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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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.
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2019-03-18T16:57:27Z
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)