Blu-ray Review: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’

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CHICAGO – It seems mean to pick on a movie for being merely entertaining. But when that film is part of the Lord of the Rings canon such criticism is fair. Peter Jackson manages to thrill here via some stunning action, and a truly memorable CGI Smaug. But Bilbo’s point of view seems lost in all the action, other characters and subplots. Clearly Jackson and Fran Walsh want The Hobbit to feel connected to their breathtaking Lord of the Rings trilogy but The Hobbit just doesn’t feel intimate enough. The second film in the trilogy is more entertaining but only marginally more moving.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Even when it’s aims are low the film falters to rise anywhere near the level of it’s source material. There’s an unevenness to the CGI which at times seems almost cartoonish. Spiders in Mirkwood and elves running across the treetops are only occasionally photo realistic. In fact this problem also applies to many, many other characters in the film. Jackson does a good job trying to balance his visuals so they all look like they belong in the same movie and almost succeeds. But in the end there’s a palpable sense the belt was tightened, wheteher to make room for a better Smaug or just because of budgetary stuff.

As an adaptation Jackson and Fran Walsh are clearly aiming high. It’s a pleasure to see Radagast the Brown and the Necromancer subplot is certainly a logical one. There’s even a budding romance between Aidan Turner’s dwarf Kili and Evangeline Lillie’s elvish warrior Tauriel. In fact the film does an excellent job of presenting and using characters

Of course the chief joy of this second film in the series is Smaug. The scenes with him bristle with danger. He truly seems alive and Jackson’s certainly does more than tease him visually. The third film is setup perfectly and there is no doubt that Smaug is going to be one of the great cinema dragons ever.

Image credit: Lionsgate

Perhaps the saddest thing of all here is that, especially on rewatching The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug I couldn’t help but think that Jackson was trying to simply get through having to make it. Of course he’s fully entitled to his last word on the Tolkien books he’s spent ten years of his life bringing to the big screen. But in another sense this feels less like a great story well told than it does like a movie franchise

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By DAVE CANFIELD Contributor HollywoodChicago.com dave@hollywoodchicago.com