The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Review
Director: Peter Jackson
Stars:
Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Sir Ian Mckellen, Orlando Bloom, Luke
Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Aidan Turner,
Ken Stott and many many others !
Running Time: 161 Mins
Release: December 13 2013
I must say it surpassed my expectations and to me felt like The Empire
Strikes Back of the trilogy something i never felt with The Lord of The
Rings trilogy. Plot-wise i am not going to say much on the plot but i'll
say it continues shortly after The Unexpected Journey with Bilbo,
Thorin and Gandallf still on the run from Azog and his company of Orcs
and Wargs and taking refuge in the house of Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt)
who's a skin changer (shape shifter) who does not like Dwarves then
through Mirkwood where they encounter the giant spiders and the elves
and there imprisoment and escape via The Barrel Riding and there journey
through Lake-Town with The Bard (Luke Evans) and the parting of the
company while some stay behind in Lake-Town while the others head to
Erebor to reclaim there kingdom and vanquish Smaug (Benedict
Cumberbatch)............
I did not give to much away as i don't
want to spoil it for you but i'll go indepth into some of the scenes
that really are standout to to me and have key importance to the plot
but first and foremost i must mention the new characters that are
introduced in this film.
And a very interesting subplot that i
did not see coming or expected. Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) is a
completely original character whom was not in the book but was made for
the film for an interesting subplot and to kick-start the elves
involvement in The Hobbit Properly. We have never seen a female elven
warrior before and she is very strong and independent and can hold her
own not needing any help whatsoever and strikingly beautiful you see
this throughout the film and Lilly is perfect for her and there's an
internal struggle for her: stay with the elves in Mirkwood or help
Middle Earth when they capture the Dwarves who bring there trouble with
the orcs at there doorstep as she knows that Sauron will return from a
orc they keep alive and also the subplot has a part into this, she
develops feelings for Kili (Aidan Turner) as he does for it starts in
Mirkwood when she saves his life from a giant spider that's about to
kill him and he is unarmed (she saves him numerous times in the film)
and there heartfelt meeting when she puts in his cell and she speaks
with him and he tells her about his stone that his mother gave him it's a
brilliant scene and you can tell that is the point they start making
goo-goo eyes at each other and it's a great reversal from the usual
damsel in distress scenario and when she hears that Kili who had an
arrow go through his leg when the Dwarves made there escape from
Mirkwood when he was attempting to open the gates to let his companions
out,which had a Morgul poisoned tip dart and it would slowly and surely
kill him ( he gets weaker from that point of the film until she saves
him in Lake-Town in a scene that reminds me of when Arwen saved Frodo in
Fellowship of The Ring, the scenes are very similar). It's not just a
ploy either to get more women to see the film and there relationship
development is not forced either,it's great they both have the same
problem: they have loyalty to there race yet they have feelings for each
other of which they are both of different races it's something i did
not expect to see and it's brilliant that Jackson explored this before
Legolas and Gimli became friends in The Lord of The Rings, that in the
rare instances that an elf and a dwarf can get along but clearly in a
different way ! and Lilly & Turner have great chemistry and i'm very
keen to see there relationship explored and develop further in There
and Back Again.
Also the film brings Legolas (Orlando Bloom) back
into the fray and i feel he is simply in the film for some familiarity
and to be a complete bad-ass orc killer and that's not a bad thing !,
despite that Bloom is quite a bit older than he was in The Lord of The
Rings and he still looks the part despite they've done him up very well
and in this film he's a lot more ruthless and not so friendly with the
Dwarves ( i love the scene where he searches Gloin and finds drawn
pictures of his wife and son it's brilliant and Legolas's reaction is
priceless) and his fight scenes in Lake-Town are brilliant and brutal.
It's also hinted that Legolas and Tauriel have feelings for each other
but it's never stated how far and besides Thranduil would never let them
be together. I am pleasantly surprised that they add a lot to the film.
The
last of the elves is Thranduil (Lee Pace), Legolas's father he has a
lot more screen-time and still does not like the Dwarves as he finds
them greedy after Thorin's grandfather caught the attention of Smaug
with his horde of treasure and brought death and destruction he is
completely merciless and does not want involvement with Middle Earth and
only watches his borders and we even get to see an old grisly war wound
which he conceals on his face !. I would like to see him further in
There and Back Again or in other Middle Earth films.
The Bard
(Evans) is the final new character (well in human form) and he plays him
very well and i did not expect him to play such a big part in the film
as he does in this as he helps the Dwarves, well it's Balin (Stott) who
warms to him, sympathize with him and to get his fellow Dwarves and the
Bard to get along, it's later revealed that his ancestor made a final
stand against Smaug using a large crossbow weapon with special metal
arrows that could kill him and this leads him on the path to continue in
his ancestor's footsteps, he's also leading a rebellion against the
master of the town (Stephen Fry) who's more like a dictator and he plays
the role very well and it's quite comedic too.
The biggest new
character is Smaug (Cumberbatch) and he really dominates the film in the
last 45 minutes or so and he is magnificent and incredibly well
detailed and frightening, Cumberbatch's voice really does add to the
character and makes him far more sinister, he is a very intelligent
& cunning beast, the long scene between him and Bilbo reminds me of
Gollum/Smeagol & Bilbo scene from An Unexpected Journey it's just as
truly special and magical as that scene and is well worth the wait it's
brilliant as Bilbo tries to outwit him and fails whilst trying to get
the Arkenstone, it's really edge of your seat excitement
The
regulars as i call them do very well in there part and some are further
developed .ie Bilbo, Gandalf,Thorin, Balin, Kili and Gloin the others not
so much but my favourite is still the walking hazard that is Bofur !.
You
can tell that the One Ring is starting to effect Bilbo (Freeman) especially in
the Spiders of Mirkwood scene where he loses the ring whilst fighting
the Spiders and freeing his friends (and where he gets the name Sting
for his sword, as it 'stings' the spiders) and when he finds the ring he
see's it on the floor and when he finds it and about to pick it up this
albino spider-crab like thing which scuttles the one ring beneath it it
sends Bilbo into a blind rage killing the creature brutally just to get
the ring, not in self defense but to regain possession it just shows
the lengths he'll go to get it and he is disgusted as to what he did,
throughout the film Bilbo becomes more courageous to save his friends
and fulfill his contract to steal the stone in Erebor, i noticed that
this film was not as focused on Bilbo as much as the first one and more
about Middle Earth and you can tell Freeman is still having fun in the
role.
Another major character development is Thorin (Armitage) where we see
as he and his party draw closer too Erebor he becomes more concerned
with the Arkenstone than his companions highlighted in the scene when
Thorin heads into Erebor and finds Bilbo and quizzes him if he has the
stone without asking him if he's okay and won't let him pass till he
see's the Arkenstone, also he calls Bilbo 'the burgular', his companions
still call him Bilbo and in one pivotal scene Balin takes Thorin to the
side and says to him that he is Bilbo and he is one of them and has
been a great help to them without him they would of not got that far as
they have and it seems that Balin is the father figure of the group and i
love the short scene between Bilbo and Balin before Bilbo heads into
the halls where Smaug sleeps and where Balin tells him that he is
impressed with the courage of Hobbits.
Gandalf (McKellen) is more on his own
this one going to Dol Gondur with some aid of Radagast to find the
Necromancer and to prevent him bringing back Sauron......
I
cannot write this review without mentioning the amazing special effects
blended pefectly with the practical and i noticed some of the Orcs were
humans in prosthetics and the sets are absolutely gorgeous and theres a
wide variety this time from musty, dark and dank forests, to the grand
gothic halls of the Dwarves and the bright and very natural beauty of
Mirkwood and the gloomy, eerie derelict Dol Gondur i wish i could visit
them. Smaug is a fantastic feat he beats Gollum by a long shot he's
unprecedented in scale and detail and animation, the standard has been
set and is hard to top.
It was shot very beautifully and there
was a wider range of shots used i.e POV in the barrle chase scene some
shots looked if they were from the Dwarves view swashing and turning in
the water, i loved the scene it was very long and very exciting and fun
with the Dwarves tossing weapons to each other to fend off the orcs and
even Thorin saves Legolas's life by throwing an axe at an orc and
hitting it square in the chest !, Legolas does not notice it though, it
was effect laden this scene but it worked very well indeed and i loved
how Lake-Town looked a mix of Medieval architecture and steampunk and
looked mostly practical which was brilliant and Erebor is a real sight for the
eyes ! that's all i can say without spoiling it for you and the action scenes are brilliant and amazing
and really sweeps you in, the soundtrack is equally impressive to An
Unexpected Journey if not better and the costume design a major part of a
fantasy film which i have never commented on it before but it's
absolutely fantastic and everything was well detailed i hope they do a
Lord of The Rings/Hobbit film exhibition in future as i would love to
see the costumes.
One thing that stands out to me in Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit
films is they're is themes and you don't get that much in fantasy films
they just care about the spectacle, action and set pieces whilst these
films have rich characters and themes at it's heart it's about, courage,
friendship, love, making a difference in the world & standing up
for others and learning to get along you don't see this often and it's
unprecedented in these films compared to other fantasy films, i know
this review is very long and i could talk about it for hours but i am
simply lost for words and even after There & Back Again i hope we
see more of Middle Earth on screen which in my mind is the one
Fantasy Realm that rules them all.
I am certainly getting the Blu-Ray.
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