The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

****
Release Date: December 13th 2013

The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.

Director: Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans

The middle film of any trilogy has the hardest job of keeping up the pace of the narrative, without lacking the ability to have its own standalone story. The sub-plot within the main plot doesn't detach itself but merely enhances the films as a whole. The Desolation of Smaug does exactly this, never giving you a moments breath as it starts off just where An Unexpected Journey ended.

A small introduction is played out with Beorn, the shape-shifter, but Bilbo and the dwarves are quickly off on their adventure again, followed closely by the pursuing Azog and his goblin troop. 

It can be easily said that Middle Earth has such grandeur and beauty that hasn't looked this exceptional since Fellowship. As we know from An Unexpected Journey, Thorin and co. are off to save the lost kingdom of Erebor and the treasure within from the clutches of Smaug the dragon. In The Desolation of Smaug, their journey continues, with a few places to go on the way, including the dark and mysterious Mirkwood, and the splendid Lake Town, a city on water. Although the scenery is amazing to look at, it never steers the audience away from storyline.   

The dwarves, except for Thorin and a few others, still suffer with lack of individuality. Other characters enter the fray including Luke Evans as Bard and a fitting cameo by Stephen Fry.  You will be wondering to yourself why is Legolas in the film when he's not in the book? I, like many others, am a huge Tolkien fan, and find that Peter Jackson and his writing team have been a little disloyal and unfaithful to the book. It's understandable that Legolas would have been in Mirkwood at the time that the dwarves were (due to the fact that Thranduil the king of Mirkwood is his father), but it could also be said that Peter Jackson has added him because he is a favourable moneymaker.

Evangeline Lilly plays a new character named Tauriel that's not in the book. Jackson has decided to add her in order to create a love story that's hard to deal with for the fans but at the same time shows that women do exist in Middle Earth and can kick ass just as much men do. No one wants to see a film dominated by masculinity and I'm sure that some may think it chauvinistic.           

Although there are plenty of changes to the book, there's a lot to like about The Desolation of Smaug, the main feature being Smaug. He is a sight to behold, and Cumberbatch does a fine job voicing him. Freeman does another fantastic job being little trouble in a big world, especially when pitted up against Smaug for the first time.

Overview: Much is still leading up to the final film. The end of TDOS has a cliffhanger that's out to torment and agitate most. The scene where the dwarves escape Mirkwood in barrels is one of the set-pieces in the last decade.