by Joseph Rossi
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a freight train of a movie that is barreling at top speed with no sign of stopping. Director Peter Jackson and his team of wizards have created an entertainment that boggles the mind and leaves you exhausted. I want to go on the ride again.
The movie itself is miles above the last film (which I did like). While the first Hobbit film took its time to introduce everyone and basically explain the premise of the story, this film shoots us right into the action, set piece after set piece. In the realm of Geek Cinema, Peter Jackson has surpassed his peers as the new head techno movie God by giving us the most intensely, evil and massive dragon ever put to screen. He emerges from a sea of billions of gold coins like some immense fire breathing shark and plays a devilish cat and mouse game with Martin Freeman’s Bilbo Baggins. Is it pure Tolkein? Who cares? It’s done well and it’s damn good. Another one stands out as the next big theme park ride. Bilbo sets his dwarf companions on a wild, wet, river ride in wine barrels to avoid capture by elves and other middle earth monsters. It’s a giddy, over the top sequence that’ll have you gasping and laughing and proves Peter Jackson’s love, in a good way, of excess.
And excess is a key word. If it’s not barrels of dwarves, it’s giant spiders and massive battles. Jackson has always been one to give more then necessary. Even in his low budget shlock days, he would give you all and the kitchen sink. With 500 million dollars at his disposal, it’s no different. His frame is bursting at the seams with so much stuff it’s hard to keep focus on one thing. Thank God for the quiet moments. Martin Freeman is wonderful as Bilbo and in a few quiet scenes we get to see the man act the part with a mixture of fear, menace and heart. We see the ring that he acquired from Gollum has started to take effect on the Hobbit. The wise wizard Gandalf (Ian MacKellan) notices a change as well but is more focused on another possible threat that seems to be growing elsewhere in Middle Earth (one that will be the focus of The Lord of the Rings).
Back is Legolas (Orlando Bloom) who serves as a bridge between this new set of films and the last. While not being anywhere in the actual novel, his presence is welcome as it does serve the spirit of these movies. The dwarves are more fleshed out this time around. Richard Armitage is excellent as Thorin, the leader of the group. Like Bilbo and his golden burden, the quest weighs on Thorin and it shows.
This is on par with Jackson’s best (for me, that being The Fellowship of the Ring). It huge movie making but it never falls into the category of the impersonal blockbuster (comic book movies, Fast and Furious, etc). There is a beating heart here and it belongs to Peter Jackson.
