The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
3/4
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace and the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch
Rated PG-13 for Extended Sequences of Intense Fantasy Action Violence, and for Frightening Images
When news came out that Peter Jackson was finally going to make "The Hobbit," the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings," fans were extremely excited. Then the news came that it would be split in two, which raised the eyebrows of many. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that it would be split into three films, which annoyed just about everyone. Jackson and New Line Cinema claimed it was so they could insert J.R.R. Tolkien's ideas for the story that never made it into the book, the public still felt screwed. They had to pay three times and wait three years to see the whole story. That made sense for the trilogy, since it was based on three books, but "The Hobbit" is a much shorter story.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" was the realization of fans' fears: it was a needlessly padded version of the first third of the story that had long stretches of boredom. Even with the bloated running length tossed aside, it still wasn't nearly as good as the original trilogy (I've watched the Blu Ray special extended version and was never bored for a moment).
Part two, "The Desolation of Smaug," rectifies this problem for the most part, mainly because all of the set-up is complete. We're finally getting into the meat of the story. I'm not saying that there are some stretches of time that should have been excised, but this installment doesn't drag as much.
After a short story that takes place before the first film, the story picks up where Jackson left us a year ago. Bilbo Baggins (Freeman), Gandalf the Grey (McKellan) are journeying to the Lonely Mountain with a group of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage), who are trying to take back their homeland from Smaug the Dragon (Cumberbatch). Their journey is not without trials. They have to convince the arrogant Elf-King Thranduil (Pace) to give them passage. And they have to do the same in Laketown.
The plot sometimes gets repetitive, but Jackson keeps things moving for the most part. The action scenes are exciting (Jackson has uncanny skill in crafting them). The best one in my opinion takes place in a river; it's a lot of fun and at times hilarious.
The cast from the first film slides easily back into their roles. The new additions are, unfortunately, on the weak side. Lee Pace is uneven as Thranduil; usually he's effective but there are definitely some stiff moments in his portrayal. Still, he gets us to hate him, although he doesn't seem to glide like Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving and Liv Tyler did in the original trilogy. Speaking of Bloom, he's disappointing as well, although the writing is as much at fault as his performance. Bloom may never be a great actor (although he's not nearly as bad as people claim), but he was terrific in the original trilogy. But little of Legolas's warmth has returned; he's a cold and heartless Elf. Evangeline Lilly gives the best performance of the three, but she pales in comparison to Liv Tyler.
Peter Jackson's visual sense is as amazing as his storytelling ability, but neither skill is as good as we've come to expect. The story is interesting, but it's just not as compelling as "The Lord of the Rings." The quest to for a group of dwarves (plus a wizard and a Hobbit) to oust a fearsome dragon just isn't as gripping as a quest to defeat all evil that involves a whole fantasy world. Jackson tries to open it up as much as possible, but it's fundamentally a different story. The decision to turn it into a grand epic hurts the film.
The visuals are also an issue. In the original trilogy, Middle Earth came alive. We felt as if we were there. Every time I watch it I want to just touch the screen and get sucked into that Jackson's world. That doesn't happen here. The visuals, while being more detailed, are also less convincing. Every frame in "The Lord of the Rings" seemed real, not CGI. The orcs seemed like real creatures. That's not the case here. It's all CGI, and it couldn't be more obvious. Whether it was because Jackson played with the frame rate (although I saw it in IMAX 3D, which is supposedly at normal speed), it's weird watching it. This was a problem with the first one too, by the way.
Nothing I can say will change anyone's mind if they're going to see it (or not see it). But these are my thoughts about the film, and hopefully they'll give you an idea of what to expect.
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace and the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch
Rated PG-13 for Extended Sequences of Intense Fantasy Action Violence, and for Frightening Images
When news came out that Peter Jackson was finally going to make "The Hobbit," the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings," fans were extremely excited. Then the news came that it would be split in two, which raised the eyebrows of many. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that it would be split into three films, which annoyed just about everyone. Jackson and New Line Cinema claimed it was so they could insert J.R.R. Tolkien's ideas for the story that never made it into the book, the public still felt screwed. They had to pay three times and wait three years to see the whole story. That made sense for the trilogy, since it was based on three books, but "The Hobbit" is a much shorter story.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" was the realization of fans' fears: it was a needlessly padded version of the first third of the story that had long stretches of boredom. Even with the bloated running length tossed aside, it still wasn't nearly as good as the original trilogy (I've watched the Blu Ray special extended version and was never bored for a moment).
Part two, "The Desolation of Smaug," rectifies this problem for the most part, mainly because all of the set-up is complete. We're finally getting into the meat of the story. I'm not saying that there are some stretches of time that should have been excised, but this installment doesn't drag as much.
After a short story that takes place before the first film, the story picks up where Jackson left us a year ago. Bilbo Baggins (Freeman), Gandalf the Grey (McKellan) are journeying to the Lonely Mountain with a group of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage), who are trying to take back their homeland from Smaug the Dragon (Cumberbatch). Their journey is not without trials. They have to convince the arrogant Elf-King Thranduil (Pace) to give them passage. And they have to do the same in Laketown.
The plot sometimes gets repetitive, but Jackson keeps things moving for the most part. The action scenes are exciting (Jackson has uncanny skill in crafting them). The best one in my opinion takes place in a river; it's a lot of fun and at times hilarious.
The cast from the first film slides easily back into their roles. The new additions are, unfortunately, on the weak side. Lee Pace is uneven as Thranduil; usually he's effective but there are definitely some stiff moments in his portrayal. Still, he gets us to hate him, although he doesn't seem to glide like Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving and Liv Tyler did in the original trilogy. Speaking of Bloom, he's disappointing as well, although the writing is as much at fault as his performance. Bloom may never be a great actor (although he's not nearly as bad as people claim), but he was terrific in the original trilogy. But little of Legolas's warmth has returned; he's a cold and heartless Elf. Evangeline Lilly gives the best performance of the three, but she pales in comparison to Liv Tyler.
Peter Jackson's visual sense is as amazing as his storytelling ability, but neither skill is as good as we've come to expect. The story is interesting, but it's just not as compelling as "The Lord of the Rings." The quest to for a group of dwarves (plus a wizard and a Hobbit) to oust a fearsome dragon just isn't as gripping as a quest to defeat all evil that involves a whole fantasy world. Jackson tries to open it up as much as possible, but it's fundamentally a different story. The decision to turn it into a grand epic hurts the film.
The visuals are also an issue. In the original trilogy, Middle Earth came alive. We felt as if we were there. Every time I watch it I want to just touch the screen and get sucked into that Jackson's world. That doesn't happen here. The visuals, while being more detailed, are also less convincing. Every frame in "The Lord of the Rings" seemed real, not CGI. The orcs seemed like real creatures. That's not the case here. It's all CGI, and it couldn't be more obvious. Whether it was because Jackson played with the frame rate (although I saw it in IMAX 3D, which is supposedly at normal speed), it's weird watching it. This was a problem with the first one too, by the way.
Nothing I can say will change anyone's mind if they're going to see it (or not see it). But these are my thoughts about the film, and hopefully they'll give you an idea of what to expect.
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