Review: ‘The Hobbit’ Desolates Your Mind
First of all, a more appropriate subtitle for the film would have been The Teasing and then High-Octane Nightmare Fuel of Smaug, but more on that later.
With two thirds of the Hobbit trilogy now released, Peter Jackson continues to bring life into text that was once believed impossible to be adapted for film. Desolation wastes no time getting back to the action, smoothly picking up where An Unexpected Journey left off.
Unsurprisingly, the whole cast continue giving stunningly real performances – the individuality and camaraderie of the dwarves keeps the narrative fun, and it’s a given that Sir Ian McKellen makes playing an eternal badass like Gandalf look effortless. Martin Freeman is the true gem of the cast, however – his performance is layered and feeling, showing a young Bilbo growing into the hero of his own story, while also slowing succumbing to the addiction to the One Ring. It also doesn’t hurt that Freeman is a wonderfully expressive actor who finds dynamic yet subtle ways of interacting with every environment he encounters during the film. Orlando Bloom’s triumphant return to his iconic role Legolas is not to be overlooked, either: even as a younger, arrogant prince you can’t help but root for him, although the makeup and CGI effects used to make him look younger do also make him look like a greeter at Sephora.
And suddenly, your childhood crush has just come roaring back to life.
The film’s fight choreography is nothing short of brilliant, each character gets a moment to shine and it makes the journey all the more magical and fun. The variety of locations and sets are as enchanting as ever under Jackson’s vision, although he does let his B-movie roots show when our heroes battle the giant spiders in Mirkwood – also because of this scene, I feel morally obligated to warn those of you with arachnophobia to avoid seeing the movie in 3D. You will thank me later.
As for Smaug, honestly, there are no words. Finally seeing the dragon come alive after years of anticipation was simply unbelievable. Even the pickiest Tolkien fans are bound to be slackjawed at the sheer terror and enormity of the beast. The filmmakers wisely chose a Jaws-esque approach by making the audience wait as long as the narrative could possibly allow before finally revealing the creature, and it makes the pay-off even more thrilling when he is finally shown in full force. The entire third act of the film with Smaug stomping around is absolutely worth the price of admission.
This thing is Benedict Cumberbatch rolling around on the floor of a studio covered in dots. Movie magic, baby!
While I wish I could say that there’s nothing about the film that disappoints, some things were under cooked. Lake-Town and its citizens lack the usual charm and dimension of Tolkien’s world building. Stephen Fry’s brief appearance as the corrupt and sickly Master of the town is delightful, but he feels like the only splash of colour for this particular segment of the film. Mirkwood’s elf kingdom is not exactly done justice either – there are only hints at the famed parties thrown by King Thranduil, but it’s (hopefully) a scene that will turn up if a director’s cut is released. The addition of a new character invented by the screen writing team, Tauriel, helps us get a better sense of the culture of the wood elves, but it feels like she wandered out of someone’s fan fiction. Increasing the presence of women in Tolkien’s world is a much-needed refreshment, but its counter-intuitive when they lack dimension. Evangeline Lilly gets an A for effort, but she really could have used more to work with in the script.
Wait, who are you guys again?
In general, people either like J.R.R. Tolkien’s works or they don’t, so Peter Jackson and the general public are very aware of whom the Hobbit movies are made for. There may be a lot of scenes leaving you with the phrase “But in the books…!” on your lips, but the writers make it work by expanding the narrative to include a sense of cause and effect between these films and the Lord of the Rings. We’re left with a lot of anticipation for the third installment, There and Back Again due out this time next year, and hopes are high.
