journey" took a little too long to get going, but in "Desolation" you are launched immediately into the action. This film is also a bit darker from the first, with the threat of war beginning to reveal itself.
The casting is still top notch. Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, and Richard Armitage do a great job in their respective roles, as they did in the first film. Jackson also does a lot better with identifying the other 12 dwarfs in this film, though some of them still aren't quite too developed. And the newest additions to the cast are great, as well, particularly Benedict Cumberbatch as the dragon, Smaug, and the Necromancer.
The problems with this film are still ones that arise from the first film. Why does "The Hobbit" need to be split into 3 movies, each with a 2 1/2 to 3 hour length? If you want to make it a trilogy, by all means, do it. But they don't need to be that long! You can justify that sort of length in "The Lord of the Rings" because they are suppose to be these huge, epic movies. But "The Hobbit" was meant to be a children's story.
The effects in this movie have improved slightly over the first film. The crowning achievement in the movie is definitely the dragon. But the orcs still look really fake in this movie and there's a couple of scenes that you can tell they use too much green screen. This is a huge disappointment, especially considering that "The Lord of the Rings" had so many practical effects that made it look great.
Final verdict: "The Desolation of Smaug" does a much better job of telling the story of "The Hobbit" than its predecessor. It's fun, exciting, and makes for a good time in the theater. But the problems that plagued the first film sadly follow into this second installment, which prevents it from becoming a truly great fantasy film like "The Lord of the Rings".