Let me start by saying that I love the Tolkien film universe that Peter Jackson has created. I count the Lord of the Rings movies among my favorites and I felt like the first installment of the Hobbit trilogy was incredibly entertaining to me.
And there’s so much more to love in this second installment, The Desolation of Smaug.
There are few people in the world who can stage action sequences as well as Peter Jackson and this film contains some of his best work. As the dwarves (and Bilbo) work to escape from Mirkwood in the infamous barrel escape, they’re chased riverside by Orcs, who are in turn being chased by Legolas and Tauriel (Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lilly). It’s probably one of the best action sequences to come out of the cinema this year; exciting, refreshing, and thrilling.
There’s a moment with Bombur that might have been one of the coolest things I’d ever seen in my life.
Then, the action gets even better when the company makes it to Erebor and find themselves facing off against Smaug. A lengthy confrontation through the old dwarven mines and forges leaves on breathless and Peter Jackson should be proud of his command of action cinema.
But the film suffers a few problems that were completely unavoidable and I simply don’t understand.
First, the ending of the film. It leaves no resolution whatsoever, when it felt like it was only moments from that resolution, particularly if you know the story.
My next problem was a simple issue that may or may not be nit-picky. But this film opens with a title card that reads “The Hobbit” and then a shot of Bree with a title at the bottom that reads “Bree – on the outskirts of the Shire.” And we’re shown a scene that clearly takes place in The Prancing Pony between Gandalf and Thorin before they’ve decided to embark on the journey that began in the first film. They also talk specifically about how they’re in Bree, and at the Prancing Pony. Then, we cut to a shot of Bilbo and another title at the bottom that reads “12 Months Later” and it’s clearly in the midst of their quest beyond the events of the first film. Then we’re finally given a card that reads “The Desolation of Smaug.”
Why?
I don’t recall another time this has been done in a Lord of the Rings movie (or a Hobbit film) and it could have been fixed by any one with a working knowledge of editing. It felt like pandering to the audience and there didn’t seem to be a reason for it.
My biggest problem with the film, other than a bit of the filler (*cough*a hint of love between Evangeline Lilly’s Tauriel and a dwarf*cough*), was the ending I mentioned earlier.
I understand ending a movie on a cliffhanger, but this was clumsy. Take “The Empire Strikes Back” for instance, or even “The Two Towers.” A goal is met or a revelation is made, then the characters are given a few minutes to breath and the audience is sent back home with some sort of release. In Empire, yes, it’s a cliffhanger that Vader may or may not be Luke’s father, but Luke gets away, has his hand fixed, and we see that they’ve made a plan of attack for the next film. In the second Lord of the Rings film, we’re given nothing.
The Desolation of Smaug leaves you literally mid-climax. You’re holding your breath waiting for the next shot and you’re simply left with end credits and a bad folk song.
I understand that Peter Jackson is saving everything for the third film: dealing with the Necromancer, killing Smaug over Lake Town, and the battle of the five armies. It’s going to be the ultimate Tolkien-verse version of the last act of Return of the Jedi, but for the first time since they announced The Hobbit was going to be three films instead of two, I really wished they’d kept it at two films.
The ending just didn’t work. I felt like I watched half a movie and there’s no reason for it.
I wanted badly to love this movie and for the most part I was greatly thrilled and entertained, but it felt stretched out with too much of the wrong material.
My favorite moments of the film seemed to be the ones passed over the most quickly: Bjorn the Bear, Gandalf investigating the tombs of the Nine, anything involving Bilbo… They were all gone in a blink, but we’re left with scene after scene of Legolas and Tauriel talking about the politics of the elves.
I did enjoy this film quite a bit but I didn’t love it. And I think it would rank as the weakest of all the films set in this universe that have been directed by Peter Jackson.
But whatever I say about it isn’t going to matter. You’re going to see it and enjoy it, too. And then we’ll all wait together for the last one.