By Lisa-Marie Burrows
Director: Peter Jackson.
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Graham McTavish, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Aidan Turner, Orlando Bloom.
Running Time: 161 Minutes.
Certificate: 12A.
What is the plot?
The epic adventure continues with Thorin leading the dwarves on their fateful quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland. On hand for the mission is Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey who help the dwarves to take back the mountain from the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo proves to be an important member of the company thanks to a gold, round object he keeps silently tucked away in his pocket…
Review
Wow. Simply, wow. It has been impossible to ignore the second installment of THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG during the festive season with posters on every wall, door and bus in sight, but it truly deserves all of the elaborate publicity it receives.
The film picks up where the first one finished off: Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and his fellow dwarves continue their quest to the mountain, to Erebor, for their lost gold and to reclaim their kingdom. But dodging deadly orcs and trying to enter the mountain alive is not the only complexity of the second film – there is also Smaug to contend with – a mighty dragon who is there to repel them.
The film is just over two and a half hours long (it really doesn’t feel that long as you are sitting on the edge of your seats watching it) and the action kicks off from the onset. Ideally, you need to watch the first film in the franchise to understand what is happening and the reasons for the quest.
In the first film, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, director, Peter Jackson, took us back to Middle Earth, the fantastic fantasy world created by J.R.R Tolkien and as much as I enjoyed the first film, the second movie offers even more drama, action and moves at a faster pace.
THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG opens up with a flashback to educate the audience on how Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf first united for this quest. There is an exciting chase sequence where we are introduced to a rather scary ‘skin-changer’ called Beorn. Hiding in his house for refuge from the orcs, the dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins hope that the lonely creature will help them along their way to Mirkwood Forest without being attacked by any more raging orcs.
In Mirkwood, this is where the HFR and 3D effects really kick in for the senses. If you are not a fan of spiders, I recommend you look away during their perilous venture through the forest! Having escaped from the danger of the orcs, the group comes across some of the deadliest and largest spiders that the human mind can imagine. If you didn’t suffer with arachnophobia before watching this film, you may find yourself leaving with distaste for spiders.
The gigantic, teeth-chomping, web creators do not waste time wrapping up their prey ready to feed on them later, but unbeknown to the rest of the group, Bilbo is also in possession of a magical ring which gives him extraordinary powers and once again, he saves the day during the quest.
Their freedom does not last for long, after being taken prisoner by the Woodland Elves, who are also not a big fan of dwarves. Cue further imprisonment where Martin Freeman’s, Bilbo Baggins, puts to good use the ring he has secretly kept in his pocket.
The escape scene that takes place is thoroughly entertaining. The dwarves are placed into barrels and are forced to win their freedom once again by travelling down the river rapids out of Mirkwood. With the orcs in hot pursuit and with Legolas and Tauriel also hotfooting and jumping their way down the land, the encounter is completely entertaining and in some parts extremely comical. (A scene which I am sure the actors would have enjoyed filming!)
There are so many exciting scenes to talk about and new characters have been introduced too. It was the first time we have seen Legolas (Orlando Bloom) in this franchise and he is partnered alongside Evangeline Lilly’s character Tauriel who has been controversially written into the script for the movie.
We are also introduced to the first human of Tolkien’s story; Bard the Bowman, played by Luke Evans. He delivers the role of the brooding bowman effortlessly as he helps the dwarves to escape to Laketown.
But the addition that everybody had been waiting to see was of the stupendous dragon himself – Smaug. The dragon is visually and audibly stunning. The dragon appears so life-like as detail is given to every scale on the body and never before have I seen a creation screened so brilliantly.
Aside from the stunning visual aspect of the dragon, Benedict Cumberbatch’s hypnotising and booming voice delivers the necessary shiver-down-the-spine moments, personifying how the dwarves and Bilbo must feel in the company of this deadly beast. I cannot imagine another person vocalising the beast after hearing Cumberbatch’s perfect delivery to raise the fear-factor.
The film has it all, action, fear, comical moments and it is visually stunning. The film is swept along beautifully with the music score composed by Howard Shore, who uses the orchestral pieces as a brilliant, emotive guide between scenes.
Jackson’s biggest success I feel is also through the development of his characters. The expansion of their history and suffering provides a solid understanding of their misery and determination to succeed during the quest. Richard Armitage is particularly impressive as he plays Thorin Oakenshield, the tragic hero on a mission to regain his honour and nobility. Despite his stubborn nature, one cannot help but empathise with him when they finally reach the door and momentarily are unable to open it. Despite the heavy prosthetics on his face, the sadness and desperation of the moment are clearly visible through his eyes.
Martin Freeman has also successfully delivered the growing heroism and belief in the inner strength of his character, Bilbo Baggins. Freeman is always able to raise a giggle and it is not in so much as what he says that provides the lighthearted moments, but more in what he doesn’t say – his facial expressions and twitchy body language says it all for him.
What’s great about the film?
In short, everything! The stunning locations, visual effects, character development, the plot and of course the action which runs throughout the 161 minutes of the epic adventure.
What’s wrong with it?
As much as I like the implementation of a female character to the story, I was not overly enthralled with the love story developing between Tauriel and Aidan Turner’s dwarf character, Kili. Occasionally it halted the moments of action and interrupted the flow of the film.
Verdict
★★★★★
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG is a triumph! Compelling screen-time moments do not come much bigger or better than this. The film is a sight to behold. Do not miss it!
Just in case you’re still not convinced, here is the trailer to tempt you…
