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The sequel to An Unexpected Journey hasn't disappointed many people because it s action packed and packed full of Lord of the Rings references, right down to Peter Jackson's cameo. Finally Bilbo and the dwarves arrive at the Lonely Mountain and confront Smaug with devastating effects. On the way there are elves, orcs and wizards.
The problem that I had with this film was that there was nothing wrong with the first one. I enjoyed learning more about Hobbits and dwarves, I enjoyed watching Martin Freeman being adorably Bilbo, I didn't miss the lack of action. Therefore the new faster pace of this film didn't improve anything, it just made for a different type of film.
The same problems that I had with the first film were in this film, far too much CGI (and too noticeable CGI), too many moments that could have been cut from the 161 minute film and it still isn't even comparable to Lord of the Rings. Despite the pick-up in story, there are too many problems that could be easily fixed if someone controlled Peter Jackson a little more. Giving him three films to fill with anything in an attempt to pad out the very short and simple story that is The Hobbit, and a big enough budget to buy a planet, has created a bit of a monster.
It is still really fun and, like Lord of the Rings, the characters are developing and becoming more serious throughout the films. The new /old characters introduced in this film are also good. Evangelline Lilly as Tauriel, despite being only created for the films, is a wonderful character. She's interesting and it's always nice when elves are shown as being slightly more human than perfect. Legolas is also well done because he is presented as being immature and different to how he is in the Lord of the Rings, which shows careful character creation. Smaug is wonderfully created, beautiful to look at. It is disappointing that his voice is so heavily edited, it seems as though they could have hired a cheaper actor if they were just going to change his voice so extensively.
Martin Freeman is wonderful as Bilbo, he can be comical and serious and he's very likeable. Luke Evans as Bard is also a good casting, it is also nice that he is Welsh and keeps his accent. The actors playing his children are questionable and the fact that all their lines seem to start with 'Da' is really annoying, but Luke is good. The sets that they have built are beautiful, but there seem to be so few that aren't just 90-100% CGI.
It's definitely worth a watch but if I could talk to Peter Jackson I would definitely have the same complaints for both films, which is annoying because I would have hoped that with a year between their releases there could have been some progression in things such as the use of CGI. Despite the problems that I can find with it, it is still a fun film that can entertain an audience but not sustain when compared to what everyone wants it to be like, Lord of the Rings.
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