The Desolation of Smaug, more like the desolation of the Lord of the Rings brand. Ok, it’s not that bad, but the downward trajectory of the fantasy franchise isn’t rectified by the 2nd part of the trilogy. In fact, this film could better be titled The Hobbit: Filler Before the Third Film Which Will Be Better, I Promise.
Our story picks up where the first film left off, with Bilbo (Martin Freeman) becoming more confident now that he found the one ring that makes him invisible. The focus isn’t really on him in this segment though, it’s more about Thorin (Richard Armitage). Like Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films, Thorin is a direct descendant and heir to the throne at Erebor, which his relatives lost due to greed to Smaug (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch) the dragon. Thorin is determined to win back his kingdom and family legacy, which forces him into conflict with the wood elves, including Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). After escaping their dungeon, the dwarves travel through West Town with the help of Bard (Luke Evans), on their way to Erebor, where Bilbo must steal the arkenstone from Smaug’s treasures. During the dwarf adventures, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) splits from the company to search for the source of growing evil in Middle Earth.
What was problematic in The Hobbit: An Incredible Journey is just as problematic in the Desolation of Smaug. The dwarves are woefully interchangeable, with minor development of only a couple of them. Tonally, the dichotomy of the Hobbit compared to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is much lighter; the extra gravitas due to the Gandalf subplot distracts and hinders the main narrative from gaining more steam. Character development is a little better outside of Bilbo and Thorin: Tauriel and Bard will be major players in the third installment and this film that made me care about them. Overall, the Desolation of Smaug amounts to mostly padding of a thin story with subplots that don’t fit into the narrative well and CGI spectacles.
But boy oh boy are those spectacles amazing. There is a barrel chase on a river involving dwarves, orcs, and elves that flow together like ballet dancers. The dragon, in all its glory, is a behemoth of a beast; no wonder he is so sure of himself. The battle between the dwarves, Bilbo, and Smaug in the depths of Erebor is by far the film’s highlight. There are also talking spiders, a necromancer, a changeling, and several chases. Bigger spectacles have been seen in a Middle Earth movie, but not to the challenging level seen in the Desolation of Smaug. These scenes keep the picture moving when it so easily could get bogged down in stuffing.
The acting is put on the back-burner here in favor of special effects. Martin Freeman, when given the chance, is very solid as Bilbo, combining growing confidence with intelligence and naiveté. Richard Armitage appears regal and enigmatic enough to give Thorin some necessary texture (he gets some nice beats defending himself from the elves). Evangeline Lilly and Luke Evans fit right in as Tauriel and Bard. Lilly gives Tauriel some wisdom and sadness in her tragic love story subplot, and Evans gets to be a little Aragorny himself with family sins to remedy (plus his intensity hits just the right note). Orlando Bloom and Ian McKellen are back but not given much to do, and Benedict Cumberbatch is menacing enough as the titular dragon.
The Desolation of Smaug adds a little Michael Bay into Peter Jackson’s director chair. Those scenes are pretty amazing, but they disservice the story to the point that it is surprising how few characters the audience has a vested interest in. However, we can now dispense with the filler and finally get there and back again with the third Hobbit film, and give Middle Earth a proper farewell.