The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

This review may contain spoilers!

Well let's just say that this Hobbit film really knocked the ball out of the park. I would give The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug an 8.5/10.

This film was one in which I went in with low expectations after the first Hobbit film; which I enjoyed but would not rave about. However this is one to rave over for sure. The story is so intriguing and masterfully done. I guiltily admit I was more enthralled by the side stories than the main event but that's just personal preference, this entire beast was spectacular. The pacing was slow, but unlike the last film it didn't matter at all, it was still fantastic. The motion capture of Smaug looked great, it gave the dragon a very real look in terms of facial expression. The fight scenes in this were also spectacular, I mainly think about the river sequence or the Legolas/Bolg battle here.

Let's take a moment to admit it, the casting of Martin Freeman as Bilbo was perhaps one of the greatest casting choices of The Hobbit cast. Sir Ian McKellan continues to steal the show as Gandalf, he is a big part of why this franchise is so incredibly successful. Now Richard Armitage as Thorin is essentially the true hero you have to get behind in this story and he has such a powerful onscreen presence. Ken Stott, who plays Balin, just has some of the most emotional or inspirational lines and moments in the movie; the exchange between Thorin and him at Erebor was just a little emotionally overwhelming. Aidan Turner, who plays Kili, came into his own in this film and easily has become a bit of a heartthrob I have no doubt because of it. Orlando Bloom's return to Legolas was just an incredible badass factor in this film which really brought a lot of intensity to the film. Sylvester McCoy, who plays Radagast, is still one of my favourites; I don't give a care what others have said I will defend that. Luke Evans, who plays Bard and Girion, was a very cool addition to the franchise; he's most definitely a character I'm looking forward to seeing more of. I liked the acting of Mikael Persbrandt, who plays Beorn, even if his look was awful; someone I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of in the next film.

There are some honorary mentions as always for films like these; in this film those had to be the wonderful Evangeline Lily and Benedict Cumberpatch the stupendous (yeah I made an awful reference I do what I want :3 ). Cumberpatch plays Smaug and the Necromancer, the antagonists of this film, and his voicework and expression are a testament to what acting is, in that every part or aspect of your body is a tool to making a powerful and convincing character. Evangeline Lily played my favourite character, Tauriel, in this film and it's so wonderful seeing a character so convincing and immersed in this film. Her fight scenes were epic in that she had just as much presence as Orlando Bloom and her acting was powerful in that she's essentially a character made up by Peter Jackson.

One of the things that really let down this film and the one before it is the CGI element to the film. For example in this film the giant bees look absolutely fake. But worse than that is Azog and Bolg who look ridiculous in comparison to the orcs from the original LotR trilogy.

Stephen Fry, who played the Master of Laketown, wasn't good in this movie and that was a true let down for me, I feel like he took on a small substandard role and didn't go to any effort in terms of acting to make the character noteworthy. Worse than that was Ryan Gage, who played Alfrid, it was just dull basic villainous acting and seemed like an almost unnecessary character. One of my other pet peeves of this film was Lee Pace, who played Thranduil, the acting was melodramatic and felt like something out of a soap opera; definitely could have been done better for a character that had so much hype.