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.

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