Smaug IS Magnificent; The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug lives up to the hype, and more.

Well, The Desolation of Smaug was amazing. That's really all there is to it.

Specifics? Okay. I was really looking forward to Desolation, and I was not disappointed. It was just as stunning and impressive as the LOTR series, as well as Unexpected Journey. I must say, Peter Jackson hasn't slowed down whatsoever; it's phenomenal that he's been able to create upward of 12 hours of pure entertainment gold. Honestly, the franchise really has outdone itself, and I'm glad that, like so many other franchises, the quality of the films hasn't gone down--unlike many begotten stories, the Tolkien estate is rather a dragon's horde; guarded well and immensely valuable.

Desolation carried on just where Unexpected Journey left off--for those of you who've read the book, this may make more sense than for those who haven't--the Dwarves and Bilbo have just descended the Carrock and are just about to enter Mirkwood. They're pursued by the Warg riders, as well as a gargantuan bear. But, you know what? I'll say no more, because it's a roller coaster from start to finish-I wouldn't want to ruin any of it for you.



The CGI was amazing. I really don't like 3D (It's a good idea, but Consumerism has ruined it), and I guarantee it will still be just as effective in 2D. The Mirkwood Spiders were cringe-worthily good, as was Smaug. One of my favorite features was the snowy, Hansa-esque Laketown and its, shall we say, charismatic? leaders. And its Pugs. Just simple things made it authentic, from the floating ice chunks to the  generally poor quality of the town. The barrel-ride was fun--I can see a theme park ride coming along--and the battle with [SPOILERS] was amazing. I still think that they should have made two films rather than one, but nevertheless, I can't wait for the next one.

Now, to the faults. Despite it's amazingness there were a few discrepancies. Now get ready for some SPOILERS. The love triangle between Tauriel, Kili and Legolas was pretty unnecessarry. I mean, It wasn't in the book, and while I can deal with a little light changes, what do we say to the God of Fairly Substantial Plot Changes? Not today. Nevertheless, The barrel sequence and the general mise en scene of the Woodland Realm was nice. I enjoyed the tree-like caves, which hints at the enclave soceity of the forest elves; they've carved and shaped their caves massievly because, when you're immortal and isolated from the rest of the world, there's not a lot else to do.

There was a lot more emphasis on the Gandalf sub-story this time, as well as the whole "Quest to save the world" vibe as the LOTR series, which was characteristically absent from the first Hobbit movie--that's not a problem, because unlike LOTR, The Hobbit is a kid's book--but it was pulled off quite effectively, as was Benedict Cumberbatch as the Necromancer. Another thing that was quite annoying was the fact that, for the large part of the film, Biblo was a secondary character, instead of the protragonist. Granted, the Lake-town chapters are lacking in the hobbit department, but still.

But you know what? I don't care. To quote Kurt Vonnegut, "Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or She is like a person who has put on full battle armour and attacked a hot fudge sundae." Alright, it's a film, not a book, but the point still stands. If we're going to criticise the literary significance of an adaptation (as long as it's not truly awful), then we are stupid. What is the purpose of a film? To entertain! And if it does that by bending the rules slightly, then so what? Sure, the love triangle was unnecessary, but it does add to the characterisation of all three characters--something which was also absent in Unexpected Journey--as well as King Thranduil; the film made up for the lack of hobbit by making the hobbits and Bard interesting, and it's not like I didn't enjoy the Gandalf side-story. If anything I wanted more information about it in the book.

So I enjoyed Desolation, despite its faults. Peter Jackson's lucky to have good enough actors and a big enough budget to allow the audience to overlook these hiccups, and as long as the next movie isn't a three hour rendition of Gollum singing "Ich bin eine Gummi Bar" then it's going to be quite hard for them to go wrong.

5 Stars out of 5!!!

Jon Petre