The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) - Film directed by Peter Jackson

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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.

The Hobbit (2012)

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As a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (but having never read the books) I was incredibly excited when The Hobbit films were announced, also as I grew up with The Hobbit as a regular bedtime story I felt a connection with this part of Tolkien’s work. 

As with The Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson remains faithful to the story. However, due to such a short book being transformed into three long films, there are extensions made on the story which turn into key plot points. This may be a necessity but it is still somewhat annoying, if there was not enough story in The Hobbit for three films, don’t make three films. The added storylines just seem to show how greedy the film industry is. Luckily Jackson is such a fan of the story that the edits allow for the basic movements of the books narrative to be followed.

It looks spectacular (seem in IMAX 3D) and the extensive use of CGI doesn’t distract or detract from the beauty of it. Some of the characters do seem to have been excessively made up though. Lee Pace as Thranduil looks incredibly odd and inconsistent with many of the other elves shown in the film. It seems as though Thranduil and Galadriel are really focused on as perfect beings while other elves are overlooked, such as Elrond and Haldir. Similarly the dwarves range from stubbled and attractive Kili to almost excessively bearded and nosed Bifur. The need for contrast between so many similar characters leads to caricaturisation.

It is funny, it is exciting, it is heart-warming and a little scary. It fulfils the brief of every fantasy film and has the added magic of great directors, writer, special effects teams, etc. The fear was not that this would be a bad film but that it would not be able to stand proudly next to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I feel that it can happily be acquainted with the other three Tolkien films while also standing alone as a good fantasy film. Looking forward to the next two!