The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (’13 review)

4 outta 5

While one may debate the logic in expanding a single novel of The Hobbit into three plus sized movies, even when one is drawing from as dense a writer as J.R.R. Tolkien, there is comfortable enjoyment in returning to the same world that Director Peter Jackson has immersed himself and the audience in for years.  Oodles of adventuring is to be had in the second instalment The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug which is generally peppier than An Unexpected Journey.  Not being as good as one of the Lord of the Rings instalments is hardly fair to hold against the movie since there’s a lot to enjoy in this experience. 

Hobbit of the Shire Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) has acquired a magic invisibility ring which is helping his job as a burglar for a company of dwarves led by Thorin (Richard Armitage) who want to reclaim their lost riches from the deadly dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch).  Their assistant wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) is unable to assist them any further as he’s called away to deal with a simmering menace that is gathering evil for a sinister purpose.  This leads to the adventurers promptly being captured by Elves as one of the dwarves, Kili (Aidan Turner), makes love-struck googly eyes at his captor, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), which angers her boss and potential romantic interest, Legolas (Orlando Bloom).  But soon the crew sets out for the Misty Mountains and the fire-breathing monster that Biblo has to confront alone. 

There are a lot vague portents about the return of the big bad Sauron who was the glowing eye in the Rings flicks.  Unfortunately, a lot of dramatic power robbed from these moments because we already know that Sauron lives to fight another day in the Rings trilogy.  Even the nasty pale Orc who menaced the dwarves in Journey farms out evil to a subordinate and basically spends the flick hanging out in a dark castle with a shadow that bosses him around.  Still if you just want some creepy FX magic with Gandalf fighting an unseen ghostly spirit, you’ll get it.

While it takes about two hours for Smaug to show up it’s really great when he’s finally unleashed.  Unlike dragons which just growl and breathe fire (don’t worry, this one does too) he’s a rather chatty sort.  Smaug is immense but moves with a serpentine slickness, pontificating on his greatness and menacingly intoning he can fry the small mammals in a single breath. 

One disappointment is that Biblo is mostly tagging along while various sub-plots battle for dominance which is a tad odd considering the movie is named after him.  When Freeman gets to do stuff he’s really fun even in bits where he doesn’t say anything and just reacts.  Freeman is talented at comedy and drama and gets to use both skillsets here, a standout being when the Dwarves are trapped by spiders and only Biblo can save them. This scene ends on a really cool note where he temporarily loses his ring and freaks out ending with a definitive pronouncement of “Mine!” and it’s a moment that resonates later in the Rings trilogy. While being sidelined for most of the running time, he gets back into the forefront with the confrontation with Smaug and the whole sequence wouldn’t nearly work as well as it does without his energetic performance.

Returning series vets McKellen and Bloom acquit themselves well, McKellen gets to spit out those odd-sounding Mordor words that even if you have no idea what he’s saying he still sounds cool saying it.  Legolas is slightly different from the adventurer we saw in the Rings movies; here he’s basically an Elf Cop which adds a layer to a thinly sketched character from the later movies.  Hopefully there will be an explanation how he turned himself around.  In the end, Bloom manages to pull of his job of looking cool while shooting arrows.  New series addition Lilly is caught in a love-triangle which is odd considering Lilly on “Lost” was also in a love triangle.  Maybe she writes it into her contract.  There is also a supporting character that lives in the town played by Luke Evans who isn’t all that interesting.  He glowers a lot and comes off as a cut-rate Aragon. 

The movie hits a lull in the middle but, thankfully, the inventive action beats that surround it are awesome.  The aforementioned conflicts with spiders and dragons deliver lots of crunch which look great in 3D.  There is a moment where the heroes ride rapids in barrels, careening through hordes of Orcs and one shot where a dwarf rolls down a hillside, smashes a dozen bad guys, then pops weapons out of the sides of the barrel is Jackson at his inventive, insane finest. 

Previous instalments had a complete feel to each film, the Two Towers is the best example a self-contained middle entry, but this ends on an unresolved cliff-hanger.   It’s compelling if not conclusive but it’ll make you want to see There And Back Again next year.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug may be scattered and incomplete but it’s a pretty enjoyable journey.