SPLICED MOVIES /
REVIEW / THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
ISSUE 02
by Ray Whitcher
In this,
the second of three films, we pick up on
the adventures of our plucky, diminutive
heroes after having just crossed the Misty Mountains. Thorin, Bilbo and company
must now seek out assistance from a powerful figure before entering the Mirkwood
Forest as they continue their journey to Lonely Mountain without the assistance of
Gandalf. Prophesised 'burglar' Bilbo must then seek out the secret door and access
the hoard of the mighty dragon Smaug in order to fulfil his obligations to the Dwarves.
Watch
the
trailer
The Hobbit actually
made its cinematic
debut in 1977, with an
animated adaptation
of the book. (It was
awful though)
This is a pretty solid premise,
with everything in place to provide
an entertaining romp in a style that's
become characteristic of Jackson's
directing and story-telling capabilities
and it's one of the things the DOS does
extremely well, with glorious set-pieces
spinning, dizzying sequences of action
that often had me cheering, much to
the behest of my fellow reviewers.
Once we look past the action romps
however, some problems begin to
rapidly manifest themselves in the
narrative structure of the film.
At almost two hours and forty five
minutes in length, you need to have
some pretty decent character work
and dialogue in between the epic
chases and battles so archetypal of the
LOTR films, and this, unfortunately,
is where the film is sorely lacking. To
say the film drags would be a little bit
of an understatement - there are parts
that are so unnecess