Rating of
2.5/4
"The Desolation Of Smaug" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 12/08/15
Bilbo and his dwarven entourage finally make their way into Lonely Mountain to confront Smaug and retake the Arkenstone. The seemingly endless journey of Bilbo Baggins continues very much in the same vein as the previous film. The first act in particular is just another fantasy road movie punctuated by action sequences that play out like a level of Crash Bandicoot but when the motley gang reach Laketown and encounter Bard, things get a little more interesting. Stephen Fry and the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch are nice additions to the supporting cast, Evangeline Lilly makes a fine action heroine and the fact that they actually reach their destination means the film has rather more dramatic momentum than the original. As a result The Desolation Of Smaug is rather better than An Unexpected Journey but the major flaw remains; Peter Jackson needs to learn the lesson that George Lucas never did. When *everything* is epic in scale, and *everything* is visually spectacular then suddenly, *nothing* is.
