THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (2013)
"I am fire. I am… death.”
“What have we done?”
What indeed...
Part Two of the prequel to The Lord of The Rings sees our ragtag band of dwarves, a wizard and a hobbit meet up with all manner of creatures - a skin-changer, a load of elves, some more orcs, a dragon and - shock! Horror! People!
We see Thorin Oakenshield slowly become overly enamoured with the pursuit of his own power, to the point of ‘backbenching’ his nephew Kili (for both sensible and heartless reasons), and having a right downer on Bilbo. We see Gandalf abandon the group and set off on his own adventure with Radagast the Brown, tracking down the Necromancer a.k.a Sauron.
*A word about Radagast. Bird droppings on his face and hair. Really necessary? The Hobbit is going to have a re-reading VERY soon.*
Must say - Gandalf gets forgotten about in this one like he does in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers! Poor thing! Goes off on his own, runs into trouble, and needs bailing out. And he’s a wizard! I guess this shows - no man is an undefeatable island.
Luke Evans as Bard. You can see shades of Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn in this character - moral to a fault. His care for his children, and his BRILLIANT aim. I wouldn’t mind having him as my Da. (Watch the film. You’ll understand.)
And Thranduil. The Icy Elvenking. Exudes sheer Arctic tendencies, who is somehow playing the father of an actor who is older than he is. Well, they are elves, after all…
And to my favourite character - Bombur, played by the EXCELLENT Stephen Hunter! He more than makes up for his lack of dialogue with his interaction with others in the film. When he emulates Usain Bolt... When he turns into a barrell-clad kamikaze samurai... His very haircut and beard combo (plus bald patch!) For me, he is the dwarf that keeps on giving!
So, in the spirit of giving, here are my 7 Key Moments in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug:
Bombur emulating Usain Bolt. On an open field. Against his fellow dwarves. Enough said.
The entrance of Legolas. And Tauriel. Quite dramatic, if a little heavy-handed with the CGI.. And Orlando Bloom’s coloured contact lenses are MUCH better this time round.
Kili’s pitiful attempt to flirt with Tauriel - it’s the kind of line you’d hear on Eastenders. Cover your face Aidan Turner. Cover it now.
Lee Pace’s Thranduil is icy cold. But he has tasted dragon-fire… His ‘reveal’ is deeply chilling. Shades of Aaron Eckhart’s character Two Face in The Dark Knight..
The moment between Kili and Tauriel after she heals him. The definition of a pair of “star-crossed lovers”, to borrow from Shakespeare.
Sauron’s appearance - I almost wanted to shout “Yay!” when I first saw this scene in the cinema! The visual effects are hypnotic and so, so powerful. Kudos.
Smaug. Benedict Cumberbatch is on top form here, lilting his way through his dialogue with Bilbo, his voice dripping with malice and sarcasm.
So, for me, the most enjoyable episode of The Hobbit so far! Does The Battle of the Five Armies stand up to the test this installment provides?
We shall see. More tomorrow!
(Comment here or on Twitter - @hmswilliams04)
"The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug theatrical poster" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Hobbit_-_The_Desolation_of_Smaug_theatrical_poster.jpg#/media/File:The_Hobbit_-_The_Desolation_of_Smaug_theatrical_poster.jpg