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As it so happened, the first Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey, came out before I decided to start writing reviews on my blog again. Thus, I missed my chance to lend my two cents in the form of a longer review, but since The Desolation of Smaug is the sequel to the said movie, I thought it would be best to give a very brief review of the first so as to set the stage for some comparison between the two films. For after all, a sequel is only as good in how it continues, expands, and enriches what the first began.
Over all, I thought the first film was quite charming, exciting, and endearing to those of us who have grown up reading The Hobbit or for those who have not. The visuals (especially in IMAX 3D and with the 48 ffps) were astounding and the lands, details, etc, were as rich as ever. It was fun to see bits and pieces of memorable moments from the books sprinkled throughout (for instance, the dwarves singing the wonderfully composed misty mountains song at Bag End, and Bilbo and Gollum's "riddle in the dark"), and even those that were ridiculously exaggerated but fun all the same (the stone giants come to mind). Martin Freeman as Bilbo and Richard Armitage as Thorin were very well cast, especially Freeman. Many fans seemed to have a problem with all the extra bits added to the story-line (Radagast, the giant, pale Orc with bad makeup, etc), and while it does make the movie feel a bit bogged down and distracted from the main point of the dragon, I for one don't mind them adding the extra content. Of course, they're doing so in order to stretch the book into 3 movies so they can make more money, but still, a movie is vastly different than a book and requires a lot more, obvious plot devices, problems, and development that is just common sense when you're reading. Because, after all, a book is made up of words, not images, sounds, music, dialogue, etc. My idea is that as long as the main point and plot points are communicated and enacted, I don't mind much what is added to or taken out of a movie adaptation of a book.
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That all being said, An Unexpected Journey definitely enjoyed the new-found use of 3D and expanded special effects a little too much. It all looked great, but there were many times where the film felt more like a vehicle for creating pretty pictures and giant action scenes. Still, I felt all the characters were set up well and given sufficient development. Right, so, before I get into my review of the sequel, I'll have y'all know that I used to be a big Lord of the Rings/Middle Earth nerd back in the day, so I know my stuff.
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Right off the bat, it's clear that The Desolation of Smaug is struggling to find its focus. In An Unexpected Journey, we were focused on Bilbo finding his place among the dwarves and as a part of this quest and learning all the background to the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves, etc, but now that we know all of that, where to go from here? I for one felt that the prologue at the beginning where it jumps a bit back in time felt awkward, and then even more so to be immediately thrown back into the action. I will admit that my main nerd-complaint is with how they portrayed and handled the scenes in Mirkwood. In the book, the forest is described as being much more dark and foreboding. Sure, they got the gnarled roots and spell-like nature of the woods right, but the description in the book was much more menacing and creepy. I wish it would've been almost completely dark instead of the much lighter version in the film.
Besides that, all the parts that were added to the story weren't really wrong. Yes, Tauriel (Evangeline Lily) wasn't a real character and various other things didn't happen at Laketown and whatnot, but none of that bothered me that much in regards to getting the facts right from the book. More than anything, all of these added characters and events made it painfully obvious how much they were trying to stretch this 200-and something page book into 3 movies. Like I said, I don't really have a problem with them making 3 movies, but maybe you could at least refrain from adding so much material that it makes each film nearly 3 hours long.
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| Warner Bros. |
The one plot-line that I thought created problems was with Gandalf and the return of Sauron rebuilding his forces at Dol-Guldur (which is in the South of Mirkwood, the same giant wood that the Elf king Thranduil (Lee Pace) rules in, if anyone was wondering). While this plot-line is all nearly true and interesting (Gandalf did go check out Dol-Guldur to find that Sauron was indeed hiding out there), it distracts too much from the main plot-line. The main problem lies with the fact that Peter Jackson and his team were given the task of creating a trilogy that would attract the same fan base and more as the LOTR trilogy. So they needed to create a trilogy with a power equal to or greater than the LOTR. Of course, they couldn't get the same end-of-the-world scenario as LOTR, but by adding this extra plot-line of Sauron and whatnot they're trying to connect The Hobbit to the bigger picture and make it seem more serious at the same time rather than just killing one, singular dragon. Not that that's not hard, but still, not as bad as Sauron returning. But by expanding on this plot-line so much in the second film, our attention becomes split between the two. There are too many loose threads of characters having action sequences everywhere without the strong cohesion and purpose of the multiple plot-lines and characters in the LOTR.
Still, that is not to say that there isn't fun to be had. There are many fantastic sequences, set pieces, and visual effects. The barrel riding sequence in particular has some of the best choreographed action, even though it's probably 98% CGI, and much of it is so over the top in terms of dwarves and elves (mainly Legolas) destroying orcs in ridiculous ways, you'll probably be cracking up like my brothers and I were. Although I will say that some of the CGI felt a bit unfinished and/or obviously computer generated to me. Like multiple times it feels like a cut-scene from a video game. However, the design and voice (pros to Benedict Cumberbatch) of Smaug the dragon was incredible.
So, although over all the film felt unfocused, it is clearly a bridge to when all hell with break loose in the third film, There and Back Again. Literally, the entirety of the last film should be like one big battle. The Desolation of Smaug probably would've made a lot more sense and felt more cohesive if it could've somehow been a part of the third film, because as it stands, it's a bit shaky. But we'll see if it pays off come next December!
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