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Matt Vs. The Desolation of Smaug

Over Christmas I saw the second movie of the Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug. The movie detailed the Bilbo and the Dwarves' journey through the Mirkwood Forest  to the Lonely Mountain, ending with their confrontation with Smaug the Dragon inside the mountain itself. As a fan of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy I was thrilled to hear that a Hobbit film was being produced but was skeptical when I heard it was being made into three films. The Hobbit isn't a thick book so I was concerned that the movies would suffer from stretching the story out across nearly 9 hour.s Fortunately, this really didn't dampen my enthusiasm. In preparation even I re-read the Hobbit recently in order to familiarize myself with the parts that I may have forgotten. I enjoyed The Hobbit: An Expected Journey, but does the sequel bring more to the table and can it live up to the legacy of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy?

The Desolation of Smaug as the title suggests, is a more serious film than its predecessor with more violence and an overall darker tone. The action is more reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings trilogy than the more comedic antics of An Unexpected Journey. However certain bits in the barrel chase sequence were somewhat over the top. Bilbo seemed heroic without turning into an action hero and I enjoyed his confrontation with Smaug. However he really didn't seem to be the primary focus of the film. The movie instead focused more on the Dwarves Thorin and Kili and the Elves Legolas and Tauriel . Legolas wasn't originally in the Hobbit but his provides a fun and effective addition the the film as well as more background to his role as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. Tauriel is an original creation and I feel that her relationship with Legolas and flirtation with Fili provided entertaining character moments. In addition to the primary story, the undercurrent throughout the film is the gathering of darkness in Middle-Earth foreshadowing later events.  There is an interesting contrast between Gandalf trying to investigate the trouble brewing with the possible return of Sauron with and the elves closing themselves off from the world and trying to weather the storm.

The interplay between characters was greatly helped by the smart dialogue and while there was less emphasis on some of the other dwarves, Legolas's father and Bard greatly benefited from added attention. Smaug stole whichever scene he appeared in and I enjoyed how they showed Thorin being slowly mesmerized by the gold. Smaug was not lying about how he was on the verge of being sold out by the dwarves. Overall The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug was a very enjoyable film even though the end dragged a bit and some of the action scenes were overdone. It is going to be a long wait until part three, There and Back Again.
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