Year: 2013
Accolades: More Middle Earth Magic
Review on Letterboxd: 'The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug' Review by Avalanche
In discussing the making of The Two Towers, Peter Jackson and his fellow film-makers mentioned that the story (and hence film) didn't really have a conclusive beginning or an end, which is a problem when it comes to releasing three films each a year apart. The Desolation of Smaug suffers from a similar problem in a way. It does have a sort of artificial beginning which serves well enough, but after the huge, climactic action sequence, it ends just a little too abruptly (although no less dramatically). But that by no means detracts from the film.
There are two very good reasons why the film works. The first is the manner in which it serves as a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. The effect of the One Ring on Bilbo becomes more apparent, and the related material dealing with Gandalf and the Necromancer makes the feel of the film a very dark one at times.
The second reason the film works is Smaug. It could have been very easy to get Smaug wrong and subsequently destroy the work of the entire Hobbit film trilogy. Instead, Smaug looks and sounds amazing. Everything that happens on screen with that dragon had me hooked to the screen. And let's face it: Smaug is one of the reasons people are going to see this film, and they won't be disappointed.
The film as a whole definitely has flaws, in particular some scenes and sequences feel a bit like padding, and particular plot elements are almost forgotten for large chunks at a time. But somehow, despite almost being a film that shouldn't work, it rises to the challenge and delivers something incredibly enjoyable.
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