Official Synopsis
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.
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The second movie in a trilogy is generally the ‘downer’, if you will. I don’t mean that it sucks (don’t get me wrong, there are some second movies that suck), rather it’s usually the darker of the bunch. The Empire Strikes Back is a perfect example of a second act in a giant opus that is a downer, though definitely the best of the bunch, as it brings all our happy heroes from the first film squarely down to earth. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is no different.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a beautifully crafted film, even more so than the first movie. The first film was a methodically paced movie that needed to find its identity and stay firmly on the correct path and bring our audience into an adventure. It had little room to maneuver and contained little surprises. Simply put, the first film is solely there to establish how the rest of the story is going to go. It did its job spectacularly, but wow was it slow on the build. Again, it has to be slow because if the set up it’s trying to put together doesn’t work then the rest of the movies will have a hard time standing on firm ground. Thankfully, it worked and despite the grumblings from critics, it was a worldwide success (and it deserved to be). Like I stated before, its general flow was slow and methodical.
The second film acknowledges that nice set up and simply says ‘Let’s do this!’. Oh, and it does it.
The Desolation of Smaug has no issues with a ‘go-go-go!!!’ attitude. We know the characters, now we get to see them in action. It starts out quick, keeps its foot on the gas and doesn’t let up until it gets to its destination. Consequently, because of the pacing, the film’s three-hour mark (which is certain to get bigger when the ultimate edition comes out sometime in the future)flies by — and that’s with multiple viewings.
The film starts out where the first left, our heroes have barely escape with their lives from the onslaught of the orcs and now must find a way to the Lonely Mountain as quick as possible. Time is not on their side, nor are the things that look to stutter their step. Along the way, our adventurers encounter obstacles such as giant spiders in a very confusing/easy-to-get-lost-in forest, some very unhappy elves in the Mirkwood forest led by the unhappiest/untrustworthy elf, Thranduil, and a band of humans who are forced to live on the lake (Laketown) thanks to a giant sleeping dragon. To say that the film is filled with fast-paced action led by large amounts of terrible evil around every corner would be a complete understatement.
Peter Jackson throws everything at the audience in this one. You can compare this film with the likes of The Two Towers during its gigantic climactic scene towards the end. You go from one crisis to another, with the fear of failure hanging around every corner, and Jackson/crew don’t waste one once of film getting the audience through them. By the time the dwarves and hobbit enter the Lonely Mountain, you’re as exhausted as them. Of course, it’s not so exhausting that you don’t appreciate the terrifying beauty of Smaug himself. Smaug is amazing thanks to Jackson and Smaug’s voice/soul, Benedict Cumberbatch.
While Jackson’s pacing for The Desolation of Smaug is nice, the real beef here is how the story flows together well. Jumping from one plot point to another, you don’t really have a head scratching moment or a moment where the story takes an emotional or visible detour anywhere. It really does feel like everything in the story is evenly and properly placed. We get enough details about the bad guys, the good guys and the guys/gals who are somewhere in the middle. We get a really good backstory and proper construction of the Mirkwood elves, and Thranduil’s wicked intentions. The film never has to stop and explain too much, which bodes well for the pacing that Jackson establishes at the beginning. Simply put, it’s all well planned, scripted and executed. It’s really tough to find a flaw in it.
I mean you could complain about Tauriel, who doesn’t appear in the original writing, but Jackson finds a way to fit her in properly. Purist don’t like her, but she really does a great job in the overall story.
Overall, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is great film. It provides that ‘foot to the gas’ that the trilogy needs and leaves off roaring towards the end of a cliff right into a freeze frame before its hobbit-like vehicle goes over the edge. It’s done so well that you will be frothing at the mouth for December 17th to get here tomorrow. I know I am.
Shifting gears, let’s talk about the Blu-ray.
It’s gorgeous. It’s everything you would expect from a film shot with tons and tons of RED cams. All the details in the transfer are positively gorgeous. The colors from the movie do stand out quite well on the Blu-ray format, with focus being on red, white, yellow, green, blue and black. The best scene in the bunch that really makes the HD come to life is when Bilbo finds his way up a tree in the Mirkwood forest in attempt to find the sunlight. The blue butterflies and gorgeous tree leaves stand out so well in HD. Simply stunning. When you’re trying to decide on what to get, barring you aren’t going the 3D route, just go straight for the Blu-ray. It’s the best, cleanest and crispest way to watch The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
As for the audio, you get it in proper 7.1 DTS-HD (you’ll be happy when Smaug enters the scene — gold to the ears) and the aspect ratio of the movie is 2.4:1.
Finally, as for features, here’s what you’re getting:
– Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set
– Production Videos
– New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth, Part 2
While it may not seem there is a ton of things going on by looking at the list, you’re in for a long journey. The biggest of the bunch is the Peter Jackson invites You to the Set, which consists of four featurettes totaling 40:36 of behind the scenes production. It’s a lot for a single set of features, but well worth the watch.
The Production Videos take you through the processes leading up to the film’s finishing moments. This includes the set building, make-up jobs, the actors coming together to prepare for their roles and a lot more stuff leading up to the finishing of the second film.
The last bit of goods is the New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth, which will make you want to go to New Zealand. It’s a good promotional video, but not as worthwhile in terms of entertainment as the other features.
Other than those main features, you do get some trailers for the film and a preview of the film (and some little extras that are more promotion than substance).
While I’m sure there will be a large extended edition of this film coming out in the fall (I’m not completely sure, but if it follows the trend of all the films then it should happen), the features are still darn good on this release.
Own “THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG” Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo pack, Blu-ray Combo pack, 2-disc DVD special edition, and Digital HD on 4/8
