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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Beyond darkness...
beyond desolation... lies the greatest danger of all.
Director: Peter Jackson, rated PG-13
  Starring:
Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangaline Lilly, Ken Stott, Ian
Holm, Graham McTavish, Aidan Turner, Dean O-Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy,
Adam Brown, John Ccallen, Peter Hambleton, William Kircher, Orlando Bloom
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
- good
"It is our
fight. It will not end here. With every victory this evil will
grow. If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will
hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light and
let darkness descend. Are we are not part of this world? Tell
me, when did we let evil become stronger than us?" -
Tauriel, to Legolas
Why watch this?
To see CGI-rendered wonders of Middle Earth.
Plot Summary:
The dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf continue their journey toward
the Lonely Mountain to reclaim their homeland from the dragon
Smaug. After surviving the dangers of Mirkwood Forest and
escaping the Wood-elves, they arrive at Lake-town, the last
human settlement before the mountain. Gandalf, investigating a
growing evil in the south, leaves the company just before Bilbo
discovers a secret entrance into the dragon's lair.
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Dad's Preview:
First, I have to state that the Computer-Generated
Imagery (CGI) is incredible and plentiful. The entire
world, and many of the cast and creatures, are 100%
created using this technology. So, as a thing to gaze
upon, it's stunning. Unfortunately, though it stuns us,
it also dismantles any sense of reality. I don't mean
plausibility, heck we've got a talking dragon here.
There is no way, that many of the action stunts are
possible using simple forces of physics or gravity.
Between CGI's overuse, severe departures from the source
material (the inclusion of Legolas and romance between
Tauriel and Kili) and several dead end plot points
(Gandalf's quest to Dol Guldur), it mostly feels
contrived, like every scene is a setup. This kills me
because the original Lord of the Rings film
painstakingly endeavored to NOT do that. I had to
watch this in segments because the story is so
disjointed. Many liked this film, including the rating
high on
IMDB, but I must stay true to my own experience and
push back. If you want CGI and pretty things to look at,
this is for you. |
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New Line Cinema,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Wingnut Films;
Warner Bros. Pics
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