The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

[AdamKendall]

Going to see it again tomorrow to get a definitive grade as midnight screenings for 3 hour films are a tough task and I want to get a 2nd look when I'm not half asleep.

 

Overall, on first viewing, I did find it to be the weakest effort so far.  Lots of action and some very impressive action, but at times it felt like near the end, I'd seen similar stuff done in the other films, and done so much better. 

 

Smaug was excellent and a treat to see on screen, and the cliffhanger was a bitch, but you could see it coming. 

 

Martin Freeman is great as Bilbo ... I always cheer him on, unlike Thorin who comes across as a total bitch at times, calling Bilbo essentially worthless, yet Bilbo is the one who comes through time after time for these dwarves.

 

Oh well, will see if anything changes tomorrow  ... but for now

 

B

Edited December 14, 2013 by Adam

[baumer]

Every LOTR film has gotten worse.  FOTR was epic, TTT was a step down then ROTK dragged and both Hobbits have been quite bad imo.  DOS is bad on epic proportions.  There's no warmth, no rhythm and nothing remotely positive about it.  The problem with the movie is that PJ just assumes you are familiar with the books.  He assumes you know why the Elves arrest the Dwarves, he assumes a great many things.  

 

I found the story to be a drag again.  The first half of it bored me again,  When they get to Rivendel it picks up a bit but it still lacks the epicness of the original trilogy.  For all the original trilogies flaws, I can still watch all of them and never be bored. The Hobbits are boring and that's a cardinal sin.  

 

When Bilbo meets Smaug, it got better.  I liked their banter.  But the Dwarves get in there and it drags again.  Why didn't Smaug just roast them, cook them, squash them or swat them?  The answer is because this series of films that has been dragged into three so that WB can earn their 3 billion dollars (and business wise that is great for them) but artistically this ruins the films imo.  Apparently in the third film some of the dwarves die.  But that is now 7 hours into a series of films that is based on a 300 page book.  It's unnecessary, it destroys any kind of flow the film tries to establish and it just flat out bores me.  

 

I know I have the minority on this so I won't say much more.  But LOTR were epic films.  Epic in every way.  The Hobbits are the SW prequels to some of you, they just don't work for me.

 

3/10

[Ozymandias]

Improvement over the first film for sure.  It drags in some parts in the second half(but never gets tedious like some parts of AUJ) and the implied 3 way romance between Tauriel, Legolas, and Kili(one of the Dwarfs) was utterly pointless and felt forced.  Instead, it should've just been kept between Tauriel and Legolas and fleshed both of their characters out more.  Some of the CGI looked tacky in some parts and there was too much CGI used overall like the last film.  But Smaug though, holy shit he looked incredible and sounded great, no complaints there.

 

Yeah its not nearly as grand and heavy as the flawlessly made Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the source material is just a light hearted and way less complex children's book.  Thats not to say I don't think the Hobbit adaptations don't have problems on their own terms, but to people who have never read any Tolkien its no surprise at all that these movies just overall feel like snacks after 3 meals at a 5 star restaurant.

 

DOS: B/B+

AUJ: C

Edited December 14, 2013 by Ozymandias

[RobinHood26]

Its way to long as expected, you could easily make this a 2 hour movie. There are numerous scenes that do absolutely nothing, they don't move the plot forward a single inch, its plan annoying. This movie has no beginning, middle, or end.

 

The problem with this movie is that its not a movie. You can tell Jackson didn't go into shooting with this movie in mind. The ending is just plan random. Im a pretty big fan of cliffhangers actually and I hated this one, and its cause they didn't shoot it as an ending. It just gets cut off. Matrix, Hunger Games, Pirates 2, they all build to there cliffhanger/set up, you can it feel it coming you know its ending. Here I had no idea. It cut to black and I was like ohhh I guess its over.

 

Also does anyone ever die in these movie? I aslo found the score not as good as the Unexpected journey for the most part.

 

It had some positives Smaug was dope, the CGI for him was fantastic, I liked the barrel action scene. It had quite a few really fun moments and hot damn Evangeline Lilly is drop dead gorgeous, just beautiful, I never noticed before.

 

 

C+ (78)

Edited December 14, 2013 by Jay Hollywood

[lilmac]

True. I was onboard 100% with the two film plan. Three films just has me a bit wary of a bit too much filler (even if Tolkien's writing style for The Hobbit justifies elongating and elaborating a fair bit).

I think we're in good hands. Tauriel was non Tolkien and she was one of the best parts of the movie IMO.There is no better director for Tolkien than PJ IMO. The man has a passion for the work and will respect it.

Edited December 15, 2013 by lilmac

[Jack Nevada]

It stinks. 

[CJohn]

Smaug in IMAX HFR 3D (didn't notice many differences from the usual IMAX) was the most amazing thing of the year. His voice was insane. Made the entire theater tremble. Fuck the cliffhanger. 

[John Marston]

Smaug in IMAX HFR 3D (didn't notice many differences from the usual IMAX) was the most amazing thing of the year. His voice was insane. Made the entire theater tremble. Fuck the cliffhanger. 

 

 

how is it doing in Portugal? Though I guess you should post that on the International board

[CJohn]

how is it doing in Portugal? Though I guess you should post that on the International board

It is decreasing a bit from the first, mainly because the first had 2 screens in every theater, while this one doesn't, which means at night there is only 3D, and many people don't go if there is no 2D option.

[Omario]

I don't consider lord of the rings or these new hobbit movies to be separate films. they are just one long episode that is split in three.

 

Having said that, this was just a joy to watch. It was different to everything that had come before. We get to see Sauron rising to power, we see elves who are less like their noble cousins who we are accustomed to and we see action sequences which are very well choreographed. That barrel scene was incredible. 

 

Legolas is the greatest elf ever...Tauriel is a close second now:P Damn they were good. 

 

Giant spiders, holy fuck! I liked the affect the ring gives the wearer when they are near the spiders.

 

As for Smaug....OMG!!!! He was the best thing i have ever seen next to Gollum. I always wondered if they could pull off a dragon that could talk and they did! I found him to be absolutely terrifying and that voice made me tremble...literally...!!!!

 

This was an amazing movie for me. I'm a big middle earth fan so I have loved all the moves so you guys may think im biased....and i don't care lol. This was the real shit. 

 

Im just thinking how scary it will be when i go see it in HFR 3D...the spiders and Smaug..already giving me chills.

 

Totally loved the Gimli reference...was a nice touch.

 

 

A grade. Just like all the other movies.

 

Cant wait for the third part

 

Only gripe i had was that they didn't use the misty mountains theme at all...i know there was not much heroic acts happening that could warrant it but subtly squeezing it in there could have been done at some places.

Really liked the Lake Town theme though.

 

 

Oh and it seemed the audience with me also loved it. We were laughing and gasping and cheering at the relevant scenes. One of the best viewings I have ever had.

Edited December 15, 2013 by Omario

[4815162342]

I don't get the bloated complaint for this film, because this movie MOVED. I didn't feel any slow pacing at all, just nice segments where the film caught its breath for a bit and provided some nice illumination.

 

However some of the action sequences definitely needed trimming, which would have given us our Smaug/Laketown showdown.

[4815162342]

Random thought, but it would be cool if Gandalf got to face off against the Witch-King before this trilogy ends. It would give much more punch to the ROTK EE when the Witch-King tells Gothmog he will "break" Gandalf and then has a short face-off with him, a re-match with the Witch-King striking back after Gandalf schooling him in Round 1.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I did not care for it. I love the LOTR movies but the Hobbit movies feel way to long and lot scenes could have been cut. Does anybody never remember any of the characters names? I have no idea who what are the names dwarves characters, they all just seem the same. Nobody has died yet there are so many characters in the movie and who hell is the villain behind all of this. My friend told me in the books only smaug  is the villain. 

Speaking of Smaug he is the best part of the movie, I enjoyed the final act of the movie beside the ending which felt random.

C-

[ladyevenstar22]

I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THIS MOVIE   

LOVEEED SMAUG !!!! LOVEEE LEGOLAS   !!! 

saw peter jackson cameo  !!! GIMLI mention got a good laugh

 

 

that scene was so funny , because it reminded me of that convo gimli had with eowyn in two towers ,about the female dwarves 

 

tauriel evangeline character i liked her a lot plus she had this look of really enjoying being a part of the film and playing a kickass elf 

 

awww legolas legolas i love him  and i'm not ashamed of it  HE ROCKS ! (haters hate on i don't care)

i just love how he had more scenes and who knew he was a regular prince who liked a girl his father didnt aprove of , i love that we got to see mirkwood forest  stuff that was mentioned in passing or in the appendices (to think all this happens at least 50 yrs prior to events an

 

i'm curious what's up with thranduil , i thought he looked a bit young until i saw him with legolas and realize yeah he can pass of as his father , he's an interesting character as you see the elves weren't always concerned as much with the affairs of men

 

his scene with thorin was cool but thorin he let his resentment blind him to accepting the elf king offer and what happened to his face in that scene 

 

to be honest i read the book 10 yrs ago  along with LOTR and appendices , maybe that's one reason i'm enjoying the film as i don't have expectations from it colouring my viewing experience

 

gandalf is always ditching these poor guys , even in LOTR he did it but hey when you're  busy important wizard he's def more of a big pic kind of guy 

 

can anyone tell me who was the shapeshifter whose house they stayed at one night ? i feel i should know him , 

 

funny enough i didnt find the movie's pace was off at any moments i love that he takes his time , could some scene be quicker sure but that's just it , i'm not bothered by their length at all and rather prefer it 

 

i find now that i know them from 1st film the dwarves were pretty  recognizeable  esp the cute bros kili and fili (very easy on the eyes) 

 

we really had a lot of fun during smaug scenes esp with bilbo tiptoeying  and dear me what a boatload of gold 

 

i cannot wait to see these movies in order so much happening on screen and off screen that affects and is concerned with LOTR trilogy , 50 yrs might seem long to us but in elves times that's nothing , for gandalf and sauron its nothing 

 

 

 

oh my i'm tired going to bed will edit review more tomorrow my eyes are drooping on me as fingers pressed into keys (sorry)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2013 by ladyevenstar22

[The Panda]

"After seeing the Desolation of Smaug I came up with one thing, the entire movie seemed like what would happen if you let Zach Snyder get his hands on a Middle Earth movie.  The Desolation of Smaug is an overbloated action piece that only exists to give Jackson a giant CGI toybox that he can use to make another mountain of cash off of.  The Jackson who once had respect for the source material, who cared about the characters and how to develop them, and who tried fervently to create the best film possible is no more, he is now washed in his own corrupt, greedy, ego feeding only off of the new Hollywood blockbuster trend of, "Bigger is better"....."

 

Read the rest at

http://thepandaflicksreviews.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-hobbit-desolation-of-smaug-review.html

[lilmac]

I watched it again and it got better the 2nd time around.  Come to think of it, so did AUJ.

 

$800m WW is my bar for success.  I think it'll get there but not by much.

[Kalel009Shel]

Every LOTR film has gotten worse.  FOTR was epic, TTT was a step down then ROTK dragged and both Hobbits have been quite bad imo.  DOS is bad on epic proportions.  There's no warmth, no rhythm and nothing remotely positive about it.  The problem with the movie is that PJ just assumes you are familiar with the books.  He assumes you know why the Elves arrest the Dwarves, he assumes a great many things.  

 

I found the story to be a drag again.  The first half of it bored me again,  When they get to Rivendel it picks up a bit but it still lacks the epicness of the original trilogy.  For all the original trilogies flaws, I can still watch all of them and never be bored. The Hobbits are boring and that's a cardinal sin.  

 

When Bilbo meets Smaug, it got better.  I liked their banter.  But the Dwarves get in there and it drags again.  Why didn't Smaug just roast them, cook them, squash them or swat them?  The answer is because this series of films that has been dragged into three so that WB can earn their 3 billion dollars (and business wise that is great for them) but artistically this ruins the films imo.  Apparently in the third film some of the dwarves die.  But that is now 7 hours into a series of films that is based on a 300 page book.  It's unnecessary, it destroys any kind of flow the film tries to establish and it just flat out bores me.  

 

I know I have the minority on this so I won't say much more.  But LOTR were epic films.  Epic in every way.  The Hobbits are the SW prequels to some of you, they just don't work for me.

 

3/10

Damn Baumer man.. Did you see the 4X 48 FPS DIgital 3D version. I loved the beauty and how things in 3D came across so vibrant,(Takes a while for thosee not used to 48fps to settle in as it looks so sharp sometimes it feels at first like a High resolution VG).

After that man oh man, the bees fly into the audience in  stunning clearity, elements seem to fly right out of the pages..  As do some of the Hobbits and various character scenes..

 

To me it was a bit less dramatic than LOTR its not quite as grand a scale, but in terms of the movie experience it surpasses LOTR making you feel very one with the movie...The hobbit 2 is definitely made for entertainment more than epic beautiful drama and draw dropping filmmaking.

 

I sort of adjusted my expectations and saw this film like Tele-Machos and others did as a true movie experience thats thebest this year delivering one hell of a ride..Smaug is the best character  in CFX that Ive loved since Avatar blew everyone away and stole the show.. Then  the barrel scene with dwarfs, Legolias returning and all the hijinx.. The cool showing of an unexpected but likeable love story.. ( I need to see Hobbit I now -lol) combine with this new technology to give an experience besting most if not all movie experiences this year.

 

I dubb Smaug the ultimate movie experience as a whole for 2013.. A++. Only MOS came close to this for me..

 

 

Loved it.. Its not LOTR thats true baumer, buts its one incredible tour de force and display of 3D technology and beauty wrapped in scaled down LOTR like formula that works for most.

 

B try not to compare it to our incredible LOTR masterpieces, consider it a whole kind of animal not quite as epic or bringing about every emotion, but as entertainment beauty taken from the same universe.

Hope you will like it better if you watch it a second time my friend .

 

My first 48FPS High Resolution 4X 3D film and just wow on where 3D is going..No more dark and sluggish images for 3Ds future. This film at moments make you feel your right there and looking through a window at middle earth!

 

I recommend everyone spend the extra to see the top version of the movie if possible.. Happy Holidays to all my BO Family..

 

Growls at Baum!! lol

 

 

I hope this can take IM3 Worldwide as well. Its deserves it

[Kalel009Shel]

I watched it again and it got better the 2nd time around.  Come to think of it, so did AUJ.

 

$800m WW is my bar for success.  I think it'll get there but not by much.

Thanks to movies experience and things so well put together... Im afraid Lilmac this film will join the billion dollar club.. Sorry guy.

Best movie experience 2013 and  Smaug is going to go down as one of the best CGI creatures of all time... Just voice and that voice. .Who was smaug's voice! OMG!!!

 

 

" THEIFFFFFFFFFF!!!" " I will Consume you!!"  ==Smaug!! Do you doubt my power to rule the BOx office??!!!"!"" " DOOO OYOUUUU!!!!"!""" I Will lay you all low!!!!"

 

[cookie]

Question: How did Smaug know about Necromancer/Sauron's return? Is he affiliated with him (or since Benedict Cumberbatch is voicing both, are they two sides of the same coin?)

[ladyevenstar22]

SUPERMAN001

Loved it.. Its not LOTR thats true baumer, buts its one incredible tour de force and display of 3D technology and beauty wrapped in scaled down LOTR like formula that works for most.

 

 

i hate when this happens

 i just took my merry time writing something well thought out pressed post only for said comment to disappear and don't know how to find what i wrote now what's the point of having your post saved while you're writing if after you can't find it if there is an error when it uploads to the site 

Edited December 15, 2013 by ladyevenstar22