Rated
PG-13 (Extended Sequences of Intense Fantasy Action Violence, and Frightening
Images)
Running
Time: 2 Hours & 41 Minutes
Cast-
Martin
Freeman-Bilbo Baggins
Ian
McKellen-Gandalf the Grey
Richard
Armitage-Thorin Oakenshield
Graham
McTavish-Dwalin
Ken
Stott-Balin
Aidan
Turner-Kíli
Dean
O'Gorman-Fíli
Mark
Hadlow-Dori
Jed
Brophy-Nori
Adam
Brown-Ori
John
Callen-Óin
Peter
Hambleton-Glóin
William
Kircher-Bifur
James
Nesbitt-Bofur
Stephen
Hunter-Bombur
Orlando
Bloom-Legolas
Evangeline
Lilly-Tauriel
Lee
Pace-Thranduil
Luke
Evans-Bard
Sylvester
McCoy-Radagast the Brown
Mikael
Persbrandt-Beorn
Stephen
Fry-Master of Lake-town
Ryan
Gage-Alfrid
Cate
Blanchett-Galadriel
Manu
Bennett-Azog the Defiler
Lawrence
Makoare-Bolg
Benedict
Cumberbatch-Smaug the Dragon/Necromancer
Directed
by Peter Jackson
 |
| Don't wake the dragon, Bilbo... |
Note: Screened on Monday, December 9, 2013 at AMC Loews 34th Street 14.
'Yes,
I do believe the worst is behind us now.' I wouldn't be so hasty there, Mr. Bilbo
Baggins, as you still have to deal with a massive, fire-breathing dragon at the
end of your journey. Despite being mired in development hell for six years due
to tedious lawsuits and MGM's financial troubles, a film adaptation based on J.R.R.
Tolkien's beloved 1937 fantasy novel The
Hobbit finally saw the light of day with the release of "The Hobbit:
An Unexpected Journey" last December. In a controversial move, returning "Lord
of the Rings" director Peter Jackson decided to split the three hundred-page
prequel into a new trilogy, supplementing the main plot with material taken
from the appendices published in the back of The Return of the King. "An Unexpected Journey" grossed
over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office but reception was mixed compared
to the critical acclaim that the original trilogy received nine years earlier. With
a lukewarm 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, many critics felt the film was unnecessarily
bloated and were additionally turned off by Jackson's decision to shoot the picture
at 48 frames-per-second. Personally, I loved it in spite of some extraneous padding
in the first half. Jackson may have initially been reluctant to return as director
but "An Unexpected Journey" remains an obvious labor of love for him as
he pours the same amount of passion, creativity, and attention to detail that made
his "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy such a huge success. Seeing Sir
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey again was like visiting a grandfather whom you
haven't seen for a long time. If you came away disappointed with the first installment,
have no fear because "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" jumps right
into the action now that all the set-up is out of the way. The narrative can get
hamstrung at times due to its 'middle chapter' status and the film closes with an
abrupt cliffhanger but it remains a rollicking roller-coaster thrill ride, one that
continuously offers up dazzling set-pieces while also enriching the source material
in surprisingly clever ways.
Following
a daring escape from the Goblin King's underground horde in the Misty Mountains,
reluctant adventurer and hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf the
Grey (Ian McKellen), and the twelve dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard
Armitage)—Balin (Ken Stott), Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Glóin (Peter Hambleton),
Óin (John Callen), Ori (Adam Brown), Nori (Jed Brophy), Dori (Mark Hadlow), Kíli
(Aidan Turner), Fíli (Dean O'Gorman), Bifur (William Kircher), Bofur (James Nesbitt),
and Bombur (Stephen Hunter)—soon run afoul of Azog the Defiler (Manu Bennett) and
his band of orcs who are hell-bent on wiping out the line of Durin. With his hand
forced, Gandalf has the group take refuge within the home of Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt),
a skin-changer who dislikes dwarves but hates orcs even more. However, their
respite proves to be short-lived as the very next day, Bilbo, Gandalf, and the
rest of Thorin's company set out toward the great forest of Mirkwood, where the
elderly wizard suddenly reveals that they will have to proceed without him as
he must investigate a pressing matter. Before he departs, Gandalf warns Bilbo and
the dwarves to not leave the marked path for any reason whatsoever. Despite being
besieged on all sides by vicious Giant Spiders, Wood-Elves, and bloodthirsty orcs,
the group manages to make it out of the deadly forest alive. Stripped of their
weapons and with Durin's Day fast approaching, Thorin and his company are forced
to ally with Bard (Luke Evans), who agrees to ferry the group to Lake-town, located
in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain, in exchange for gold. When Bard discovers
that they intend to reclaim Erebor, he tries to stop them, knowing that awakening
the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) will only bring destruction to his
home.
An
audible groan erupted from the audience when "The Hobbit: The Desolation
of Smaug" abruptly faded to black mid-climax, forcing us to wait another
twelve months to see how it all ends. Middle chapters in a planned trilogy can be
difficult to pull off as the director has to leave viewers wanting more while also
providing a resolution that satisfies. Unfortunately, "The Desolation of
Smaug" doesn't really succeed in that regard. Just when all the disparate plot
threads are about to coalesce into something exciting or meaningful, Jackson ends
the film, leaving you with a feeling of frustrating whiplash instead of fulfillment.
Even last year's "An Unexpected Journey" managed to build to a
sincere resolution that provided some measure of closure both emotionally and
thematically, with Bilbo finally finding his courage and gaining not only the admiration
of Thorin but also his respect. Of course, Jackson isn't entirely to blame here
as the source material is self-contained to one novel, not three. Then again,
this problem wouldn't even exist if he had chosen to tell Tolkien's story in
two installments like he originally planned. It ultimately lessens the emotional
pay-off because it's arriving so separate from the context of this film.
Abrupt
ending aside, the rest of "The Desolation of Smaug" remains as
exciting as ever. Similar to its predecessor, the film opens with a familiar face
but it isn't Ian Holm. Instead, it's Peter Jackson himself, who lurches out of an
inn while once again gnawing on a carrot like in "The Fellowship of the Ring."
The inn just happens to be the Prancing Pony, where Thorin Oakenshield is anxiously
waiting to meet Gandalf in order to discuss reclaiming his homeland Erebor from
the dragon Smaug. It's a fantastic way to bring viewers up to speed without needlessly
lingering on the details. Ten minutes later, we're back on the road with Bilbo,
Gandalf, and the dwarves, who are still being pursued by Azog and his band of
orcs. In an attempt to tighten up the pacing and address some of the criticisms
of the first film, the sequel dispenses with early events relatively quickly,
with the group staying with Beorn for only one night before continuing on their
journey the next morning. If you've read the novel, you should know that this
isn't the last time we'll see the gruff skin-changer. The early departure of Gandalf
allows Jackson the opportunity to relish in his horror roots as he slowly ratchets
up the tension when Bilbo and the dwarves are forced to fend for themselves
while trekking through the great forest of Mirkwood. These moments are complemented
by a simmering, dissonant chorus from Howard Shore's score, which gives way to
loud, blaring horns during a deadly encounter with a group of Giant Spiders. These
overgrown arachnids make Shelob look like a harmless tarantula. It's here that
Bilbo gets to demonstrate his newfound courage but it's tempered by the subtle,
insidious hold that the ring is already beginning to have on him. Even as he grows
more heroic, the film doesn't let you forget about his nascent dark side, a fact
that the hobbit is increasingly well-aware of.
Jackson
has shown that he isn't afraid to deviate from the original source material
when necessary and while die-hard Tolkien purists may be horrified by this, the
changes that he has enacted actually feel organic rather than extraneous. A great
example would be the action, which has been amplified into a series of grand
set-pieces with so many moving parts yet Jackson makes it all look so effortless
with his confident camerawork. Instead of having the dwarves simply escape unscathed
in empty wine barrels, he transforms the famous Barrels out of Bond sequence into a gleeful, ingeniously choreographed
action symphony. As Thorin's company float down the river, they have to fight off
a contingent of orcs while Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and newcomer Tauriel (Evangeline
Lilly) gracefully weave in and out, taking down orcs as they go even as they
try to prevent their prisoners from escaping. It's exhilarating to watch but
it's the climactic battle with Smaug that will leave you breathless. The last
thirty minutes or so is akin to watching a thriller, with Bilbo and the dragon playing
a cat-and-mouse game of sorts. Like Andy Serkis' Gollum, Smaug is a technical marvel
to behold and even though we already know what a dragon is 'supposed' to look
like, his entrance is still awe-inspiring to say the least. It's enough to give
you goose-bumps. Seeing "The Desolation of Smaug" in 48 frames-per-second
definitely heightens the realism of the film's many CG creations, although some
of the issues with the format remain as it betrays the fact that some of the
locations are just sets. Be that as it may, the production design is still sumptuously
detailed, with Lake-town seemingly inspired by Renaissance-era Venice. The 3D
is fine, if perfunctory. I don't imagine it looking too well on a 24 frames-per-second
projection though. As the film approaches its climax, the story grows increasingly
busy with no less than four concurrent plot threads. Unfortunately, the end credits
roll right when the film is at its most compelling. It's frustrating as I've said
before but everything leading up to it is so good, I admit that I was truly left
wanting more.
All
of the returning players are uniformly excellent, with Martin Freeman still a
joy to watch as Bilbo Baggins. His character remains a little too marginalized
for my liking but I love the way Freeman approaches the role. In the first
film, he portrayed Bilbo as a bumbling, overly-cautious neurotic who worried
over the most inconsequential matters, like his doilies and mother's dishes. He's
much more assertive in the sequel yet he's still the same bumbling hobbit that's
easily gripped by fear. The main difference is that he fights through that fear
now and uses it to motivate himself further. Bilbo may not be all that handy
with a sword but he's clever. Even when coming face-to-face with an enormous dragon,
it is his quick-thinking that keeps him from being incinerated into an ash pile.
Richard Armitage continues to bring a sense of gravitas to Thorin Oakenshield
while also subtly hinting that the character's reasons for reclaiming Erebor aren't
as pure as he initially made them out to be. Thorin is a natural-born leader, a
trait that Armitage fully captures but the cracks are beginning to show, making
for a fascinating study at how even the most good of intentions can succumb to
something as simple as recklessness and greed. Each of the twelve dwarves are given
a more distinct personality this time around and it helps that the story eventually
splits them up into two groups, which is easier to manage for Jackson as it prevents
the film from becoming overly crowded.
Ian
McKellen is wonderful as always as Gandalf the Grey but most impressive are the
cast's newcomers. Even though his character doesn't appear in the novel, it's
nice seeing Orlando Bloom's Legolas doing what he does best again, which is
filling orcs with arrows. However, he is completely upstaged by Evangeline
Lilly's Tauriel, a new character created specifically for the film. Despite being
saddled with a rote love triangle between the dwarf Kíli and the aforementioned
Legolas, Lilly manages to kick all kinds of ass as Tauriel, taking down orcs left
and right and looking gorgeous while doing it. This is a perfect example of
enriching the source material without disrespecting it. Luke Evans brings a quiet
intensity to Bard and it'll be interesting to see his character develop into
the famous 'Bowman' in the third film. He's only lending his voice but Benedict
Cumberbatch purrs with cunning malice as the titular Smaug. While the dragon is
obviously brought to life via CG, Cumberbatch transforms this pile of pixels
into a fully-realized character. Smaug isn't feared because he can breathe fire
and turn cities into mere ash; he's feared because he's smart, a fact he repeatedly
demonstrates as he easily deduces what Bilbo plans to do and begins to plant
seeds of doubt within him, telling the overwhelmed hobbit that Thorin is only using
him for his own personal gain. It's a highly compelling vocal performance that
turns the third act into an engrossing battle of wits between him and Bilbo.
Finally, there's Stephen Fry, looking almost unrecognizable and appropriately
sleazy as 'The Master' of Lake-town.
Released
on December 13, 2013, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" has
received positive reviews with a solid 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that
while it was 'still slightly hamstrung by middle chapter narrative problems and
its formidable length, [the film] represents a more confident, exciting second
chapter for the Hobbit series.' Audience reception at the advance screening was
highly enthusiastic in spite of the abrupt ending and it's all but guaranteed
to be a box office success. While the lukewarm reception of "An Unexpected
Journey" will likely temper its final gross, the sequel is still poised to
make at least $800 million worldwide. Taken as a stand-alone film, "The Hobbit:
The Desolation of Smaug" doesn't quite work as it offers little emotional pay-off
yet it remains a thrilling sequel, with Jackson continuing to bring Tolkien's
words to life with meticulous zeal. Christopher Tolkien feels that Hollywood has
'eviscerated' his father's work but I think if he were alive today, he would be
proud of the way the films have inspired an entirely new generation of fans that otherwise wouldn't have picked up the novels.
Final
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
"Dragon-fire
and ruin—that is what you'll bring upon us! He cannot see beyond his own desires!"
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