Peter Jackson’s
epic, three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” continues with
“The Desolation of Smaug,” and though it still suffers from some of the same
issues that plagued the first installment — specifically feeling like an hour
of story crammed into three hours of film — this chapter feels more confident,
with a renewed sense of purpose in its storytelling. Jackson keeps things
relatively light compared to the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and the
sense of fun contained in the film’s elaborately extended action sequences goes
a ways in excusing (some) of the padding, making this a journey that’s worth
taking.
“The Desolation of
Smaug” continues the adventures of hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who
in the last film was recruited to assist a band of dwarves in their quest to
battle Smaug the dragon (voiced menacingly by Benedict Cumberbatch) for control
of their homeland of Erebor (along with the mountains of treasure it contains).
Having evaded the clutches of a small army of orcs at the end of the first
film, the gang continues its long trek, getting themselves into a number of
sticky situations along the way before facing off against the enormous dragon
deep inside the caverns of Lonely Mountain.
“The Hobbit” doesn’t
have the end-of-the-world stakes of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy; it’s
ultimately a children’s adventure tale, and Jackson’s films reflect that. He
forsakes some of the gravitas of the original trilogy in favor of a series of
inventive, if over-the-top, action set pieces that give the “Hobbit” chapters
an episodic feel. Admittedly, these lengthy sequences — a whitewater barrel
escape from elves; a spider attack that horrified this arachnophobe — occasionally
veer into cartoonish territory, but that doesn’t feel out of place in the world
the filmmaker has created.
The section of the
film where the group takes refuge, with the help of key new acquaintance Bard
the Bowman (Luke Evans, quite good in one of the film’s more complex roles), in
Laketown drags somewhat, though I fully admit that may have been the result of
my foolhardy decision to attend a midnight screening — the true epic struggle
happening at that point was the one between me and my rapidly closing eyelids.
Martin Freeman continues
to do great work as Bilbo, incorporating some darker edges into his
performance, as the mild-mannered hobbit is seduced more and more by a certain
golden trinket he picked up in the first film. But with all the time devoted to
the film’s dozens of characters, there are sections of the film where Bilbo
sometimes feels like a secondary role in what is ostensibly his story. Still,
he’s given enough heroic moments that he remains in the spotlight.
Rather inexplicably,
Jackson has chosen to add characters to an already overloaded film, finding a
place for elf warrior Legolas (played, as he was in the original trilogy, by
Orlando Bloom) to become a major focus, though in this film he seems like less
a character than an unstoppable orc-killing machine. Jackson even creates a new
character, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly, “Lost”), head of the elven guard and love
interest for Kili (the hot dwarf; don’t pretend like you don’t know which one
I’m talking about). I’ve never been bothered by Jackson’s desire to add a
female presence to the films, especially when they’re as ass-kicking as this
one.
But let’s face it,
everyone is really here for the dragon. And in this regard the film does not
disappoint. Though advertising for the film has gone to great lengths to avoid
giving audiences a good look at Smaug, his appearance in the movie exceeds
expectations: he’s an impressive technical achievement, and a wholly convincing
character in his own right. His scenes are among the film’s best, continuing
the first film’s trend of getting the most drama out of the bits where Bilbo is
alone, facing off against a creature in the darkness.
Though “The
Desolation of Smaug” is still not as dramatically satisfying as “The Lord of
the Rings,” those craving a fun, often gripping, adventure film should leave
the theater happy (you’ll definitely get your money’s worth). However, since
this trilogy is literally one story split up into three separate films, it’s
difficult to judge the ultimate success of Jackson’s adaptation until the
entire work can be seen as a whole.
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2013.
