I don't know if i ever thought that i would be able to go back to middle earth, i think i assumed that our cinematic journey was over, however, Peter Jackson developed the hobbit as a 3 part movie project, using the appendicies from The Return Of The King to fill out the story. The Desolation of Smaug picks up where An Unexpected Journey left off, with the dwarves and Bilbo, aided by Gandalf escaping the Orcs on their Wargs, and running into Beorn, a shapeshifter who takes form as a bear. The story then details their journey to the lonely mountain, and their attempt to take back the arkenstone, on the way they pass through Mirkwood, where they are attacked by spiders and orcs, trapped by elves and escape in some barrels, before entering Lake-Town, and attempting to reason with the treacherous master.
The film begins with a prologue, much like the Lord of the Rings films, and overall this film has much better pacing than the last film did, there are no silly pranks, no gags and the characters are not really introduced, i convinced myself when watching the last film that the extended introduction of the company of dwarves was needed to differenciate them, however i found when watching this film that i had forgotten the names of most of the dwarves, and that i didn't really care. The film feels action packed, and two minutes in we are already running from waargs and chasing bears. This film, for me, justifies turning this book into a trilogy, and even at two and a half hours long, it doesn't feel excessive. The action scenes are fantastic, and even though we haven't seen a real battle yet, the fight scenes between the elves and the orcs stand out, Tauriel is a fantastic addition to this story, the adds a much needed female character to the mix, and is a strong moral character, and a fantastic fighter.
The film looks absolutely fantastic, even better than the first, and the filmmakers have managed to find a way to tone down the cinematography, to stop everything looking so fake, one of the problems with the first movie is that it simply wasn't ready, and the CG characters looked like video game avatars, in this movie those characters look fantastic, tactile and ugly, with the orcs being particularly ferocious. The designs of these characters are also great, and some of the orcs even have their armor growing out of their skin like secateurs. The sets are what really stands out, the elven realm of mirkwood looks absolutely superb, it is a magnificently tall space featuring stairs and waterfalls, carved rock and huge chasms, the space is like a cathedral in it's majesty, and even though the space was certainly enhanced by CGI, the space feels real, and tactile. Lake-Town is also a masterpiece, this space was certainly a minature, as it again feels real and inhabited, the space is this trilogies Minas Tirith, a living, breathing city captured on film. The space is like a venice made entirely of wood, and it lives and breathes like a real city
Now we come to Smaug, played by Benedict Cumberbatch the character is ferocious, menacing and strangely human, the dragon has real character, and lives and breathes much in the same way that Gollum did, and visually he is an absolute delight, his scales are a burnished shade of blue, and his eyes are proud and strong, Smaug was created using motion capture, much like Gollum and is a technological marvel, much of the characters presence comes from this being a motion capture performance.
Overall i was very impressed with The Desolation of Smaug, this film alone justifies the series' expansion to three films, the movie is action packed and exciting, and is generally a fun time, the visuals are inspired and stunning, and the script is strong, the film offers deft performances from McKellen, Freeman and Armitage, Lee Pace is suitably menacing as Thranduil, and Evangeline Lilly adds a much needed female presence. The highlight of the film is undoubtedly the appearance of Smaug, and Benedict Cumberbatch is this films MVP, he no doubt deserves to be nominated for an oscar, the only shame is that he is ineligible! The Desolation Of Smaug is one hell of a fun ride.
Rating: A-
Thranduil:
Where does your journey end? You seek that which would bestow upon you
the right to rule. A quest to reclaim a homeland, and slay a dragon!
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