Peter Jackson at his Best

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2013)

Having read the original book, I went into this film with mixed feelings about Peter Jackson adding characters such as Legolas into the story. However, the changes and additions to the plot worked perfectly and flowed smoothly. Overall, the film had a great pace and really embraced the world of Middle Earth. Like the LOTR trilogy, the second film in this series was much more exciting and fast paced than the first. Smaug was excellent and Benedict Cumberbatch was perfect for the role. While I thought the reveal of Sauron was creative and unique, I feel like it could have been saved for the next film. Although there are some minor points in the film that didn't seem to work, I gave the film a 10/10 because it truly brought the viewer into the world of Middle Earth. In addition, making a small children's book into three films is an achievement that few people can accomplish, yet Peter Jackson shows that he is fully capable of such a task. After seeing the film, I am no longer asking myself "how are they going to spread this story out over three movies?" but rather, "how are they going to finish this story in only three movies?"