Feb2014_MOVIE REVIEW

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

By Gemma Schuhmann

The Desolation of Smaug follows the dwarves and Bilbo still on the run towards the Lonely Mountain.  Again they overcome more obstacles to get to the hidden door, only to be faced with their greatest fear.  Smaug the dragon is still sitting in their mountain upon their endless piles of treasure.

This film starts with a quick flashback to get you in the mood before it starts running full pelt.  Within five minutes you’re put right back into the action.  The speed at which this film moves is incredible.  You will not be left bored:  from spiders to orcs, elves, men, skin shifters, wizards, dwarves, a ring, a dragon and a hobbit.  Now if you’re thinking there can’t be any storyline in between all the action, you’d be wrong.  The Dwarves individual relationships and characters start to show through.  The elves have got their own story that can’t help but get intertwined with the Dwarves, in such a surprising but satisfying way.  The wizards go on a separate adventure that adds to the impending doom of Middle Earth.  And the hobbit is left to save the dwarves and face the power of the ring.

 

The thing to remember is that this is the bridge to the end film and the conclusion.  All these characters have to be introduced quickly and build a story for the third film to make sense and flow smoothly.  This means there is no proper conclusion causing the film to end abruptly which ultimately builds up the suspense for the final film.

 

Thankfully the overall quality is much better than the last film.  The CGI has improved so much that most of the time it’s hard to tell the difference.  It’s exactly what the last film lacked.  The whole world of Middle Earth feels more real due to this.  A great example of this is the crowd pleasing, barrel riding sequences that involves Dwarves in barrels flowing down a river whilst Orcs and Elves chase after them.  By using a real river in New Zealand, a built one in the back of their studios, and around one kilometre of computer generated water allows for this elaborate complex long sequence to feel totally believable.  The introduction of Men into this film also allows for this realness, considering the overall audience will obviously relate to them more than any other creature.

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is action packed from start to finish.  You will be left satisfied and wanting more. 

RATING:  4/5