Continues and Expands into new areas of Middle Earth

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2014)

The hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the fresh new film in the hobbit trilogy that follows Bilbo's adventure with the dwarfs to reclaim their homeland of erebor from the foursome dragon, Smaug.
Well, before I start I would like to point out that I did really really enjoy the first one so that probably tells you already that I thoroughly enjoyed the second one and would rank it on par with the first.
First, lets start with the changes from the book. There are several, yes but as i said in the first one, none detract from the story and only add to the epic, web of plots and story arcs that peter Jackson has created. Not only has he brought in classic characters from the book such as Bard the Bowman, Thranduil (the elven king) and Smaug. He has greatly developed the characters and enhanced the characteristics shown in the book to give them all fully-fledged personalities and help create tolkiens vision on screen.
I think, with regards to changes to the book, one must take a step back and realise that Peter Jackson is making some of these changes to appeal to a wider audience (people who haven't read the book). For example, (SPOILER) when the dwarfs have their showdown with the dragon at the end, which i will admit could of been a couple of minutes shorter, you must note that this happened purely to build upon the story and to make it more plausible to people who hadn't read the book. the dwarfs had travelled all the way across middle-earth so as a casual viewer, you would probably expect some sort of a showdown between them. You also have to remember that this film needed a climatic finale, as i don't think Bilbo talking to smaug would of satisfied the ending of an epic film such as this. My conclusion is that this and pretty much all other changes were justifiable and only add to the story.
The inclusion of Tauriel , as a female character was greatly welcomed and fit perfectly as an elf of mirkwood. Her and Legolas seemed to effortlessly kill orcs and you really get the sense that they had been doing it for years.
Overall, I had only 3 minor, very minor problems with the second instalment. problem 1: some areas of the romance between tauriel and kili were cringe-worthy and didn't feel right to me. Luckily, they decided not to make this element a major part of the film and this is easily forgettable. Problem 2 is the use of a particular type of camera in the barrel sequence. It seems to be a go-pro camera and whilst some thought it was "cool", i thought it had really bad quality, and didn't look right at all. Although, there are only 3 quick shots with this camera during the sequence, it doesn't work for me. However, the scene swiftly redeemed itself with a brilliant set piece with entertaining action. Truly, a highlight of the movie! My last problem was with the last action sequence with the dwarfs and Smaug. This is a really picky problem and I still believe this scene was relevant but maybe could of been drawn back a couple of minutes (not an exaggeration, literally only 5 minutes maximum).
There are so many good things about this movie and I will touch on the best of them briefly.
The barrel sequence. Probably, the best sequence in the movie. I love how peter Jackson took this iconic sequence in the book and adapted it into an action packed sequence, and see no shame in it at all. It is brilliant as so much is happening and features brilliant moments from Orland Bloom's Legolas, who has his usual Badassery.
Smaug. What can I say, Samug looks and sounds AMAZING. the CGI is as realistic as I've ever seen. They got his appearance and his size just right and the voice-over work from Benedict Cumberbatch is mixed perfectly to create an amazing voice for the creature. You truly have to hold your breath when Bilbo first see's him in Erebor.
Laketown, the set for Laketown was really impressive. you really got a feel for this struggling, worn and old town ruled over by Stephen Fry's the master, another character who's personality is envisioned in the film perfectly.
Lastly, Bilbo. As in the first film, Martin Freeman delivers another fantastic performance as Bilbo. Freeman perfectly captures the rings effect on Bilbo at the start of the film and his courage which has become more apparent since the end of the first film, and is even stated by Bilbo himself. What I especially like is, so far throughout the first two films, you can spot several moments where Bilbo is captivated by the world around him and is actually enjoying his adventure. For example, when he visits Rivendell, or where he gets a ride from the eagles. In this film, we see it when he pokes his head above the tree's in Mirkwood. These are the moments that define Bilbo's change in character and whether intentional or not, they are brilliant to watch!
There is more I could talk about, but I wont bore you with my Fandom! The bottom line is that Desolation of Smaug retains its charm from the first film and explores new areas of middle earth with magnificence. This film definitely builds tension for the final film and in general, is a very entertaining film for all ages.