These days, it's hard to find a mainstream movie that isn't presented in "3-D." It's a sensible proposition, after all; motion pictures are expensive affairs, and throwing in a few extra million dollars for a 3-D conversion for which one can charge twice the normal price for tickets sounds like a good way to hedge one's bets. Rare, however, is the movie that actually makes full use of the format for a mind-blowing cinematic experience. Alfonso Cuaron achieved it earlier this year with his 90-minute thrill-ride Gravity, and a little over two months later, Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson has raised the bar for visual splendor yet again with the astonishing presentation of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
I actually missed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment of the trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, when it came out in theaters last year. Due to limited funds and a bit of disenchantment with the decision to split a relatively slim book into three movies I decided to pass, but when I caught the movie on DVD I was beguiled by the visuals; in the nine years since the last Lord of the Rings movie, Jackson had learned a whole lot of new tricks, and even though I didn't see the film in 3-D, or the vaunted "High Frame Rate" format of 48 frames per second, it was a real treat to watch, and my whole family agreed to catch the second movie in the premium format.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug begins with a flashback, in which Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) approaches exiled dwarf prince Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) at the Prancing Pony in Bree and offers to help him reclaim the dwarf kingdom of Erebor, which was forcibly taken from them by the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). It then returns to the present, with the company of dwarves led by Thorin and accompanied by Gandalf and the burglar they recruited, the eponymous hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) fleeing from the orcs chasing them at the end of the last movie. First they take refuge with a "skin changer" or a shape-changing man named Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), and later, they are able to flee into Mirkwood, where they encounter new terrors and perils. The band of adventurers face danger from all sorts of colorful and terrifying characters, like angry elves (including Orlando Bloom's Legolas from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, herein joined by his dad Thranduil, played by Lee Pace, and a fierce she-elf created just for the movies named Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly), murderous orcs, and treacherous humans, but all of these threats will pale next to the terrifying, fire-breathing shroud of death that is Smaug.
Like this first film in the series, this, too was presented in the "HFR" format, and while it was jarring in several instances, it really was an extraordinary experience.
Also, in terms of both story and pure balls-to-the-wall action, this film easily has the first one beat. The staging of the action is nothing less than extraordinary, and Jackson's sleight of hand is now such that it's considerably harder to tell Orlando Bloom apart from his digitally-generated counterpart in the incredibly-staged action sequences. I basically just worked on the assumption that the most dangerous or difficult stunts were done digitally, but really, it's hard to tell where Bloom or Lilly (whose Tauriel also does considerable feats of derring-do) end and their Weta-Digital generated doubles begin. Fans thirsting for orc blood will certainly have their fill here; plenty of orcs are skewered, slashed and decapitated over the film's mammoth running time for our viewing pleasure.
Of course, given the title of the film, the dragon Smaug himself, as the film's primary antagonist (although there is a familiar face lurking in the shadows) has to be a highlight of this film, and thanks to the wizards at Weta Digital, he absolutely is. I regret to report, however, that Cumberbatch's voice seems to have been slightly filtered to make him sound more menacing, though that could have just been as a result of the terrible audio at the theater where I watched this movie, which was in the non-IMAX portion of SM North EDSA. My cousin had the same problem, so at least I know it wasn't just me. The audio was so bad, in fact, that I missed whole chunks of Smaug's rather extensive dialogue, which was really disappointing considering I have been a fan of Cumberbatch's since I watched him on Sherlock back in 2012. If the experience for people in other theaters was similar, then Jackson and his crew have done the audience quite a disservice, but there's no way for me to know.
In any case, this film has much more going for it than just incredible action sequences and CG-characters. As we have come to expect from Jackson's Tolkien films, the production value is really a cut above most other Hollywood fare. The production design of sets like the interior of Erebor and the seemingly abandoned fort of Dol Guldur are absolutely jaw-dropping and in many instances they are as integral to the story as the characters who set foot there, almost as if they are characters unto themselves. Of course, the majestic New Zealand backdrops Jackson and his crew picked add to the splendor.
The story does tend to plod along at some points, and I couldn't help but wonder where Jackson and his screenwriters got all the material for this filler, but overall the pacing was good, and the action was right where it needed to be. All told, I can definitely say I liked this movie better than its predecessor.
Without spoiling anything it's fair for me to say that the film sets the audience up for the epic finale next year, especially considering that it will feature the famous Battle of Five Armies which fans of the book and of Tolkien lore in general are no doubt eagerly anticipating, but standing on its own, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was a pretty fun film in its own right.
4/5
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