The best thing that can be said about Peter Jackson’s second stab at Bilbo’s tale, and fifth stab at Middle Earth, is that it has more in common with what The Lord of the Rings did right than it has in common with what An Unexpected Journey did wrong. Pretty much everyone agrees that the first Hobbit movie was too long, too bloated, and too slow–we watched with dropped jaws as the dwarves washed dishes for fifteen minutes–and this second installment at least does not seem to suffer as much from Peter Jackson’s overly abundant love for his source material. This film charges forward from the very start with all the drive and purpose it’s predecessor lacked, and it finds almost enough pure popcorny, blockbustery charm, wonder, and suspense to justify its near three-hour length. In the film, Bilbo (played by the always impeccable Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen obviously, what hobbit hole have you been living under if you don’t know that?), and thirteen dwarves make their way into the Kingdom of Erebor, past Orcs and Giant Spiders to eventually battle the terrifically CGI-ed Smaug (Freeman’s Sherlock co-star and notable sea otter Benedict Cumberbatch), and there’s plenty of subplots involving Elves, Wizards, and bear-men. As always, Jackson proves capable at creating more and more worlds within Middle Earth, each more aesthetically pleasing and/or terrifying than the last. But when it comes right down to it, he’s still taking nine hours to tell a story J.R.R. Tolkien told in less than 300 pages. It’s still butter scraped over too much bread. In order to pad the material, Jackson makes every event important, and if everything’s important then nothing’s important. And he still hasn’t got a handle on his biggest flaw as a filmmaker and story teller–too much action divorced from character.

1. The
Hobbit:
The
Desolation
of
Smaug
Reviewed
by
Justin
Perich
December
18,
2013
The
Hobbit:
The
Desolation
of
Smaug
-­‐
The
best
thing
that
can
be
said
about
Peter
Jackson’s
second
stab
at
Bilbo’s
tale,
and
fifth
stab
at
Middle
Earth,
is
that
it
has
more
in
common
with
what
The
Lord
of
the
Rings
did
right
than
it
has
in
common
with
what
An
Unexpected
Journey
did
wrong.
Pretty
much
everyone
agrees
that
the
first
Hobbit
movie
was
too
long,
too
bloated,
and
too
slow–we
watched
with
dropped
jaws
as
the
dwarves
washed
dishes
for
fifteen
minutes–and
this
second
installment
at
least
does
not
seem
to
suffer
as
much
from
Peter
Jackson’s
overly
abundant
love
for
his
source
material.
This
film
charges
forward
from
the
very
start
with
all
the
drive
and
purpose
it’s
predecessor
lacked,
and
it
finds
almost
enough
pure
popcorny,
blockbustery
charm,
wonder,
and
suspense
to
justify
its
near
three-­‐hour
length.
In
the
film,
Bilbo
(played
by
the
always
impeccable
Martin
Freeman),
Gandalf
(Ian
McKellen
obviously,
what
hobbit
hole
have
you
been
living
under
if
you
don’t
know
that?),
and
thirteen
dwarves
make
their
way
into
the
Kingdom
of
Erebor,
past
Orcs
and
Giant
Spiders
to
eventually
battle
the
terrifically
CGI-­‐ed
Smaug
(Freeman’s
Sherlock
co-­‐star
and
notable
sea
otter
Benedict
Cumberbatch),
and
there’s
plenty
of
subplots
involving
Elves,
Wizards,
and
bear-­‐men.
As
always,
Jackson
proves
capable
at
creating
more
and
more
worlds
within
Middle
Earth,
each
more
aesthetically
pleasing
and/or
terrifying
than
the
last.
But
when
it
comes
right
down
to
it,
he’s
still
taking
nine
hours
to
tell
a
story
J.R.R.
Tolkien
told
in
less
than
300
pages.
It’s
still
butter
scraped
over
too
much
bread.
In
order
to
pad
the
material,
Jackson
makes
every
event
important,
and
if
everything’s
important
then
nothing’s
important.
And
he
still
hasn’t
got
a
handle
on
his
biggest
flaw
as
a
filmmaker
and
story
teller–too
much
action
divorced
from
character.
3/5
stars.
Justin
Perich
is
a
filmmaker,
music
lover,
and
food
nut
from
Ann
Arbor,
Michigan.
He
attended
Bowling
Green
State
University,
where
he
concentrated
in
Pop
Culture
and
minored
in
Psychology.
In
2007,
he
graduated
from
the
New
York
Film
Academy
with
a
focus
in
digital
filmmaking
and
animation.