The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Movie Review

J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t know it at the time, but when he wrote The Hobbit he really screwed Peter Jackson. The Hobbit is a small book. Not culturally, mind you. I’m talking page count here. When you put it up against The Lord Of The Rings it seems downright…hobbit-esque. And for a writer that’s okay. Whether it’s a short story or an epic fantasy, it’s all just words written one after the other. But, when it comes to movies, suddenly a few words on a page can mean thousands of dollars and hundreds of cast and crew working tirelessly for days on end. Worse yet, while The Hobbit might be a small tale, Tolkien expanded its world in later stories that not only created material for use in the future, but that also went back and gave greater depth to events taking place before and during the story The Hobbit tells. In essence the book became an island in the middle of an ocean of addendum material, making it larger than it actually appeared.

So, what is a director to do when he wants to make a movie about a small book yet the money and manpower needed to make it are immense? For Peter Jackson, the answer was to use all of Tolkien’s added material to make that small story larger, large enough to not only justify the cost and work that would have to go into making even just one film, but also large enough to fill out the cinematic universe he’d previously created, keeping it true to Tolkien’s vision. To those who complain that Jackson has become indulgent, I say you’re wrong. He’s a man who loves Tolkien and his creation, and to ignore the vaster story Tolkien told to stay true to the smaller vision he originally had would be not only a disservice to Tolkien, but also to all those who once dreamed of Middle Earth and the millennia of stories told within it.

Whew. Now THAT’S out of the way…

So, now, after five Middle Earth movies (and one more to go), it’s becoming hard to think of something original to talk about when reviewing them. We already know that they’re going to look amazing, that Howard Shore’s score is going to sweep us away, and that Peter Jackson’s direction will be deft if a bit excessive. These are all known quantities, and have been talked about ad nauseam, so what is there new to add?

For a franchise already loaded with characters, several new faces manage to enter the mix, and each one brings something fresh to the table. Evangeline Lilly as the elven warrior Tauriel is certainly a breath of fresh feminine air. Tolkien’s stories have never been known for their abundance of strong female characters, so it fell to Mr. Jackson to either take existing characters and beef up their stories or create them out of whole cloth. Tauriel is of the latter. To the credit of the writers, she fits in perfectly. Lee Pace as the Elvenking Thranduil is as ethereal as he is menacing. Luke Evans’s Bard adds some of that earthy dark charm that’s been missing since Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn isn’t part of this story. And Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice is of the great dragon Smaug might just be the smartest casting Hollywood has seen in ages. All of them enter the film seamlessly, new yet right at home in Jackson’s creation.

Is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a perfect movie? Is it for everyone? Of course not. Even with all of Weta’s brilliance the occasional computer image or wig piece looks wonky. And no cast, no matter how amazing, will ever deliver every line flawlessly. That’s just how it is. And, if you like movies that have zero fat on them, that zip along and have you out the door in under two hours, you’re really not going to like this movie (just as you wouldn’t have liked any of the previous Middle Earth movies – especially the Extended Editions). Jackson loads these films up with characters and stories like an overburdened wagon, some of it entirely necessary and some of it…maybe not so much. But that is where love comes in.

For those who love Tolkien’s stories, for those who want to go on a real journey, for those who want to kick their feet up and be told a long but thoroughly entertaining tale, then The Desolation of Smaug is exactly what you want. Jackson and everyone else at Wingnut Films has a love for this material that shines from the screen with the pearl-like glow of the Arkenstone. Some might find fault with that, but I do not. To Mr. Jackson I say, the more the better! His Middle Earth films have yet to let me down, and in fact somehow seem to get better with each new chapter. It’s amazing, it’s breathtaking, and it’s humbling. If you feel the same way, get your behind into a theater this instant. You will not be disappointed.

If $10 is the full price of admission, this one is worth $10.00

Justin Macumber
The Hollywood Outsider
www.TheHollywoodOutsider.com