The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.
It rattles along, never drags, and is always terrifically likable: open, genial and good-natured.
Despite suffering from middle-act wobbles, The Desolation Of Smaug nevertheless delivers rousing action, incredible visuals and one stupendous dragon.
Middle-earth's got its mojo back. A huge improvement on the previous instalment, this takes our adventurers into uncharted territory and delivers spectacle by the ton. And in case you were wondering, yes, someone manages to say the title as dialogue.
The bearded director of The Lord Of The Rings delivers a sackful of action, special effects and enchantment in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, his second instalment of a new trilogy which effectively silences any doubters who felt the slim book wouldn’t sustain such grand treatment.
For all of its technical prowess, The Desolation of Smaug impresses only in fits and starts, and makes the prospect of a third film feel daunting to say the least.
Smaug still has enough spectacle, sleight-of-hand, action and lyricism to enrapture most viewers.
Fingers crossed for the third installment, although you wonder where they’re going to conjure up another three hours worth.
Superior sequel.
Two films in, it’s clear that the problematic issues of this prequel trilogy will be a permanent fixture until the end, but the entertainment factor and better sense of adventure in The Desolation of Smaug brings hope that the final instalment, There and Back Again, will offer material to make one want to come back to this full set of films upon their completion.
The dragon Smaug himself is magnificent, some of the digital artwork is attractive and the movie is no worse than its multiplex peers, but in my heart all I feel is . . . desolation.
While The Desolation Of Smaug is an improvement over An Unexpected Journey, it’s still let down by a few of the same niggles.
Longer isn’t more interesting; bloated isn’t better; and 161-minute films that end on an unresolved cliff-hanger do not generally make for a satisfying night out at the cinema.
Casual viewers may still have to take it on faith that that the epic length (this one clocks in at around two hours and 40 minutes) is going to prove justified in the end, but at the very least, Jackson places a higher premium on action and adventure than washing dishes and singing songs this time round.
Something of a mixed bag, then, with several question marks left hanging over the entire Hobbit project, but a definite improvement on the previous outing, and hopefully a portent of better things to come in There and Back Again.
After the slog of part one, thankfully the pace has picked up a bit, the CGI looks better and there’s plenty of action, including a good, skittery battle with giant spiders.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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