Well this was definitely better than the first Hobbit film as there was no hour long goblin chase scene. I found the movie to be pretty enjoyable particularly the dynamic scenes between Smaug and Bilbo, and the extended character development of Bilbo and Thorin. The action was great fun although drawn out and unrealistic/ridiculous at times (like all Peter Jackson films). Someone just has to get Peter Jackson a damn editor already. I honestly don't know what other scenes he could possibly add on to a Special Edition version (but I know that he probably has a million). Still, I'll be ready for my final trip back to Middle Earth next year.
A HUGE Lord of The Rings fan here! and I have mixed feelings about this movie just like the previous The Hobbit movie.
Let's start with the positive points:
The Acting, it's fantastic and Martin Freeman once again kills it as Bilbo and he is just so fun to watch on the screen and everyone else is great. Gandalf is a huge badass (no surprise there,, this is the same old guy that stood up to the Balrog and said You Shall Not Pass).
The Dragon is awesome and Benedict Cumberpatch is awesome, his voice is amazing and Benedict and Martin together in any scene will make me happy ! The dragon looks majestic and everything worked with that dragon.. honestly it made the movie 10x times better.
The music is great (it's Howard Shore). Some of the action sequences are amazing (the mirkwood spiders, the Barrel scene)
Also the subplot with Gandalf and the Necromancer is actually interesting.
(Lee Pace as Elvenking just decapitating that Orc was so beautiful I can't describe it!)
Then for the negatives:
it's too LONG! and this is not just me saying, anyone who saw this movie says this, it is very long and thus so many and I mean SO MANY useless fillers are thrown in there that just decreases the quality of the movie, they do so much harm!
That Romance is stupid and should NOT have been there, I would have liked it a bit if it was with Legolas and added a bit to his character but nope that Elf is just in love with that dwarf..
The Lake Town people and that useless hate for Bard is incredibely useless.
The dwarves trying to kill a FIRE BREATHING dragon by molten gold is stupid.
Too much CGI and Green screen, as I rewatched this movie I realized that the CGI in the Lord of The Rings was better than this and that was 13 years before this movie, I don't like CGI Azog or Bolg or just CGI orc in general.
Azog is still a subplot that I didn't like.
So these are just the Important stuff that I had to say!
(and Legolas seems to defy Physics.. doesn't matter he's cool LOL)
What a waste of time. And budget. I mean it looks fantastic for the most part. Especially the barrel chase scene is innovative (it's like the highway chase in matrix - just with barrels in white water). And the Scrooge McDuck scene ain't bad either (That's again Wagner basically - as if LotR were not enough Wagner already). And the elves' close quarters fighting scene are of dare-devilish quality. It's still stupid though. The dwarves are to often clowns - can't they be fierce warriors or wise sages? And they still travel from one repetitive adventure to another. It's not as bad of an itinerary that was the first movie, but it's still not awesome given the money they have have spent. It's way too long.
PS: it's as shame what they do with female characters here. These nerds just don't know how to feature an independent strong woman with an ambition on her own and freed from old-fashioned role models.
More excitement! More fun! This sequel is just as much of a blast as its predecessor. Some fans may be disappointed with the Empire Strikes Back-style cliffhanger ending, though.
Content Concerns: Fantasy violence throughout, scary creatures (goblins, orcs, etc.), one or two brief crude remarks, use of magic, etc. Take the "PG-13" rating seriously.
9/10
Better than the first part of the movie and definitely more exciting and had a lovely flow to it. I definitely had a very good and fun time with this part of the movie.
For me as always the Elves stole the show and I could definitely watch a hole spinoff with the Elves as the main focus because they are totally frickin awesome and let's face it cool AF.
I could watch Hope/Kate being a badass as an Elf all day she stole every scene.
Smuag was Awesome and definitely was an
AVENGERS-LEVEL THREAT.... and the action and pacing in this part of the movie was Epic and relentless which definitely worked for me.
Side note the special effects are amazing and definitely worthy of the budget spent.
I'm finding that I'm actually enjoying "The Hobbit" series more than I did the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I think I can attribute that to the casting of Martin Freeman as "Bilbo". He is a much more enjoyable character than Frodo and Elijah Wood's portrayal of him. Sure,the two have different personalities and one is much more influenced by the Ring than the other, but I'm finding Freeman's Bilbo to be endlessly entertaining. Not to mention how wonderful Ian McKellen remains as Gandalf.
I do prefer Gimli and Aragorn from the "Rings" trilogy to the Dwarves of the "Hobbit", but the adventure to reclaim the Dwarve kingdom of Erebor is less dark than the quest to destroy the Ring in the previous series.
Now, I can't leave out the best thing about "The Desolation of Smaug". Yes, I'm taking about Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel. Wait...no I'm kidding. Don't get me wrong. It is great to see her getting a regular gig again after "Lost". No, the real star of the show is the amazing Smaug the Dragon. I was just in awe of how great Smaug looked. It was practically giant monster porn for me and if you've ever read any of my other comments on movies, you know I love me some monsters, kaiju, whatever you want to call them. The dragon in "Dragonslayer" was great and so were the beasts in "Reign of Fire", but none of them compare with Smaug. And then to top it off, they cover him in gold. It was just plain awesome.
There is much more CGI in these "Hobbit" films than there were in the "Rings" trilogy but that's just a sign of the times. The CGI in this film is distracting at times, but not as distracting as a movie rooted in gritty realism like "Non-Stop" and it's faked jetliner. I'm actually kind of fond of the CGI used in "The Hobbit" series because it's giving us some amazing monsters. The giant spiders, the "man-bear", the Orcs, Smaug...there's a lot for a monster-loving moviegoer to enjoy.
There were some great action scenes including a raging river chase with Dwarves in barrels and naturally, the battle with Smaug. A few scenes dragged on a bit and I was bothered by some lesser quality CGI-generated Elves. I'm also becoming more and more annoyed by absolutely zero Dwarves getting killed or even injured during all of these battles. It's almost to the point where the suspense is non-existent. Oh sure, there are thrilling sequences, but it seems none of the good guys are ever truly in danger. It's sort of like watching Superman. You know no harm can really come to him.
Regardless, "The Desolation of Smaug" exceeded my expectations and contrary to what I had anticipated, I am looking forward to seeing "The Battle of the Five Armies" as soon as I can.
Smaug carries this film the rest falls a little flat
Seen it twice, second one as an extended edition. We can't say it's excellent part, but we can say it's good filling between beginning and the final part.
Extended version, I liked it more than when I saw it in the Cinema, although it has too long scenes, if I know what is the extended
The film that almost made 3 Hobbit films necessary.
Again, not a bad movie by any means. I´ve read neither The Hobbit nor LotR so I don´t compare and demand. But I am just not feeling it the way I felt the LotR movies.
Just watched the extended version and honestly here the extended parts were needed imao compared to in the LOTR trilogy. I liked this second part a lot more than the first for some reason. However, this just like the first one has parts that completely fall into the uncanny valley which really turns me off and makes it look like it was made in the same era as farscape(99). The lord of the rings did not have that problem of falling into the uncanny valley and never looked plastic/rubbery. Why this problem exists sounds like other people have a way better understanding than me so read their comments but when I watched this I could clearly see a set and not a living real environment in some scenes :| In this one in the woods when they are crossing the river everything looks way too much like rubber and plastic which is such a shame. The spider scene however is one of my favorites. As I have posted on the first Hobbit they reuse sound effects too much here as well which also puts it down in the uncanny valley when I've already heard and know some effects from the lord of the rings. One thing that also put it in the uncanny valley and made it almost feel home made was the use of some kind of go pro type of camera when going down in the barrels as some sort of first person view. You know, those kind of detail errors I never found in the LOTR. I mean the worst i can recall from LOTR was that the supposed dead orcs moved in some shots but it was not as obvious as some of the visual problems we've seen in these Hobbit movies like others have mentioned as well.
Marathon
Creo la versión extendida de nuevo completa y hace más redonda la historia. Un acierto el poder a ver al padre de nuevo, para explicar mejor la lucha de Gandalf y sobretodo el por qué iba allí.
Autumn is entering its final days :o
WINTER IS COMING
the end left me thinking, I think that the dragon will kill everyone and how they will go stop it , and there cuts and the end :)
Great acting, voices, and special effects. Benedict really stole the show - great voice! I did miss Bilbo's perspective though.
Some things stopped me of going to watch The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug since December when it was released, today at the first visit to the cinema this year I finally saw it! I've been reading some mixed reviews about it but it my opinion it gave me the exact amount of fun that the first one did and it continues to be an extraordinary very well crafted film.
I never read any of the LOTR books or The Hobbit book so probably I am not so demanding as some of the people that read them because I don't have nothing to compare it with.
The amount of CGI is huge but I really don't mind with that when it's very well done and that's the case. The action scenes are absolutely amazing, even better than in the first Hobbit film and I have to mention especially the absolutely fantastic barrel chase sequence! It was awesome! Overall, an exciting adventure!
I absolutely loved it, it was excellent! I can't wait for The Hobbit: There and Back Again.
Smaug is by far the best rendered character of the film, which isn't such a great thing. The film is overall quite pleasing and enteral raining, however.
Never have I seen such an open ending 0_o
Tolkien fans are in an odd situation when trying to rate Peter Jackson's work after Lord of the Rings. Personally, I have established two different rating systems to compare his work to. One rating is in comparison to all other movies on the market, the other rating is relative to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This might be unfair as explained later. He did however inadvertently raise the bar for epic fantasy movies by creating a masterpiece like Lord of the Rings, so it seems necessary to separate his own work from the remainder.
Without a doubt, the first Hobbit installment fell short of the high expectations people came to have from Peter Jackson, with regards to the Tolkien universe, but people, and myself included, probably expected another Lord of the Rings movie, not a movie based on an entirely different book, originally written for children with obviously a very different pacing. Comparing it however to other fantasy/adventure movies, it's still an amazing film, despite it's slower pace and less epic dialog.
The second, much shorter, Hobbit installment was much more action-oriented and therefore had a faster pace, hence why people and myself included rate this movie to be, perhaps unfairly, better than the first one. We also see previously unseen areas of Middle Earth like Mirkwood and it's also explained why Gandalf is quite traumatized at the very beginning of "Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring" when Frodo tells Gandalf to take the ring himself, after which Gandalf tells him with great fear in his eyes, that this ring has even too much power for him to wield. The epic battle between powerhouse Gandalf and Sauron instilled so much fear and respect into Gandalf "The Grey", that this memory stayed with him all the way into the "Lord of the Rings".
In true Jackson fashion, "Desolation of Smaug" ended with a cliffhanger and left fans yearning for more.
Once the entire Hobbit trilogy has been released, I believe fans will judge the first part more favourably and history will smile upon him kindly. The third and final movie will set the overall tone and explain certain dynamics like pacing, which were not understood yet by the time the first movie was released. I trust Jackson to pull it off.
9/10 compared to other movies
9/10 compared to Lord of the Rings.
PS: One barrel to rule them all :D
I really, really loved the adventure and excitement with the film. What I saw and experienced was outstanding, it took me away for near 3hrs and in 3D at that! Very well done.
I laughed out loud during the 'barrels down the river-falls' scenes, the quirky-fun way the dwarfs defended themselves and others. Clumsy and victorious at the same time! I'm sure you'll love this part as well.
While you don't get to see Gandalf (Ian McKellen) that much, you know he's always got something up his overly long sleeve. The mystery remains, just when you think he's down, magic!
“I am Fire. I am Death.”
Smaug was enchanting, smart, cunning and fearless. Oh, & BIG! Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug's voice is fantastic! He must have had a lot of fun doing that. Great casting and part. But I want more!
The Elves Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), are just about all action! As always in Tolkien's vision, elves are far and beyond the best of skilled fighters and bowmen/bow-women. To me there can be no other Legolas but Orlando and now with Evangeline's casting, both are spot on and you'll really like what they bring to the screen and story.
Sauron's evil is here and he means business! The All-Seeing Eye is revealed, now you'll know the Necromancer (Benedict also does the voice here too). For some reason, AC/DC's "Evil Walks" song was playing in my head!
.....
This is high adventure at it's finest, while not perfect, it's a film that took me away and into its story telling and fantasy. That's why I enjoy going to the movies, for a fun, good time and to disconnect. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was just the ticket on this hectic week before Christmas! Go see it and don't take the cons/bad reviews you read/hear about the film too seriously, otherwise you'll sit and think about those and miss out on the journey and adventure (there's that word again), it certainly, to me at least, didn't feel like I sat there for 2 hours & 41 minutes, I was engrossed throughout.
9 out of 10 stars from me.
It was a good movie. I was enjoying almost all the time. But only the end of the movie I thought, this is Indiana Jones kkk haha but it is really good
After a fun opening film that is flawed chiefly because it retreads much of the ground covered in The Fellowship of the Ring, the second in the Hobbit trilogy is the shortest of Jackson's visits to Middle Earth and has a much stronger pace to it. Here also is a chance to develop areas of Middle Earth largely unseen until now and the peerless design and location work of the film continue to amaze - the elf kingdom of Mirkwood, Laketown and, of course, Erebor chief highlights. The inclusion of elements not in the book are largely successful. Gandalf's investigations are fun, although chiefly designed to tie this trilogy to the Rings saga rather than form a part of the Hobbit trilogy. Legolas' inclusion and the creation of another elf, Tauriel, however is surprisingly well integrated and more than simply a cameo. The set piece action sequences are also much stronger - with no epic battle to rely on, Jackson seems to have upped his game - the chase along the river is great fun, as is the Dwarves' attempts to outwit the dragon under the mountain. Freeman also continues to impress and his confrontation with Smaug is a notable highlight of the film. It is a shame then that Jackson chooses to end this so abruptly, rather than at a natural resting point in the story, a departure from all the previous films and no doubt a result of breaking the films into three.
I loved the movie. The main quality is the quality :-). All scenes are just beautiful from visual perspective. It is amazing how detailed and alive some of the scenes are. The towns are just incredible.
I liked the addition of Tauriel (not in the books, but played by Evangeline Lilly from Lost :) ) i cant help it but the movie needed female character, and she was cool choice (but i admit i have weak spot for her :) )
Main disadvantage of the movie is the length and being 3 part. Which on other had lets you have longer time on those beautiful scenes, this is for me double edged :)
you can't end a film like this :O
Weak and drawn out compared even to the first one.
Things I liked:
* Trippin' in Mirkwood,
* Barrel-ride,
* Lake-town,
* Dialog between Bilbo and Smaug
Things I disliked:
* NO SONGS!!1!
* 3 of the 5 major plot points are rushed through, culminating in a drawn-out battle/chase scene at the end that, after a while, becomes boring and stretches the suspension of disbelieve to its breaking point
* the added female lead is only motivated by her affaction for two members of the male cast. If you can't handle realistic female characters than leave them out.
Also: HFR+4K+3D makes prostetics look like what they are: rubber :(.
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales, it's almost time for Dragon Tales...so come along, take my hand..Let's all go to Dragon Laaaaaaand!!!
Smaug is by far the best part of The Hobbit Trilogy. The ending is so unsatisfying. I get you want him in more movies but they really should of done it all in one movie so they don't kill the momentum. Still the scenes with Bilbo and Smaug are some of the best.
I enjoyed this one more than the 1st part. But on general: 3 movies is just too much for this story (or at least if they do it like this) and this reflects badly on scenes that are simply too long. Since the first movie simply covered less story, it tended to get very slow paced and kinda boring. The 2nd movie (luckily) covers a bigger part of the story, so this does not happen anymore. Or at least in a less obvious way. Soome action scenes are still too long, for example the barrel ride chase and the fight with Smaug.
Now here comes my critical disapproval (or the rant.)
I did not understand why, with so much time, they had to cut a lot of stories short or removed completly in favour of those long scenes. Beorn's story is cut so short that you barely get to know him (he was one of the characters I looked forward to the most.) The same goes for the conversations betweet Bilbo and Smaug. It now ended up being a massive chain of action events after the initial (good!) conversation, in stead of Biblo earning the respect of the dwarfs after stealing something from Smaug first. The dragon never met with Thorin as far as I know, and goes to laketown after Bilbo betrays his trust by stealing from him. Also, the dwarfs already learn about the ring after Bilbo saves them from the spiders in Mirkwood. Another crucial part in them getting to trust and respect him more. Thorin turning on Biblo had no emotional effect at all with the setting they chose to follow in the movie.
The one part where I thought Jackson did a good thing with expanding an unrelated story was with expelling the dark force (Sauron) from his hideout. This is barely mentioned in the book and imho merely an excuse for Gandalf to leave the party (since LOTR wasn't written yet.) In hindsight of the big LOTR trilogy Tolkien published later, and of course the movies, this is a nice extension in the story.
I did miss Saruman though, I thought all the wizards helped fight Sauron/The Necromancer and barely defeated him (but I can be wrong about that.) My point being, if P. Jackson wanted some awesome action, he just had to put an all out wizard fight in it, in stead of the 'itunes visuals' battle between Gandalf's light and Sauron's darkness.
Concluding; with 2,5 hours and 3 movies there is plenty of time to get these vital plot points in the movie. If they had placed more of the story in part 1 and leave out the completely irrelevant Elven women Tauriel for example. First use the crucial information, if you have screentime left after doing that, than expand scenes or throw in extra characters.
I have no idea how long those battle scenes are going to be in Part 3, since we only have the battle of Laketown and the battle of the 11 armies left, but I am afraid it is going to be a very different ending, or just a very stretched out (read: boring) one.
The main point Peter Jackson missed in this story, or so it seems, is that this is Bilbo's story, and not the story of a group of dwarves that coincidentally have a Hobbit in their midst.
Well, that's as much as the story goes, obviously that's my main point :P
Now on the the positive things:
Smaug was very well done, loved his voice and how he behaved. Great job. Really satisfactory how he turned out to be on screen. Loved every second of him. He is intelligent, cunning, strong, vengeful, selfish and greedy. Pretty much how I imagined him.
Martin Freeman was doing a fantastic job too, such a respite after 3 movies of Elijah Wood moaning. No flashbacks to Sherlock Holmes, where he does an amazing job as well.
And also the visuals and sound are top notch once again.
And that's the perfect example how film based on book missed with it ;)
Love the books, love the movies
gandalf takes up most of the space on the poster yet all he does is straight up dip from the quest unannounced just before the forest because he doesnt fuck with giant spiders. even in middle earth ian mckellan gives us relatable content
A thrilling and captivating addition to the Hobbit trilogy that surpasses its predecessor. From the opening scene to the final credits, the film maintains a gripping pace, making the nearly three-hour runtime fly by. The addition of new characters, such as Tauriel and Bard, injects fresh energy into the narrative and expands the already intricate web of relationships. Their interactions with familiar faces like Gandalf and the dwarves add depth to the story, making it a truly ensemble effort. The highlight of the film, undoubtedly, is the introduction of Smaug, the awe-inspiring dragon, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Overall, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug surpasses its predecessor, deepening the story, expanding the world of Middle-earth, and introducing us to compelling new characters. It strikes the perfect balance between action, adventure, and character-driven storytelling, making it a worthy installment in the Hobbit trilogy.
The second installment in the Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, follows Bilbo (Freeman), Gandalf (McKellen), and the dwarves as they continue their quest to the Lonely Mountain while being pursued by the evil computer-orc Azog the Defiler and his minions. Along the way, they encounter shape-shifting man-bear Beorn, giant spiders, and the Elf King, Thranduil, as well as the introduction of a ill-advised romantic triangle involving Kili, Tauriel, and Legolas. The mission to defeat the dragon Smaug and reclaim the dwarves' kingdom is further complicated by a resourceful Bard, a mean Mayor, and a sniveling not-Grima-Wormtongue-honest. The film's overall cinematography is great, but the new additions to the story, such as the barrel scene, fall flat and the CGI for the orcs and their ilk is unconvincing. Smaug, on the other hand, is well-done and Cumberbatch's voice-work is compelling. However, the love triangle and the overuse of Legolas detract from the film's overall appeal.
La segunda entrega de la trilogía El Hobbit, La desolación de Smaug, sigue a Bilbo (Freeman), Gandalf (McKellen) y los enanos mientras continúan su búsqueda hacia la Montaña Solitaria mientras son perseguidos por el malvado orco informático Azog el Profanador y sus secuaces En el camino, se encuentran con el hombre-oso Beorn que cambia de forma, arañas gigantes y el Rey Elfo, Thranduil, así como con la introducción de un triángulo romántico desacertado que involucra a Kili, Tauriel y Legolas. La misión de derrotar al dragón Smaug y recuperar el reino de los enanos se complica aún más por un bardo ingenioso, un alcalde malvado y un llorón que no es honesto con Grima. La cinematografía general de la película es excelente, pero las nuevas adiciones a la historia, como la escena del barril, fracasan y el CGI para los orcos y los de su clase no es convincente. Smaug, por otro lado, está bien hecho y el trabajo de voz de Cumberbatch es convincente. Sin embargo, el triángulo amoroso y el uso excesivo de Legolas restan valor al atractivo general de la película.
Missing alot of plot points from the books or just skipped right through them very quickly. This is true for most movie book adaptation. However as a movie itself disregarding the books it is still a good movie to watch
8.5/10 - Yeah, quite some action and a pretty nice story :)
Bilbo's ring is becoming quite useful for his quest.
I was super happy when Legolas appeared! He's so cool and badass :) Tauriel is also as cool and badass - and she also has a huge heart and empathy (unlike that Elfen king who isn't even really honest... :o).
Gandalf also had a few cool scenes with magic. I hope his fight against Sauron will be epic!
Thorin: "If this is to end in fire, then we will all burn together."
Smaug: "I am fire. I am death."
Bilbo: "What have we done?"
And then it ended with a huge cliffhanger... :o
At least we got "I see fire" from Ed Sheeran for the end credits - what a lovely song! <3
I genuinely enjoyed this one quite a lot. I know lots of people have issues with it but I couldn't really find any major faults.
The Hobbit
An Unexpected Journey (2012) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-2012
The Desolation of Smaug (2013) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-2013
The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies-2014
The barrel-ride scene was awesome! Slow and stretched yet an enjoyable sequel!
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is an epic fantasy adventure based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary classic. Bilbo Baggins’ tale continues as his company attempts to navigate the dangers of Mirkwood Forrest and sneak into Lonely Mountain. The storytelling is especially good, and is able to interweave several subplots. Additionally, the ensemble cast is quite impressive, and includes particularly strong performances from Evangeline Lilly and Orlando Bloom. The action sequences are also extraordinarily well-done, featuring incredibly dynamic and exciting fights and chases. Though it takes a few liberties with Tolkien’s original story, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug delivers a compelling tale of action and adventure.
Just like in the previous one there was only one great scene (the meeting with Gollum), this one's highlight is the last act when Smaug appears. The rest is pretty meh. A cover song, so to speak.
Still very good, but I found 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' to be a step below the preceding 2012 release.
The conclusion is what affects it the most, in my opinion. It isn't anything bad, but it goes on for too long - yet the ending itself comes out of nowhere a little. It's iffily crafted, with the entertainment value not enough to cover it up. Again, nothing anywhere near terrible... just not as great as I wanted/expected.
I also kinda wanted more scenes with Martin Freeman (Bilbo) across the midway point. I like the focus on Richard Armitage (Thorin) & Co. but I felt there needed to be more with the lead - and with Ian McKellen (Gandalf), for that matter.
I've led with my negatives first, but I have many positives too. I enjoyed the scenes in Esgaroth with Luke Evans (Bard), all of the stuff there looks awesome. The character of Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly, is cool. Orlando Bloom (Legolas) remains fun to watch. Everything else, including the score, is very nicely done - as anticipated.
Love the end credits song ("I See Fire") by Ed Sheeran, by the way. Not quite as grand and great as "May It Be" from LOTR, but it's pretty close!
You can start to see the cracks in this movie, but still worth a watch if you like middle earth
It's beautiful, fun, exciting, funny, could have done with less goof rube goldberg action sequences, pretty much the same across the trilogy.... I think I've said this before.
Just finished whole trilogy (TLOTR as well) latest release in 4K HDR and I've to admit it's outstanding... one of the best 4K releases I saw. Especially if compare to SDR version.
Loved the sequence where they floated down the river being chased by the orcs!
Can we all agree that:
1. Cumberbatch as Smaug is PERFECTION.
2. Bilbo is still the sweetest little cookie.
3. Ori is also a sweet little cookie - I wish he had more screen time, to be honest.
4. Thorin goes MAD BUT ALSO HOT.
5. Killi is sexier than any elf. Sorry, Legolas.
More good then the first one, and more action, more caracters.
The jist of this one? A lightweight fantasy trifle with an all-world effects budget and a seriously inflated sense of self-worth. There's a classical adventure formula stuffed snugly at the core of this letterbox behemoth, but it's so thoroughly entrenched in a world of fluff and fat that it can sometimes be difficult to keep in view.
A certain degree of self-indulgence for the sake of fan service and depth can be excused. In fact, The Hobbit's light moments of fancy are where it has the most fun, showing off the strange little touches and quirks that make Middle Earth the puzzling, appetizing realm it truly is. At some point it's time to cut to the chase, though, and like a drunken slacker on holiday, this picture often hasn't the willpower to heed that call. For a hundred-thirty minutes it lingers, drowning its audience with padding, and just as the getting's finally getting, er, got... we slam headfirst into a flat black wall dubbed "to be continued."
It has its strengths: the aforementioned visuals are a true revelation, the cast is wildly varied and dazzlingly colorful, and the dragon at the center of it all is truly awe-inspiring, a sight well worth seeing. The weaknesses, however, are just as numerous: most of the action scenes are carried-away bits of unreal CGI madness, it's overloaded with cameos and redundant, over-acted characters, and the constant pacing issues are downright crippling.
As daydreams go, it's magnificent. A complete story it isn't, though, and it's rife with holes and faults. Perhaps the services of a bold editor would be appropriate for the closing chapter of this trilogy.
Tremendous rhythm in adventure after adventure in the magical scenarios devised by Tolkein and, in addition, with an evil dragon.b
Another good one from Peter Jackson but not has good has the first but comes close but definitely better than the first time watching.
a good romp thru the imagination of tolkein but not up to the first lort #ShiftvW8
After the superb LotR trilogy, Peter Jackson's three-parted "The Hobbit" cannot reach the same level of greatness: the movies are to intent on being funny and depend to much on the fact that they are shot in 3D to be anything better than good (but not great), fun and entertaining action flicks.
Las escenas añadidas de la extendida aportan hasta por ahí no más. La historia de Thrain puede o puede no ser necesaria, dependiendo de los acontecimientos de There And Back Ag... perdón, The Battle of Five Armies. Pero sí hay un par durante el primer acto que son valiosas. Sobre todo se agradece que no den vergüenza ajena como las de la versión extendida de An Unexpected Journey, pero luego, toda esa película da vergüenza ajena. En términos técnicos, me da la impresión que ésta les quedó más tacky; hay escenas bien ordinarias, algunos efectos se ven malos malos, pero con Smaug salvan todo.
The extended version is way better than the theatrical one.
Damn, all the clearly visible animation errors(characters clipping through the gold coins, bad liquid animation, white borders around greenscreened characters, clearly visible CGI-actors in the fighting scenes, unrealistic hair and character movement, shiny textures...) particularly in the final third are just sad for a movie with such a crazy budget. I hope they ran out of time or something and this wasn't actually a version of the film the director was satisfied with.
A lot better than the first but holy crap did it drag on for way too long and there was a dumb romantic subplot that wasn't in the book they shouldn't have added.
Boring as hell. Smaug is a superweak villain.
I didn't like the end, I wanted some else....more suspense
Boring is the word that defines this movie. The Hobbit was not a book with enough content to stretch it up to three movies, not even two. This is only being made to earn money from Tolkien's fans, but I don't think that even them will swallow this down without thinking it stinks a little bit...
these hobbit movies are great to make wallpaper out of, and thats about it. (and not even as much as LOTR) ive watched both so far and will watch the third but am seriously underwhelmed by them. the HFR really still freaks me out. everything looks too...real(?). idk im still trying to find a way to adequately explain why it dosent really do it for me. and yeah, i think part of the reason is because, like authmillenon said, the prosthetics look like what they really are, rubber. it takes enough of the illusion out of the equation to make willing suspension of disbelief not quite possible. it really takes you out of the movie.
Enjoyed the movie but didn't really feel as a LOTR movie...
Boring. Long. Overdone. Many many many inconsistencies.
Sure it had some great scenes, very good looking nature shots, but overall it was tedious. And the part with the dragon was..... zzzz.... It was as if I was watching a bad version of DragonHeart.
Maybe if they had merged Hobbit 2 and 3 together, it would have been better. But this...
seems like DeathWings got lost :o
While this movie is still an enjoyable ride, it surely misses some important stuff that makes The Hobbit, The Hobbit. On the positive side: the side-story that connects the dot to Lord of the Rings was impressive, and it has better action sequences and well-paced combats. But in place of that it pushed aside a lot of The Hobbit's sense of adventure and excitement.
The visuals are a lot darker compared to first and it has more Lord of the Rings vibe to the atmosphere. It's understandable and actually a well-made decision considering the way the plot is written in a more serious tone, however that seriousness sacrifices a lot of its original source material. Rather than being a stand-alone depiction of Bilbo's adventure, Desolation of Smaug serves more as a prequel to Lord of the Rings.
This sequel also invest quite a time to one of the dwarves' romantic relationship with one of the elves, which doesn't seem to have a significant impact on the overall plot. As a subplot, this doesn't work well though I'm sure it is intended for a several portion of the targeted audience.
Another minus point was the soundtrack. It lacks the feel of continuity from the previous movie. Rather than building upon the theme from Unexpected Journey, it created a whole new different composition for the movie. As a stand-alone soundtrack it's actually a good one - even better than the first without the repetition - but considering it's a sequel it could've been done better.
Triumph of form over content. Sure, I enjoyed this very much, but I that's it. I expected many more. Smaug was awesome also Legolas Fighting and touching connect to LOTR. And of course Lee Pace! But generally "Hobbit" was just okej. Nothing more.
in order to tell this part of the story I guess they had no choice but to focus more on the dwarfs as a whole instead of letting bilbo shine and also leave out gandalf... which basically took out most of the magic of the first movie which was bilbo & gandalf focused throughout the entire 2.5 hrs. :(
I was waiting to feel the same rush of emotions I felt in the first but nope :( still had great moments like everyone pointed out though! thranduil/lee pace was badass! the kili and tauriel focus was a little awkward and out of place really... a love story is nice and all but it doesn't fit in bilbo's quest and felt like just a plot device to let kili have his moment and a background for the elves. and also eyecandy.
still really bummed out that bilbo didn't have any breakthrough or fistpumping victories at all nor did gandalf said any magical or empowering lines, and the most important part missing: NO SONGS!!!! :(
fuck you Peter Jackson with this cliffhanger bullshit! nerdrage
First of all it's a good movie, although I wouldn't have been sad if they kept it as two movies. The story and characters are good and the actors do a fine job.
These are some of the things that annoyed me in the movie:
* Badly rendered CGI characters. (Skin patterns and reflections).
* More extensive use of (notable) CGI characters/creatures. Based on bad animations (read movements) many CGI characters are quite noticeable.
* Bad physics (I'm talking about that gigantic piece of falling cloth towards the end and not the fact that dwarves seems to be able to withstand the temperature of molten gold).
* Speaking of molten gold. There were no scene with molten gold in it which looked good.
* That this 3D movie like so many others had to have insects flying towards the screen. I liked the bouncing severed head better.
* Sometimes it looks like TV, not using good angles and the lighting looks a bit off. This movie feels compared to LoTR like the Star Wars Holiday Special feels to the Star Wars movies.
As I said it’s a good movie but some things could have been done better.
Shout by KatnerysBlockedParent2018-09-13T14:43:08Z
I enjoyed it more than the first one despite having again some CGI problems and an unnecessary romantic subplot. We begin to see the bad effects the ring has on Bilbo and we meet Thranduil and Smaug who are the best parts of this movie.