Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
We all knew a cliffhanger was coming, but this was a bad one. The theater I was in erupted in groans, and I can’t say as how I’ve ever seen that happen at a movie before. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a nearly three-hour film, and it would be inappropriate to start talking about the ending first. But I can’t help it. As much as I enjoyed 99% of the movie, that cliffhanger overshadows everything. It deserved every groan it got. Even though director Peter Jackson has been dealing with this trilogy thing for several movies now, he picked the absolute worst time to leave us hanging.
At least the rest of the movie was very good.
Movie Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
Much was said during production of this Hobbit sequel that Jackson and the studio decided to stretch two films into three, and while I’m not complaining, because I like spending as much time as possible with these movies, the stretch is obvious in The Desolation of Smaug. We’ve been in this situation before, with The Two Towers in the middle of the Lord of the Rings, but The Two Towers had a proper ending with its own closure. There was Sam’s big speech to Frodo about hope, and the entire battle for Helm’s Deep. The Desolation of Smaug ends with a battle against the titular dragon, but the film cuts off before the battle is over, robbing us of closure and excitement. Not only that, but the movie shoots itself in the foot by foreshadowing the stilted ending, turning the movie’s climax into an effort in futility.
Fortunately for all of us, by this time next year, we’ll get The Hobbit: There and Back Again, and this cliffhanger ending will be a moot point.
The Desolation of Smaug is a movie for LOTR fans. To really enjoy this film, I would recommend knowing the characters, knowing the world and knowing the adventure, because this film is mostly ‘more of the same’ of the previous films in the franchise. It’s got exciting, CGI’d fantasy action, a rich mythology and the comedic stylings of a band of dwarves. The characters all carry over from the first film and remain largely the same, which isn’t a bad thing. Most of the dwarven band remain anonymous, and the few standouts continue to carry the film – though none of them are as heroic or memorable as Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas from the first trilogy. Gandalf seems to get a reduced role, but he has his own fun adventure. New characters, like Smaug the dragon, Tauriel the she-elf, Bard the human and a guest-appearance by Legolas are all strong, especially Evangeline Lily as Tauriel, who gets the best sub-plot in the film.
The real standout remains Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit. He’s clever and heroic, and the influence of the One Ring starts its mind-boggling effects on the poor guy in this film. Freeman handles the acting challenge well. He’s a very different sort of hobbit from Frodo, even where the ring is concerned, and it’s rather cool.
Join me after the jump for the full review. There will be SPOILERS, so tread carefully.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/14/13
I hate Inhumanity already. I know, I know, I’m getting way ahead of myself. The event has barely even started, and it’s being written by one of my favorite comic book writers, Matt Fraction. But the evil that Inhumanity commits against Uncanny X-Men this week is nigh unforgivable! You’ll see what I mean when we get to it.
The rest of the comic book haul was pretty good this week. I especially enjoyed Mighty Avengers and Wolverine and the X-Men, both good books with some strong characterizations. I also gave a few looks at Batman, Superman/Wonder Woman and even Green Lantern Corps! But the hands down winner of Comic Book of the Week goes to Superior Foes of Spider-Man for turning in the funniest issue yet!
Comic Reviews: Batman #26, Green Lantern Corps #26, Mighty Avengers #4, Superior Foes of Spider-Man #6, Superman/Wonder Woman #3, Uncanny X-Men #15 and Wolverine and the X-Men #39.
New Amazing Spidey Trailer Sure is Fancy
I was going to post the Cinema Sins for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the good people behind those haven’t posted all three yet! What’s up with that? I want to post them together. Until then, enjoy this international trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It’s practically a new trailer!
This movie just looks better and better! I loved the first Amazing Spider-Man, and my spidey sense is telling me that I’m going to love this one too!
A Day of Hobbit Humor!
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug comes out today, and I’ll be seeing it in my local multiplex tomorrow. So for now, why not enjoy some much loved Internet parody-artists taking the previous movies down a few notches? Here is the Honest Trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
All credit goes to the Screen Junkies for that awesomeness. And tune in later today for Everything Wrong with the Lord of the Rings trilogy!
The Venom and Sinister Six Films Are Now Official
No sooner do I stun the world with my List of Six of potential Spider-Man spin-off movies than Sony Pictures rushes out a hurried press release about their plans for Venom and Sinister Six movies. Coincidence? I think it’s safe to say ‘no’. Clearly someone at Sony reads my blog, and after I set the Internet on fire with my suggestions, that someone realized they had to catch up.
Because that’s totally how things happen.
Stay classy, guys
Anyway, I don’t like to comment on movies at this stage of the game, where the studios have only announced a writer and director, because how often does that actually go somewhere? How many DC superhero films have been announced over the past few years? Justice League Dark? Lobo? The Metal Men? Please. If any of those movies ever get made, I’ll eat my hat. But Sony have already got Amazing Spider-Man 2 coming down the pipe, and this press release announces Amazing Spider-Man 3, so maybe they really want to expand this franchise a lot more. It’s a wonderful idea, at least.
Here’s the full press release for those interested:
In a move to forge a new legacy in the story of Peter Parker on screen, Sony Pictures Entertainment, in association with Marvel Entertainment, is developing several new projects in the Spider-Man franchise, with Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard to collaborate on overseeing the developing story over several films that will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad,president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio.
The five writers, along with the two producers and Marc Webb, have formed a franchise brain trust to expand the universe for the brand and to develop a continuous tone and thread throughout the films. Under the deals, the studio announced that Kurtzman & Orci & Pinkner are writing the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which the studio hopes Webb will return to direct; the film will go into production next fall for release on June 10, 2016. In addition, the team will build on the cinematic foundation laid by Webb, Arad, and Tolmach in the first two movies. They will expand the franchise as Kurtzman & Orci & Solomon will write the screenplay for Venom, which Kurtzman will direct; also, Goddard will write, with an eye to direct, The Sinister Six, focusing on the villains in the franchise. Hannah Minghella and Rachel O’Connor will oversee the development and production of these films for the studio.
In tapping these five writers, the studio and the producers are guiding the future of the franchise with the writer/producers who have each played significant and key roles in developing such highly successful franchises, films, and series as Star Trek, Transformers, “Alias,” “Fringe,” Men
in Black, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, World War Z, “Lost,” Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, and Marvel’s upcoming “Daredevil” series.Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad said, “The Spider-Man film franchise is one of our studio’s greatest assets. We are thrilled with the creative team we have assembled to delve more deeply into the world that Marc, Avi and Matt have begun to explore in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We believe that Marc, Alex, and Drew have uniquely exciting visions for how to expand the Spider-Man universe in each of these upcoming films.” Arad and Tolmach added, “This collaboration was born out of the great experience we and Marc had working with Alex, Bob, and Jeff on The Amazing Spider-Man 2. With more than fifty years’ wealth of stories in the comic books to draw upon for inspiration, the Spider-Man universe is truly boundless; in addition, the Spider-Man comics have the greatest rogues gallery of any series, and to have the chance to explore that on film is truly thrilling. Until now, we have approached each film as a separate, self-contained entity, but with this move, we have the opportunity to grow the franchise by looking to the future as we develop a continuous arc for the story. That is what Alex, Bob, Jeff, Ed, and Drew will do in this unprecedented collaboration, and we’re excited about the directions they are taking the character and the world.”
The most successful franchise in the history of Columbia Pictures, Spider-Man is embraced all over the world. The four Spider-Man films to date have taken in over $3.2 billion worldwide.
Spider-Man, Venom, The Sinister Six and other Spider-Man related characters are licensed to Sony by Marvel Entertainment.
The only name on there that I recognize is Drew Goddard, the guy who teamed up with Joss Whedon to make Cabin in the Woods. He’s also been put in charge of the Daredevil show on Netflix. The guy gets around, it seems, and probably has one of my dream jobs. How come everybody else always seems to have my dream job and not me?
Also, here’s a throwback to my earlier blogging: My chosen Sinister Six.
