The Hobbit movie: Dwarves — Page 3

Why didn't the say the line "This was an unexpected Journey" in the first movie? That bugs me. They say "The desolation of Smaug" in this one, and in all of the LOTR movies they say the title. That bugs me.

The Dwarves may be on a quest to reclaim their homeland and slay a dragon, but Peter Jackson is on a quest too; he's hell-bent on proving you can have too much a good thing. Middle Earth hits a sophomore slump with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second chapter in the trilogy which should've been a single film. Jackson has never been a subtle director, and his study in mesmerizing excess continues here, and it's finally starting to catch up with him. Lots of fans and critics have justifiably taken him to task for splitting the slimmest (and most accessible) of Tolkien's work into a bloated second trilogy, and the first installment, An Unexpected Journey, received a decidedly lukewarm reception. But for my part, I enjoy it quite a bit. In spite of its length, it was light on its feet and breezed through it's nearly three-hour length. The Desolation of Smaug, however, is severely hamstrung with middle-chapter syndrome, loaded with exposition and padding to get to the meat of the story which, God-willing, Jackson will bring around in the third installment.

When we last left Bilbo and his merry band of 13 Dwarves, they'd escaped from Goblin tunnels with the help of Gandalf and Bilbo's magic ring. Now they're on the run from Azog, the Defiler (Who's done wholly with CG, in contrast to the film's other orcs, and still kind of looks like an albino reject from Avatar.) and his bad of evil orcs and Wargs, who as it transpires, are serving a much darker master...They take refuge with the "skin-changer" Beorn (Exactly why Jackson didn't simply cut this subplot, as Rankin-Bass did in the animated version is a mystery, as it doesn't really pay off later in the film and doesn't seem likely to in the third movie.), and journey into the dark forest of Mirkwood, ruled by Elves who are none to friendly to Dwarves and evil giant spiders, and a familiar face from Jackson's first trilogy. After escaping via and excess but rollicking fun ride in barrels down the river full of Buster Keaton-styled sight gags, they arrive in Laketown, at which point the film crashes into a brick wall and hits a grinding halt from which it never fully recovers. Gandalf, meanwhile, breaks off from the pack to go discover a dark evil which the audience knows all too well.

On the surface, the idea of spending more time in Laketown isn't a bad idea. In the novel, the Dwarves themselves never actually get to battle Smaug and the task of slaying the dragon is taken from them and Bilbo and given to a character we hardly know. By spending time there, we're actually given an idea of what's at stake, who Bard is, and what they're fighting for. Moreover, there's a subtle political subplot running through these scenes which is kind of interesting, and we get to know and care about Bard and his family and the culture of the ruined Laketown. But having Thorin and the Dwarves smuggled into town by Bard, quibble over weapons, and argue with the Master takes way too long. And it's not the only place where the film dawdles either. The characters taking refuge with Beorn, who's transformed from the Eco-protector of the forest to a sort of werewolf not in control of his bear form, and could have rather easily been excised. And when the gang finally arrives at the Lonely Mountain, it takes forever for them to figure out how to get in. Once the Dwarves finally throw down with the dragon, the constant cutting back to Laketown and the pair of renegade elves is likewise distracting.

The Hobbit is a very tonally different book from The Lord of the Rings, lighter, more breezy, and less ponderous. The first film, though long and occasionally detouring into juvenile humor, handled this tone rather well. The Desolation of Smaug, however, dips into darker territory in its attempts to expand the plot, and the glimpses of dirty day-to-day life in Laketown and the political machinations behind it and the Dwarves dirty journey to the mountaintop, seem a bit ponderous and dragging. The tone of LOTR which infuses the new material vs. the tone of the source novel's sequence is still not fully reconciled.

But if it's too much of a good thing, there are still good things. Though their presence is largely unnecessary, Legolas and his sexy Elven mate prove an engaging pair, the casting remains as impeccable as ever, the production design is breathtaking, the cinematography is stunning, and the effects? You have to see Smaug to believe it. Cumberbatch, his voice apparently run though a rumbling filter, is superb as the arrogant dragon, and the FX work is nothing short of breathtaking, the dragon's every movement and twitch a wonder and a tribute to the incredible artisty to WETA's team of digital craftsman. And Jackson being Jackson, the action is rollicking and some of the little touches are superb-dropping coins to indicate the presence of Smaug, Gandalf's telekinetic throwdown with the Necromancer who evaporates his magical staff, Bilbo's slow realization of the altogether evil nature of his seemingly innocuous ring is a nice touch, a particularly poetic moment of Bilbo both literally and metaphorically rising above the dark forest surround by butterflies is a a gorgeous shot and the image of Sauron himself coming out of the evil Eye of Mordor is one of the most inspired images Jackson's imagination has yet conceived. WETA's armor and weapons remain superb, and the film's world looks fully lived in, a fully realized fantasy vision, with the best screen dragon since the underrated Dragonslayer. Smaug is worth the price of admission, it just takes forever to get there. And whereas Jackson's other Tolkien films, though they obviously hinted at future story to tell, had satisfying endings, this one ends on a somewhat unsatisfying cliffhanger.

Jackson himself remains both as excessive and brilliant as ever, a post-modern blend of George Lucas, James Cameron, and Steven Spielberg all rolled into one with a throwback to the swashbuckling fun and sense of awe of the Hollywood spectacles of yesteryear. Though occasionally marred by the prequel-trilogy style excesses of the director's own King Kong,  most of the set pieces are thoroughly exciting and fun. The actors are all as superb as ever, particularly the slowly degrading but regal Richard Armitage as Thorin and the wonderful Martin Freeman as Bilbo, who's new inner strength and character development is beautifully conveyed. The rest of the Dwarves are a fun band to ride with, and though Bloom remains a bit wooden, the wholesale invention of a sexy female wood elf played by Evangeline Lily as his tortured soulmate works better than it has any right to, as the film zooms out to show exactly how the various elements will eventually come together for the big finish. He's a talented filmmaker, but one can't help but wish his editor has more clout now and again. Entertaining in spite of its flaws, lets hope the Jackson manages to pull everything together for the last installment. It's good to be back in Middle Earth, let's just hope that the finale manages to make the overlong journey worthwhile.