Skip to main content

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Review


Oh. Heck. Yes. Yeah, Peter Jackson is still awesome. With Desolation of Smaug (do you say it “Smowg” or “Smog”), Peter Jackson is once again in top form. I loved nearly everything about this movie. LORD OF THE RINGS IS BACK BABY. I know, I’m such a fangirl. I apologize. Seriously though, this movie nails everything. Yeah, fine. I’ll get on to the review.

So, as you can tell, I like this movie. A lot. Like, a heck of a lot. Everything An Unexpected Journey did wrong, this movie gets right. The formula from the first movie remains largely unchanged, but it is significantly improved upon. We still don’t get to see a lot about the personalities of the dwarves. But we get to see a few of their personalities, and that technically constitutes character development. Right? Right. Don’t get freaked out, it’s okay. I answer myself all the time. The emotional depth is there this time. It’s FINALLY THERE. The movie tries to tie itself to Lord of the Rings in even more dramatic ways this time. But it works this time. Oh, how beautifully it works.

It’s a prequel in all the right ways this time. A lot of people despise this movie because of how it differs from the book. Honestly, I. Just. Don’t. Care. It’s not like any major story points are changed. Heck, if you ask me, the book was improved upon. It was just never that deep or even exciting. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the book. But the story is just so much better in this movie. While An Unexpected Journey ultimately just felt a little like a slightly dull CGI-fest, this movie is involving in nearly every way. It’s funny when it needs to be, exciting constantly, emotionally moving at the right moments, and ultimately it’s just a far stronger entry. It’s the Empire Strikes Back of the Hobbit trilogy, if you will. It’s far darker, and there’s just so much more at stake this time. The actors still continue to impress, with Martin Freeman still delivering in the role of Bilbo. Richard Armitage also gets a bit more of a chance to shine in this movie, as Thorin’s personality becomes a bit deeper. Howard Shore continues to greatly impress, his score this time around being even more impressive than his previous one. It’s just a very well-made film, and even those who hate it would probably not deny this. If this movie has a flaw, it’s that it begins to drag on a bit when the dwarves finally confront Smaug. However, this sequence is still astoundingly well executed, and ultimately, this is the only problem I have with the movie. It’s worth suffering through the first one to get to this one. Trust me. 4.5/5 stars. Nearly perfect.


Also. SMAUG THOUGH.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Revenge of the Sith Review

I’m sure you’ve probably heard that Revenge of the Sith is just slightly better than The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. In my opinion, that is completely untrue. Revenge of the Sith is a masterpiece. Let me explain why I think so. First of all, the plot here is just so much better. Even the dialogue is greatly improved. It’s still not perfect, but it’s only cringe-worthy in a few scenes. That in and of itself is a huge improvement. Secondly, George Lucas has the power of his own legendary original trilogy behind him this time. Finally, we get to witness Anakin become Darth Vader. And it’s glorious. We finally get a little bit of believability when it comes to why Anakin turned to the dark side. This time, it’s not just because he was an arrogant brat. We’re finally able to believe that he was pushed over the edge. On a technical level, everything is flawless, and the CGI still looks incredible today. The acting is far better this time around, and Hayden Christensen i...

Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies boasts what may be the most absurd plot of any Bond film. The head of a media outlet tries to start wars in order to have a monopoly on the media coverage of them. If you can’t comprehend the absurdity of that, let me try to give another example. CNN starts World War 3 and has journalists in place to report these events before anyone else can, and no one on the face of the earth thinks that’s shady in any way, shape, or form except for MI6. The question we should all be asking ourselves is how the heck this movie managed to actually be kind of good with a plot like this. The opening sequence is not quite as exhilarating as we’ve come to expect from Brosnan Bond movies, but it’s competent enough. From there, we’re plunged directly into the story. The first act takes its time, explaining delicately in a detailed manner exactly what the media mogul’s plan is, and how he’s going to carry it out. His plot may be absolu...

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the Spider-Man film that should never have succeeded. Reboot after reboot finally gave us a Spider-Man series we can safely trust will be consistently good. I’m going to touch on a few plot points, but no spoilers. Picking up in fresh territory, after the apparent death of Uncle Ben, Homecoming takes us down a thematic path we’ve never seen before. Gone is the dark brooding, the constant crying, and the cheesiness. Instead, we’re confronted with comedy, plot twists, and heart in (mostly) all of the right places. Homecoming could really only be rightfully classified as an action-comedy or comedy-action. There are probably more jokes than punches thrown, now that I think about it. And yet the comedy is miraculously far-removed from the cringe-worthy quips found in most Marvel movies. It’s genuinely, consistently, and thoroughly hilarious. Another fresh element is Peter’s relationship with Aunt May. Gone is...