If you liked the first installment of the “Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey,” odds are you will enjoy “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” just as much. However, if you thought the first Hobbit installment was repetitive and dreadful to sit though, sorry but there is no hope for you.
Peter Jackson’s (“The Frighteners”) second Hobbit installment is filled with Orcs fighting Elves, Hobbits fighting huge spiders, and Dwarves taking on everyone in all of Middle Earth it seems. Leaving off where the first installment ended, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman, “Sherlock”) the Hobbit along with a wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian Mckellen, “X-Men”) and a band of dwarves lead by their King Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage, “Captain America: The First Avenger”) are on their way to reclaim Erebor (the dwarf kingdom) and slay Smaug the dragon. While in hot pursuit by a band of orcs, Baggins travels with his company into the Mirkwood forest where they encounter giant spiders and Woodland Elves. Eventually splitting up from his traveling party Gandalf embarks on a separate journey to uncover what he believes to be the gathering of dark forces.
As Bilbo travels alone with his dwarf allies that rely heavily on him for rescuing, much of the film follows the story of the Odyssey where Odysseus is compelled to consistently save his defenseless crew. Unfortunately for Bilbo, his attempts to save his dwarf party are almost always successful and lead to a very repetitive and borderline boring storyline at times.
Undermining the repetitive story line, “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug” is filled with action-packed scenes that are at times as much comedic as they are visually violent. Following Smaug the Dragon, who only appears at the third and final part of the film, his character is as intimidating as fire breathing. Although Benedict Cumberbatch’s (“Sherlock”) dragon is not as ravishing as many of the other roles he has played in the past, he does succeed in springing excitement and eagerness into the audience, especially in a 3D format.
Although “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug” has a running time of more two hours and a half, it is filled with adventure, action and much of the beautiful New Zealand landscape. It is a definite movie to see for any J.R.R Tolkien fan or adventurous audience member.
