Peter Jackson breathes fire (and makes more magic) in the middle chapter of The Hobbit

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2014)

Just as I predicted, a middle chapter, like "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", that manages to be better this time around. As we all know back in 2012, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (or "snooze", if you didn't feel like sitting through another Middle-earth journey), we got to know Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield and the dwarfs as they go on their quest to destroy the vicious dragon Smaug and to reclaim the dwarfs' homeland of Erebor. As if we didn't know, but giving the fact that it is based on one whole book by J.R.R. Tolkien (Author of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), the first part of the three-part series took them on unexpected adventures and it felt kind of natural to see it come to life. Now we enter with "The Hobbit 2" or as we like to call it "The Desolation of Smaug" and thank Durin for Peter Jackson for bringing us a spectacular adventure that is magical, epic and sharp as a sword. Continuing on their Quest, Bilbo (the always reliable Martin Freeman), Thorin (Richard Armitage) and the dwarfs, including Balin (Ken Stott), Kili (Aidan Turner), Fili (Dean O'Gorman), Dwalin (Graham McTavish) and Bofur (James Nesbitt) are hiding from killer Orcs including Azog the Defiler (Manu Bennett) and their Wargs who wants nothing more than Thorin's head on something. Gandalf (The always remarkable Sir Ian McKellan) joins too, but goes away to search for more clues involving The Necromancer along with Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy). Along the way, as they make their way back to Erebor, Bilbo and the dwarfs encounter some wickedly dangerous spiders, Mirkwood Elves, including returning regular Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, and also traveling in a town full of Men called Lake-town before trying to reach the almighty dragon known as Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). When they go back to Erebor to find Smaug and the Dwarfs' heirloom known as the Arkenstone, you wouldn't believe me when I tell you that it's one of the most spectacular moments ever brought on film. Here's the thing: You have to wait 108 minutes of that to get to see Bilbo meeting the dragon. Other than the meeting with Gollum and a rather nasty run-in with three trolls, Bilbo seeing Smaug is one of the more iconic passages from the book. And Peter Jackson brings it to life, proving once again that he is a visual genius who refuses to back down and let the special effects, no matter how brilliant they are, tell the story. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" surprised me from beginning to end. It had to, despite the fact it's 8 minutes shorter than the first film and I still happen to be one of the skeptics who believes that 1 book does not create a trilogy of films. But having seen both of the films, I actually realized that, so far, they are not that bad. It breathes the story a bit more and the characters happen to grow a bit more stronger and the films tends to get a bit more darker while it happens to be lighter than "The Lord of the Rings". And while I admire Bilbo's bravery, Thorin's stubbornness and courage as well as developing some impressive leadership skills and Gandalf's wiseness (even though he has limited screen time than the rest), it's the supporting characters that gives "The Desolation of Smaug" a bit more sting, like Bilbo's sword. Lilly's Tauriel, a new addition to the film, is feisty, strong and rebellious and she's got a crush on Kili. Bloom as Legolas is awesome and is always good with a bow with arrows. Mikael Persbrandt drops by as Beorn, a skin-changer, a character I remembered very well from the book. And Stephen Fry commands his scenes as the likable but very corrupt Mayor of Lake-town. But for me, the scene-stealers are Lee Pace who is excellent as the Elvenking Thranduil, Legolas' father and Luke Evans (from "Immortals" and "Fast and Furious 6") who delivers a exceptional performance as Bard the Bowman, a character very expanded from the book, but amazingly, it works. I hope that everything falls into place when "The Battle of the Five Armies" hits theaters later this year and that it does not disappoint Tolkien enthusiasts and audiences who are so desperate to know what happens next, when it ends with a few wickedly stunning surprises and a cliffhanger so stunning that proves that when the time comes, all Hell will break loose. I'm so relieved that "The Hobbit" has managed to get an upgrade this time with the second chapter, and it's not just because of the awesome special effects, but those who love the story will get to see that there's a bit more heart and soul and that the magic of Middle-earth is not going anywhere. Plus, you get one cool barrel ride and some good Orc decapitations to go along with it.