The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Fun fact: I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan. You can imagine how excited I was for the second installation of its prequel, The Hobbit. Especially since everyone's favorite Elf Prince is back in town to let the wind blow through his long gorgeous blonde hair. 

Although last year's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was pretty much(for the lack of a better word) boring, The Desolation of Smaug is in a league of its own. It's waaaaay waaaay better. It is action-filled from start to finish. I don't believe there was any dull moment. I didn't even care that its title character, dragon Smaug, didn't appear up until the final 30 minutes or so of the film. In any other way of presentation, I would have been bored once again. But no. Peter Jackson did well on this. He kept it entertaining, somewhat deviating from

the actual literature but who cares? It's an adaptation. Keeping the original text would be basically copying and what might have worked on the novel may not work on a screen adaptation. 

So the movie brings us back to where we left off. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and the Dwarf King, Thorin (Richard Armitage), along with a group of dwarves are still on their quest to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor. Along the way they cross a forest, encounter huge spiders, taken captive by elves, escape orcs and cross through Lake-town. When they finally reach the mountain, they have to find the keyhole. But after opening the door, the sleeping dragon Smaug, awaits them. If he is awakened, he could destroy the entire Middle Earth through his fiery ways. 

I would be biased here since I admire Peter Jackson as a director. The film is very well done. The scne where the group floats down a river while escaping orcs and elves. That was crazy exciting. The added love triangle between pretty pretty elf prince Legolas(Orlando Bloom), she-elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and incredibly handsome dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner) was also handled well and was a good addition to make the story more interesting. Evangeline Lilly was fun to watch, adding the needed feminine touch to the testosterone filled 2 hours and 40 minutes. 

2 hours and 40 minutes. Yes, the movie is that long. But somehow, when it ended, I didn't expect it to end. I wanted more. It did though. So there, 12 months of waiting is ahead for fans, yet again. 

Here's a picture of Orlando Bloom as Legolas, just because....