The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.
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Nice effects though.
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
I love the book. and I am not real convince of the opportunity of its adaptation. this film confirms that for me. because "The Hobbit" is admirable for special effects, for the effort of actors, for specular images but it remains expression of the ambition of director to give another ~Lord of Ring", ignoring, in too many occasions, the difference between the serie and the book. sure, all is great, seductive and fascinating. but Smaug of Tolkien is more alive than the perfect monster of Peter Jackson. and, after the end of film, admiration and respect of viewer has as object the hard work more than artistic virtues.
If you've liked the other four Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films, you'll like this one, simple. I found it highly enjoyable and well-paced - not as meandering as 'The Fellowship of the Ring' or 'An Unexpected Journey'. It's not as good as 'The Two Towers', but does an good job of moving the story and characters forward.It also has a great score - every time you hear that motif, you think of Sauron and the ring's temptation - and plenty of great visuals. It's pretty amazing how just watching a film can make you feel comfortable, as you recognize parts of Middle Earth/New Zealand. But most of all, it's fun - there's a bear, plenty of 'catch-me-if-you-can', a waterfall/rapids chase, some spelunking, some gold mining - oh, and a dragon!It's good to see Legolas and some Elves, as well as men, helping out the Hobbit & the Dwarves. Gandalf has some good moments, but this is definitely Bilbo's film - and it's left on a nice cliff-hanger.
After a lot of character building and exposition, it is time to meet some of the antagonists. The orc's obsession with the dwarfs is now explained as a part of an elaborate evil plan, we finally meet the dragon, which is an intelligent and articulate being, only driven mad by pride and greed. I quite liked the dragon and I wish the character would have been explored more. However, considering this is based on a children's book, any kind of depth in the story is a bonus. We also meet the humans, not some great kingdom, but a mere fisherman's village, far removed from the glory of the original Dale, and run by a corrupt ruler. Sauron makes his appearance, battling all kinds of magic users that seem to appear and disappear from various places as the story demands. We meet the "not so good" elf lord with a grudge on the dwarfs, as well. Here things start to also go awry with the quality of the storytelling, but the special effects and the increase in tension keep the viewer entertained. It all starts to go more and more over the top, without any reason to. If you are a Tolkien purist or thrive on a believable plot with reasonable characters and events, here is where you will start to scratch your head and wonder where it all went wrong. Still good and fun, though.
We are back at it folks, if you saw my jurassic park / batman review you know this wont be pretty. The ring series was amazing, so cool, so real, i loved that they used live actors as much as possible. Yet mr Jackson must of felt some pressure from the higher ups because i think sharknado has better graphics. I honestly lost interest in this series when i saw how bad the graphics were, this series was waaaaaaaay too rushed. The graphics on game of thrones looks 10x better. very cheesy and very disappointing.