The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

The Desolation of Smaug follows Bilbo and the dwarves as they make their way to the Lonely Mountain, only to awaken the mythical dragon, Smaug. 

The second film in the Hobbit trilogy, from the very start, is a significant upgrade in storytelling, visuals, and action. We get branching stories, with Gandalf going to uncover the mysterious dark force that’s controlling the orc’s—originally thought to be a powerful necromancer, but turning out to be Sauron himself. This was a really interesting side quest of sorts, and I wish we got more of it to be honest. The flip side to that though is it feels out of place and seems like they it was included for the soul purpose of raising this trilogy to the same epic quality of LOTR. The other story follows Thorin and Co., who are chased by orcs, gets captured by elves, and even accidentally unleash Smaug from his riches-induced slumber onto the town on the lake. Again, the dwarves get next to no character development, and while it was great seeing them interact with the elves, they don’t get much to do. 

Smaug however, makes this movie. His reputation thus forth has proceeded him, but nothing prepares you for the intelligently sadistic dragon who rules under the mountain. His philosophical musings are genuinely pretty scary and his presence, for once, adds real stakes to the mission for Bilbo and the dwarves. His scenes with Bilbo are some of the best in the film 

I will also say, the forced romance of Kili and Tauriel is a bit odd and the elves practically become the eagles this time around, serving only to really swoop in and save the day when it’s convenient, being a bit of a slap in the face to these apparently great warrior dwarves who always need saving. 

We get a terrific cast, that introduces a lot of new faces, including Ian McKellen, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Richard Armitage, and a Sherlock reunion for Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch is unrecognizable as Smaug but his dark, fear inducing vocal performance was amazing. Freeman is also great again, just wish he had more time to do his thing, resorting to a side character in this. 

The Desolation of Smaug, directed again by Peter Jackson, throws the book it’s based on out the window and tries it own thing, only really succeeding when it tries to adapt the main points of the chapters, but introducing a menacing villain in Smaug in an excellent cliffhanger ending. 

7.9/10