The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug

The second installment of the Hobbit series is here and this time the director Peter Jackson has added some more fun factors through set pieces to keep the viewers engaged. But the tiring length and the sudden ending that kind of insults your wait for an exciting entry to the third part of the franchise will surely affect your expectations about  The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug.

The sequel has Thorin and the dwarfs going to the mountain to get the Arkenstone and as the mountain is guarded by a deadly dragon they seek the help of our central charmer Bilbo Baggins. The eventful journey of the dwarfs where they escape from the attacks from Orcs, imprisonment of and Wood-elves, finally approaching their destination and how these small ones manages to deal the dragon along with Baggins is what the movie trying to narrate.

The stretched out plot is actually the main drawback of this edition of The Hobbit. Its true that Peter Jackson has used this time to plant his numerous characters deeply, but the wait for the excitement took a long while. Some amazingly choreographed sequences are there in the first half of the total run time where you will be on the peak of excitement as it utilizes both stylish action and the possibilities of 3D in a very elegant way. And towards the conclusion, the whole sequence involving the dragoon is sure to keep you tensed. These are the two things that were really fresh and exciting in this movie and the time in between these set pieces is what went dull.

In the making part, Peter Jackson has managed to bring in more fun elements when compared to the first part of the movie. And also he has used the nature of the characters to create humor effectively. The screenplay is largely on the dull side in terms of excitement, but it succeeds in establishing the characters. Cinematography is impressive and the visual effects is quite good and a special mention for the choreography of the two sequences I mentioned above.

On the performance side, Martin Freeman is simply charming as the burglar Bilbo Baggins. That tension was there in his body language and emotions in required amounts. Richard Armitage was also good as Thorin. The rest of the dwarf characters were also portrayed nicely by the actors offering a whole lot of humor.

Overall, The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug offers a lot of fun when compared to The Unexpected Journey.  But the length and abrupt ending diminishes the charm considerably. My rating is a 3/5 for this dwarf adventure. Lets wait for next year’s dragon fire!