If ever there was a movie in recent years that left an impression on me, Desolation of Smaug would be one of them.
This movie continues from where the first Hobbit movie left off. Right off the bat, I’m impressed. They didn’t bother with a stupid ‘recap’ of what happened last time, it just goes straight into the story. That might not seem like much to be happy about, but trust me, it is.
Of course, Martin Freeman still kills it as Bilbo. It’s obvious by now that no one could ever top his performance in the role. The dwarves are a lot more charismatic in this one. More of them have a fair amount of screentime and shining moments… again, unlike the book, where they were just… there. New characters include Bard, a human from Laketown, and… Legolas and Tauriel. I know who Legolas is. He was in all 3 LOTR movies. I don’t know what he’s doing here, but I really can’t complain much. He doesn’t ruin the story or weigh down the film, so I can’t see a reason to whine about him being here. Also, it’s cool to see Legolas again. He’s a good character.
As for Tauriel, I’ve never heard of her before. She wasn’t in the book, but then again, neither were the dwarves’ personalities… and a lot of other stuff. Like Legolas, she doesn’t need to be in this story, but I can’t find a reason to hate her presence like so many people do. She’s not a bad character in the slightest. And her little love side plot with one of the dwarves is kinda cute to watch.
That’s where I stop listening to people who don’t like this movie- the fact that the romance between Tauriel and the dwarf was a SIDE PLOT that took up less than about 5 minutes of total screentime! 5 minutes out of how long of a movie? 2 hours and 40 minutes. Take that 5 minutes away, and you still have 2 hours and 35 minutes left. The romance side plot might be unnecessary, but it’s not awfully written and doesn’t ruin the entire movie. It is still one hell of a film.
There are only 2 areas where I found this movie to be lacking- the soundtrack and special effects. You might say, “Well how the heck are the effects bad on a Peter Jackson Middle Earth movie?” Sounds almost impossible, right? Well, that ‘almost’ leaves room for that possibility to happen.
Don’t be misinformed, there are some really good special effects here. Some really good practical effects, too. It could be the 48 frames per second thing, but when I watched it normal frame rate, it still looked off. The trickiest effect in the film is Beorn, a guy that turns into a bear. When I was watching him for the first time, I was having a hard time figuring out if he was CGI motion capture, or a guy with really awesome makeup on. It was only after watching the special features that I learned that he was actually in front of a camera! I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not, though. A costume that looks like it could be CGI but is actually real? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to make of that.
The other effects are questionable as well. The orcs don’t look as real as LOTR. Same thing with a lot of the backgrounds and landscapes. Something about them doesn’t feel right. On top of that, the musical score isn’t as good, either.
One thing I love in movies is a good soundtrack, and the first Hobbit movie had that. I adored that score! Desolation of Smaug’s music is WAY inferior to it! It’s not bad, but I do know they could have done a better job. That, for me, was the most disappointing element of the entire thing. HOWEVER…. the film was not ruined by a lazy soundtrack. There’s plenty in it to make up for it.
The characters, as I mentioned before, are all enjoyable. I liked every character in this. Even Tauriel. The characters are a part of what gets you engrossed in the film. I got sucked in and didn’t want to come back out. Even with the ‘iffy’ special effects, I still love the world the story is in. Also, the action is fan-freaking-tastic! The barrel scene is all sorts of bad@$$. It has orcs and elves beating the crap out of each other, axes getting thrown into heads that pin them on logs, archery, barrel awesomeness, and surprisingly, a lot of humor. Again, the Hobbit is more lighthearted than LOTR, so be ready to see some more humorous moments. I’m perfectly fine with it myself, but some people that see one single little joke in a movie like this and they flip out and say, “What? Is this movie for kids or something? I want my money back! I didn’t pay for this! How dare it not be dark and gloomy for every single frame of the film?! AUU@!#@$#T$EYH!!!!”
But my absolute favorite part of the entire Middle Earth franchise…. is in the form of a huge, fire breathing lizard called
SMAUG!!!!!
If you ask me who my favorite CGI character in film history is, it’s not Gollum, not the Hulk, not Optimus Prime, not the T-Rex from Jurassic Park, not a single darn thing from Avatar, not the T-1000, not ANYONE ELSE BUT SMAUG. And it’s not pronounced “Smog”, it’s pronounced “Smowg”!!!!
I’m serious. I’ve never been so impressed by any other CGI character in film history. This is one area where the CGI artists did NOT screw up. He looked as real as possible. He felt real as possible. He was the big Holy Crap moment of 2013. The best part about him was his voice! That awesome voice! Benedict Cumberbatch was perfect for the voice!! Sure, they processed his voice a lot in order to get it as awesome as it was, but even when you hear him do it in interviews on TV or something, it is just as amazing.
I could go on for hours about that voice, though. It was terrifying in a good way. I think I was actually shaking from how fantastic it was! The entire theater was shaking from how deep his voice was, too! Just like the T-Rex’s roar from when I saw Jurassic Park re-released in 3D in spring of 2013! And all I could talk about when I got home was the voice! A bit of the actual dragon, but mostly his voice. All I could talk to my friends about was the voice, and they looked at me and said, “...Cool…” when really, they were thinking, “tomorrow at 8:13, we kill him in an alley. I can’t take him anymore.”
I feel sorry for people who didn’t get to see this movie in theaters, because it’s not the same on our small TV’s in our living rooms. This was one film that had to be seen on the big screen, at least for the first time seeing it. It won’t leave as big of an impact on you if it’s on a smaller screen.
I also envy the people that saw it in IMAX. That must have been even greater! Of course, I’m half glad I didn’t see the IMAX version. You’d have to deal with the 48 frames per second thing in a lot of places, as well as having to see it in IMAX 3D for 2 hours and 40 minutes. If people still aren’t quite used to the 48 fps by now, then it would definitely be a problem.
Speaking of the run-time, this movie felt so long, I lost track of time. I like long movies, so this was heaven for me. It’s long enough and engrossing enough to make you lose yourself within the world. It’s a great feeling when a movie does that. But do you know what’s NOT a great feeling? ENDING ON A FREAKING CLIFFHANGER!!! This is the worst part of the film= when it ends. No, wait, it doesn’t end. It just hits the pause button, rolls the credits and says “See you in a year!!!” and it got me so dang mad I was ready to rip someone’s throat out! I’m still mad about it now, and it’s just a few days short of a year from when I saw it. Cliffhangers like that, the ones that tease the audience so bad, are... the best cliffhangers any filmmaker can do. Especially with what was about to happen, too! Smaug was flying towards Laketown, getting ready to burn the place into ashes, and he delivered the best line ever, and then…. CUT!
It takes a lot of talent to pull of a cliffhanger like that, and I must give Peter Jackson points for that.
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is one of my greatest experiences at the movies ever, and I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t on my list for favorite movies of all time. I know there are problems, and some unnecessary bits, but I love it regardless. In fact, I’m going add one extra point to its final score on this review.
FINAL RATING: 47 / 50 + 1 POINT = 48 / 50
STORY: 5 / 5
ACTING: 5 / 5
CHARACTERS: 5 / 5
CGI/EFFECTS: 4 / 5
ACTION/ADVENTURE: 5 / 5
SOUNDTRACK: 3 / 5
TONE: 5 / 5
ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5
REWATCH VALUE: 5 / 5
OWNING VALUE: 5 / 5
Now it’s only a matter of days. I’m so excited it’s not even funny! It’s going to be the end of an epic adventure that’s been going on for the last 3 years, and I hope it’s the best ending ever. After a cliffhanger like that, it better be.
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