Der Hobbit - Smaugs Einöde

Peter Jackson's ego that was held at bay all through the previous installment breaks free in this one. The lighthearted atmosphere from the book, that shone so brightly over the 1st part of the his version of the Hobbit, is no longer here, the strange story lines that were added to tie every thing together so no loose end is left and everyone watching the film knows that Peter Jackson did tell us all there was to know. An exact opposite of Tolkien's original who kept always saying (or implying) that middle earth has much more to it than he could ever cover with his stories. It's a difference in egos that doesn't always work for Jackson. Even though he did create a magnificent fantasy epic. Much darker than the first part, much more action packed very high quality of acting performances by all involved. The sins against the original book aren't as grave as those he committed with his LoTR trilogy, mainly because the Hobbit as I already said is a simpler story that doesn't allow for miss representations of the author's intentions. Jackson simply had to invent all these from scratch.

I'm all for re-imagining a story, but if you do so at least be honest and tell us that's what you did, like Tim Burton did when he made his version of Alice. Jackson never said any such thing, if he did it was kept a secret from most of the viewers, which is plain shame as far as I'm concern. I know everyone is going to hate this review to pieces, so many "Jacksoners" are following every bit of film he creates trampling in their wake over all those who dare oppose him. But I personally think that had he kept himself closer to the original, he would've ended with a better movie. It was so with the first part, but I feel like his ego couldn't share the credit with the original author anymore, so that's what we got. It's fun to watch - it's just a different story we're watching than the one we were promised.

After reading some of the previous reviews, I wonder what it takes to engage the modern viewer. It seems we have become so jaded that we see the necessity of giving a one star review to something as phenomenal as this film is. It is filled with action, sets of remarkable creativity, amazing characters, in a complex plot that made me long for the conclusion. I know it doesn't follow the book religiously. Get over that. Even a fifteen hour miniseries based on a novel fails miserably. Of course, every English teacher on the planet knows that we are working in two entirely different mediums. Books and movies are different! What Peter Jackson has done is taken the primary plot and allowed his script writers to take what is given and supplement it with their own creativity. The first film, though imperfect, does set the stage for this superior second effort. What we get is nonstop action, moving the characters toward the object of their quest. Tolkien's rules are followed if not the letter of the plot. The first film was criticized for being too talky. Now this one is being criticized for not being talky enough. For me, the scene where the gang must escape an elven prison and face the orcs is one of the most delightful fifteen minutes I've ever spent in a movie theater. I don't expect an action film based on a book with voluminous characters to have character development like "Driving Miss Daisy." See the film for what it is and count yourselves lucky to have the luxury of being able to see the amazing accomplishments of the Peter Jackson's of the world.

The second entry in the Hobbit franchise improves on everything he first film got wrong. It doesn't waste any time and gets right into the action packed sequences. My only problem was the setting change at the end of the film. I felt like it didn't suit the climax. Overall, The Hobbit the Desalation of Smaug is a solid follow up to the first film building on the ideas the first film started.

After seeing the first part of THE HOBBIT I thought about catching the rest of the trilogy on DVD but having sometime off work and some money to spend I thought I'd treat myself to a visit to the cinema as a very special treat . I paid my money if only to escape the drudgery of a tough working week followed by a couple of lonely nights in my flat but didn't expect much from Peter Jackson whose creative stock seems to have utterly collapsed since RETURN OF THE KING

To be fair Jackson has made a darker and much better paced film to the first instalment that often manages to disguise how over extended the narrative is . Instead of the painfully repetitive story structure of being captured , escaping , being captured , escaping for the entire movie we actually often have engaging storytelling . I've never read the source novel and Tolkien junkies might hate any embellishment brought to the silver screen but the quest aspects are well done for the most part . The production have now concentrated on making THE HOBBIT a proper prequel to LORD OF THE RINGS as the Necromancer's power starts expanding planning extermination for Middle Earth . This subplot is developed via dual plotting where Gandalf leaves Bilbo's entourage and finds himself in danger . Bilbo and his comrades find they have problems of their own with constant danger all around them

The problem these dangers are often undermined by the production team who concentrate on spectacle rather than developing drama . A good example is where Bilbo and the dwarfs are cocooned by giant spiders which is a terrifying fate but is totally undermined by the arachnids being killed far too easily . This happens several times throughout the set pieces in the film where the good guys constantly defeat the bad guys so easily the audience quickly lose any sense of danger and adventure being involved . There's also a bit too much of the laws of physics being constantly broken . For example a fireball in a confined space would burn up all the surrounding oxygen and anyone nearby would suffocate but this fact is ignored and other implausible things involving science don't make the slightest sense . I know this features in many fantasy films , not least the original LOTR trilogy but it's been done to death and is very distracting . Compare the spectacular set pieces seen here to the battle scene seen in the departure of Boromir in FELLOWSHIP and you'll notice how overblown everything is in comparison here .

In summary this is fairly good film that is better than part one of THE HOBBIT . I say " fairly good " but when you compare it to LORD OF THE RINGS in general and FELLOWSHIP in particular ii is something of a backward step from the production team who brought us the original trilogy . That said I will probably pay money at the cinema to see the finale though more in hope rather than expectation

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy blew me away, they were truly outstanding masterpieces that deserved every bit of recognition they got.

The Hobbit I delayed due to a laundry list of concerns, all of which are being confirmed now I'm finally getting around to them.

They look beautiful, they are a lot of fun, but compared to LOTR they are alike Mythica movies.

The whole franchise has become a cash grab, the Hobbit should have been one single movie and without all the excessive alterations. Yes I know LOTR had changes, but not to this devastating extent.

Desolation Of Smaug certainly has it's moments, I especially enjoyed the spiders and the not so jolly romp through the cursed forest. Thankfully the film isn't as goofy as the first either which was a welcome relief.

Alas it's no better, it still feels lackluster. This is The Hobbit, one of the greatest tales ever put to paper! So why do these movies feel so underwhelming? I enjoyed this I truly did, but not as much as I should have and that right there is the problem.

The Good:

Forest scene was great

Looks stunning

The Bad:

As neat as the barrels scene is it's about as realistic as Tara Reeds boobs

Second movie, second stock scream

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Bilbo Baggins has never seen Arachnophobia (1990), don't.....pluck.....the web

Walnuts make great pillows

Whatever Cumberbatch was paid it was FAR too much