Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug I will lead off saying that it is not the hobbit tale I grew up reading.

However, it is the second part of a trilogy prequel to the Lord of the Rings that contains elements of the Hobbit novel. That being said, it is a damn fun movie!

After watching the Hobbit: An Unexpected journey last December, I knew that these films were not my Hobbit. my hobbit is a novel I have read tons of times and know back to front. The film Hobbit is not mine. It is however, a fun romp through Middle Earth. 

The second incarnation takes up after the escape from the Goblin king and had the dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf on the run. From here they hit Mirkwood, lose Gandalf, meet spiders, the wood elves, escape, hit Laketown, meet Bard, split up again and then do the Smaug thing. The events are different, yet there is enough pure Hobbit tale there to keep me satisfied. 

The movie also moves much faster than Unexpected Journey did and there were a lot more action sequences. The giant sweeping changes will bother some and did me for a minute. That was before a sublte pat on the leg and a reminder that my Hobbit was still there and to enjoy the show. After that I did.

How could I not enjoy: a proper and gaint sized Beorn, the return Legolas and his fighting prowess (along with a few extra pounds), talking Mirkwood spiders, orc cranial surgery results, a frantic barrel ride battle with so many great orc deaths, the inside of Lonely Mountain/ Erobor, King Thranduil and evetually the awesomesauce that is Smaug.

The scenes with the great red wurm made the movie for me. His look, movements and voice were fantastic. Great job with casting the Cumberbatch to do the voice work.Plus the dialogue between Bilbo and Smaug was different, but there was enough source material there to make me happy. The entire film was just abuild to the dragon reveal for me. Smaug has always been my favorite bit of the novel and his movie version did not disappoint!

I really enjoyed the movie even though it was not THE Hobbit. It is still a great fantasy film and was much better than the previous film. Here is hoping the last film will be even better than thsi one.

Now, there are two issuses that did spin me into a bit of a sprial once the credits rolled. The first was that they have the ring affecting Bilbo like it does everyone in the lord o' the Rings. That bother the shit out of me. It also drives home that this is a Lord o' prequel. I just hate the idea of the ring bugging him already. I am not a fan crack addict ring wearing Bilbo already. Save that for the years after he is back home. I know why they did this, but man I do not like it.

Second is the quasi love story between Tauriel the wood elf and Kili. That stuff is straight up awful. There is one thing that is true across the fantasy worlds, dwarves and elves do not mingle! To speak of it is some sort of heresy and an abomination. This bit of story was just pure garbage. I don't know where they are going with it, but it needs to go no further. Change the story and events all you want, but adding a dwarf elf love tale is unwanted and just terrible