Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug..nothing bad, but its getting a bit much..

Is there anything known as too much of a good thing? Don’t be surprised if you find yourself asking this question as you exit the theaters after watching this second installment of the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Per se, there is nothing wrong with this movie, apart from the fact that they have taken a children’s story and are unsuccessfully trying to stretch it to LOTR-esque epic proportions. Its got very high quality visuals, amazing action sequences and great acting to go. And yet, there isn’t that euphoria about it..

From its side, The Hobbit 2.0 tries its level best - even righting some of the wrongs you would have had from the origin story. Given that all you get to see of Smaug is his eye and that too at the end of the first movie, ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ would really have been an apt title for the first movie instead. This is especially because there is no desolation for Smaug in this one. While he comes late into the movie (yeah..as if that’s a big surprise) never has a dragon been so painfully detailed and visualized in such an epic manner. Add to that the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch (who has quite the Midas touch these days..) and the circle is complete. Further, expect a tighter storyline and better plot development than the first offering and you would say that this time they haven’t taken a step wrong.

In my review of the first installment, I mentioned that one of the reasons it fails to ‘wow’ us now is because there is nothing new on offer. I think it would be good order to simply repeat that statement for good measure, for the second installment as well. If you are a die-hard LOTR fan, you may still love The Hobbit trilogy (though with the liberties they are taking with the original storyline, one can’t be too sure). For me, though, its getting a bit much. The visuals and jaw dropping action are now almost taken for granted and there isn’t anything novel that the franchise offers any more. Add to that the enormous length of each installment (this one again clocks over 2 and a half hours) and you can see the interest is clearly diminishing
Martin Freeman is great as Bilbo but the narrative hardly gives him room to perform. Gandalf also has this wearied look about him, which almost suggests that maybe he’s also had enough of this journey and adventure. The dwarves, accompanied by the elves this time (not sure who’s bright idea was that, it sure wasn’t Tolkens, I am told) are present but you don’t really see them as individuals for all the character development there is.

I saw part two of the Hunger Games last week and I can hardly wait for the next installment to unfold – I am even considering buying the book for all time it’ll take. With The Hobbit though, I couldn’t care less at this stage. While I’ll still watch the third part when it releases next year, it’ll be mostly to end the trilogy – for what should have always been just one movie, all this while.