Verdict:
Desolation of Smaug has the job of convincing audiences that this new prequel Tolkien trilogy is still worthy of their attention, after a somewhat dragged out and toned down first part.
This time the action has been boosted and the pace has been increased. The introduction of Elvish characters, especially the return of Legolas, is essentially the introduction of acrobatic super-warriors, but the dwarfs also do more fighting this time around and even the titular hobbit turned into a fighter. And, as the title suggests, we also finally brush up with the dragon, Smaug.
But while the action is nice, the script of Desolation of Smaug really starts to get on your nerves towards the 2nd half of the movie. Characters say and do whatever serves the story at that particular time. It’s contrived and obvious. It is clear that the animators wanted to create particular scenes or special effects, and the characters serve to make those set pieces happen, whether it makes sense or not.
The increased reliance on physical action undermines the point of Tolkien’s stories, which is that the Hobbits are physically small and weak creatures but they accomplish great things through bravery and perseverance….not through becoming sword wielding spider fighters like Bilbo did at one point.
The actors are more fleshed out. While most of the dwarfs remain nameless background characters, at least a few of them get developed a bit more and get their own scenes. It’s nice to see more variety in the types of characters and Benedict Cumberbatch makes for a great evil dragon.
The movie is a CGI fest, but effects are generally effective, except in the end, where there is a certain scene with liquid gold that looks far more fake than the molten metal effects in Terminator 2 from the early 90s.
The movie does have charm and it is fun to see known characters mess around gorgeous environments, as long as you don’t think too hard about anything. At the end of it, the only thing you will probably remember about this part 2 is Cumberbatch’s dragon and the dwarf king’s corruption.