Synopsis:
The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.(c) WB
I walked into this movie with BIG expectations because I enjoyed the first one and while I have only watched the first film in the original LotR trilogy, I love going back to Middle-Earth. Now, I really like the set-up of this film because it directly follows its predecessor without any hang-ups or what, that was basically what had happened on the first act. The second act upto the third act was all about how the story of this film is going to play out and how big the characters' role were in this film and also in both these acts it also sets how this whole trilogy will conclude and in my opinion they did a pretty damn good job at it. The story of this film was quite solid and it just goes along with the flow and while some scenes were not explained properly,it quickly picks up on the next scene and you will understand the whole shenanigans of it.
My only qualms I have about the story of this movie is the pacing of it, for me at times it was a bit slow at times and honestly it became a bit boring. The other thing is that it took a bit too long, now we all know that all of Peter Jackson's middle-earth are long but I think that some scene could have been cut to make the film a bit short and not feel a bit dragging. Nevertheless I liked the whole other aspect of the story.
Speaking of Peter Jackson, I thought that he did a great job at directing this despite my problem with his pacing in this one. He was able to let his actors shine in their roles and show off great performances that really embodies their role in the movie. I also liked how Jackson did the camera-work in the movie because he was able to show how big the scope is of the movie and mainly how he was able to show the massize size of Smaug, when I first saw the size of Smaug, my eyes widened and I just held tight onto my seat. It was simply terrifying. Another thing that I liked with Jackson's direction is that he was able to change the tone of the movie but still maintaining the overall "feel" of the film. Huge props to him for that.
Now that we got the story and direction out of the way, let's now go to the acting in the film. I'm just gonna say it now, everyone did a great job in their roles no matter how small it is. Richard Armitage who plays Thorin Oakenshield was damn good in this one just like in the first one but in this film he is just more badass and whats great is that we got to know more of him and how he was approached by Gandalf who was played magnificently by Sir Ian McKellen, there's no debate here, he is just Gandalf. The other dwarves were also very good and got a lot more things to do in this film than the previous one. 
Moving on, let's have the elves who were played by Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Evangeline Lily (Tauriel) and Lee Pace (Thranduil). First let's have Bloom who is mostly a wooden actor but in this role, he is very good, he was able to show emotion and not appear as wooden as he can be in other films. Next is Lily, firstly, she is gorgeous in this role and secondly she can definitely kick-ass in this movie, she can do action, she can speak Elvish and most of all she can showcase emotion and you can feel sympathy at this character. Lastly is Lee Pace as Thranduil, God he was perfectly cast, Pace perfectly play this (almost) emotionless bastard while also looking majestic and acting very regal at it, this is probably one of my favorite castings in this movie.
Let's now have Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, if you thought that he did a good job in the first installment, then he did a great job in this one. Despite my love for Thorin, Tauriel and Thranduil in this movie, I can't help but love Bilbo more because he completely shines in this movie but this is not what made me love his character and performance more. It is how Freeman was able to manipulate his emotions whenever he's under the ring's power or whenever he's afraid of Smaug. However, Bilbo is not just my favorite character in the movie, the other one is.....
Smaug was fucking awesome in this movie! Never have I been so terrified with a fantastical creature like Smaug. From the moment he opened his eyes, I gripped onto my chair and held for my dear life. Seriously though, Smaug was an amazing piece of creation and there is also one aspect of Smaug that made the character great, and that is he was voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch perfectly, no exaggeration here, I can't imagine any other actor who could have voiced this creation perfectly. It was deep, chilling and you can just tell a lot from the character even if it's only a voice, it was just phenomenal.
However, Smaug might not have been perfected without the amazing VFX that this movie had, it is definitely an improvement over the first one, especially the orcs (I still prefer the practical makeups though) and the scenery which was breathtaking even though at some points it's a bit obvious. I;m also a fan of Manu Bennett's Azog, even though the character was only a motion capture creation, Bennett was still able to show that he is the man behind the awesomeness of Azog. I also love how detailed Smaug is, it's very scaly and the size is just massive and terrifying. Now let's have the amazing score by Howard Shore. His score is brilliant and and fits perfectly with the tone and the scenes that this movie is showing. The score felt epic and makes your heart race in the action that this movie is presenting. Speaking of action scenes, it was brilliantly filmed and well choreographed that it may go down as one of the most exhilarating things I've ever watched on screen and to top that off with the amazing cinematography all through out and you have a perfect combo for this film.
To conclude this review, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is a damn good follow-up for the first film and a damn good introduction for the third and final Hobbit film. Despite it's long runtime and somehow inconsistent pacing this movie has it all. It is fun, well acted, with sprinkles of great action, amazing VFX and cinematography, then this film is a complete winner and is surely one of my favorite films of the year.
Grade:
Favorite lines:
Bilbo Baggins: I... found something in the Goblin's tunnels.
Gandalf: What did you FIND?
Bilbo Baggins: My courage.
Gandalf: Good! You'll need it.
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Dori: Was that an earthquake?
Balin: That, my lad, was a dragon.
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Smaug: Well, thief! I smell you, I hear your breath, I feel your air. Where are you?
Smaug: Where are you?
Smaug: Come now, don't be shy... step into the light.
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Bard the Bowman: You have no right to enter that mountain!
Thorin Oakenshield: I have the ONLY right!
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Smaug: I am fire... I am death.
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