I Am of Two Minds About the Desolation of Smaug!

Here is my review at last… there will be spoilers a plenty throughout this nine part review… so keep that in mind if you have not yet seen the film!

Please go HERE to our Hobbit: DoS Review Page for all nine parts of the Mordor Review!

I’ll begin this review the same way I began my review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The movie theater’s commercials came to an end. The endless slew of trailers were finally finished and the lights began to dim and then fade to black. I waited in the darkness for the Dragon, much as Bilbo did in his first encounter with Smaug in the book. Then the projector’s lights flickered and the now familiar Warner Bros. logo appeared on screen across a deep blue sky. I was excited for the film to begin.

As I sat watching, the Warner Bros. logo began to fall apart, a slow swirling transition that reforms to create the Newline Cinema logo.  Then came the eye of the MGM Lion as the camera zooms out and we are treated to his famous roar. The familiar musical notes from the score by Howard Shore moved along with the images. The screen went black once more. I was more than ready to return to Middle-earth!

 

As I stated in the title of this review, I am of two minds about The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

I have to begin by saying, that only hours ago, I went to see the film again for the second time, almost a month after having viewed it the first time. I’m so glad I did, because otherwise this would have been a very negative review of the film. When watching it the first time I was irritated by many of the choices Peter Jackson made with this film, it simply wasn’t the film I’d been expecting to see. There were entire parts that did not make sense to me and left me puzzled and unable to enjoy the film. I felt there was too much underdeveloped CGI that was not up to the level of Gollum and too many over the top fight scenes and improbable plot devices that left me exhausted rather then excited about the film. Not to mention my major disappointment over Azog and Bolg. MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT!

Then a funny thing happened. A month went by and I read many reviews of the film, often siding with the Tolkien Purists and those who felt that Peter Jackson had simply taken Middle-earth off the reservation. Time passed. The fans of Mordor were asking me when I was going to write my review. I felt no joy for this film and really didn’t feel up to it. However, I felt obliged to offer up my thoughts, even if I didn’t like the film at all. I did feel it was unfair to write a thorough review without seeing the film one more time. I decided to go again today and really watch it for details with an eye on writing a review.

To my complete surprise and everlasting joy, I loved it. Every minute of it… with a few notable exceptions, which I will mention later in this post and in detail in later postings for this nine part review.

I don’t know what happened, but it was like I was watching a completely different film. However, the film hadn’t changed, but rather my approach to it. I went in with no expectations… in fact I was rather excited to look more closely at the film and enjoy the parts of the movie I had liked in my first viewing… such as Beorn, Dol Guldur, Thranduil and of course the absolutely gorgeous Smaug. But the truth was… in this second viewing of the film, I able to fully enjoy the film and was able to appreciate The Desolation of Smaug as the truly wonderful and epic film it is. DoS is not a prefect film, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless

Of course… I must attribute this divided film experience with what I like to call ‘Tolkien Shock!’

I have suffered Tolkien Shock with each of the films about Middle-earth that Peter Jackson has made. The first viewing of each of the Lord of the Ring films and the first of The Hobbit trilogy was met with a feeling of shock. As the vision I’d hoped to see was literally knocked down and replaced by Peter Jackson’s vision of Tolkien’s writings. I must say, I am a Tolkien Purist at heart… I love the words… holding the books… turning the pages… getting swept up in Tolkien’s poetry of the past. The way he economically and with few words creates a vision in my mind that is a both stirring to the heart and satisfying to the spirit. To this day I still feel those things when I read the books… and nothing can replace that.

Still that has never held me back from enjoying Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films. Once I got past my Tolkien Shock, which is really my preconceived notions of what should be on film,  I’m able to sit back and just let the films be what they are. There are moments and plot choices in all the films that I do no agree with, these are the moments that from my perspective stray the farthest from the heart of Tolkien. However, Peter Jackson and company have given us so many epic and heart warming moments on film that so capture the essence of the books, that I’m willing to forgive the occasional comedic burping dwarves, crazy tomato eating Stewards and falling wizards who plunge to their deaths on spiked wheels. In this life you just can’t have it all!

That said… and even with Tolkien Shock aside, I have to say that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug takes the greatest detour from the spirit of Tolkien, more so then any of the other four films. And I want to be clear that this is not about PJ sticking to the story of The Hobbit book, I’m perfectly alright with Peter Jackson making a film that combines The Hobbit, the LOTR Appendices and even inserting new material that helps The Hobbit to align perfectly with the vision of Middle-earth he created in the three LOTR films.  I wouldn’t want him to make anything less. However, I’m not a fan of creating plot and story-lines that actually contradict the story in the books. That for me was the biggest and most disappointing bit of Tolkien Shock I had to contend with. And that gets to the heart of my negative feelings about this film. It is not that it’s so much different from The Hobbit books… but the spirit of Tolkien feels missing in many parts these new films… much more so than in the Lord of the Rings films.

The negative feelings I have about this film were completely turned on their head as I watched the film for a second time… nearly a month after seeing it the first time. In this viewing, I was able to feel the spirit of Tolkien shining through in moments I had dismissed earlier.

In this first post in my nine part Hobbit: DoS review, I want to highlight some of the things I loved… and some of the things I hated! Here you will see why I’m of two minds about The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!

As many of you may already know, I’m a fan of watching films in 24 frames per second… call me old fashion… call me a Luddite if you will, but I simply enjoy the experience more in 2D and 24 FPS! Watching films should be fun… not work.

So… it’s only fair to tell you that I viewed the film only twice and both times in 24 FPS and 2D. Which to be honest is really how the majority of people are seeing this film. So I won’t waste any time talking about 3D and HFR in this review.

So… back to the theater… the lights dim, the beaten metal Hobbit logo comes and goes… and then we descend into the town of Bree.

My thoughts on the opening Prologue and the introduction of Bree.

I have to say I was excited by the introduction of Bree and the Prancing Pony into The Hobbit. It was fun to see the iconic location used as a prologue into the  second film.  It seems an appropriate place to launch The Desolation of Smaug, because even though this scene does not take place in the Hobbit book, it does play an important role in the story, though it only exists in the LOTR Appendices. A wonderful way to begin the film.

I have read that some believe this scene lacks the subtly the we see in the same location in The Fellowship of the Ring. I have to agree to a point. However, the introduction of Gandalf is priceless and the way he ends the conversation by way of introducing  the need for a burglar is prefect. Thus we fade out to Bilbo doing his job as burglar!  Well done PJ!

I must mention, that I loved… loved… loved… The Desolation of Smaug film title. In my opinion it is the best of all five films. The dark reddish clouds, the Warg Riders lunging over the top of the mountains and the musical score by Howard Shore set the perfect mood to begin this film. Up until the first Hobbit film, it was the film title for The Two Towers Extended Edition the was my favorite. Then when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released with the brilliant idea for the smoke ring, that one became my favorite title opening. I guess we will just have to see if There and Back Again’s title opening will top this films title!

The House of Beorn

After the mood setting title, we are launched directly into the action of the story with Azog and the Orc pack in hot pursuit!

We also get out first glimpse of Beorn the bear. Again I’m sort of torn. My first impression was that the Beorn Bear looked a bit odd… not REAL like a bear. It was better in my second viewing of the film, as I became more accustomed to his look. I was very happy with the human version of Beorn after seeing Mikael Persbrandt so fully inhabit the character. Two thoughts on these scenes before I move on to Mirkwood. I loved the way PJ transitioned from the scene of Bilbo in Beorn’s House holding the Ring to our first scene of Dol Guldur. Brilliant edit! Secondly, both the exterior and the interior of Beorn’s House was beautifully done and enhanced the magical quality of this film. I’ll post more about Bree and Beorn in my second more detailed posting for our Mordor Review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in Part Tw0 ~ The House of Beorn. For me the Beorn scenes seemed a little rushed and I’m looking forward to seeing more hopefully in the Extended Edition.

On to the Dark Forest of Mirkwood

Well… I was just not a fan of Mirkwood on my first viewing. The segment seemed too short and the whole concept about the spores making everyone hallucinate just did not sit well with me. However, in my second viewing of the film I liked it much better as I got used to the concept. It’s still not may favorite part of the film, which was disappointing to me, because the Mirkwood chapters are some of my favorite in the books.

I did enjoy how Martin Freeman continues to build the character of Bilbo. He is a wonder to watch.

The spiders were perfect… menacing… frightening… creepy… and downright spine-chilling. The sounds they made were especially unnerving and I loved the idea of the Ring making the spiders voices understandable to Bilbo. A stroke of genius. The entire sequence within Mirkwood was much better in my second viewing of the film. I will get into more detail on the pros and cons of this part of the film in my third part of the review in Part Three ~ The Dark Forest of Mirkw0od.

Now lets explore the realm of Thranduil.

I thought this was visually one of the most stunning parts of the film. The underground Kingdom of Thranduil was perfection. It hit all the right cues for me, incorporating enough elements from the books and The Lord of the Rings films to form a very satisfying mix. There were moments when the CGI was too obvious, but the locations were so beautify conceptualized and designed that it made no difference to me. There are many moments in the Lord of the Rings films when you know that what you are seeing is not real, but it’s so beautiful or so frightening, or it carries the story forward so well that is simply doesn’t matter. There are so many films, where the special effects are obvious, but we accept it, because it’s such a good story.

The center piece of this sequence is the performance of Lee Pace and the throne upon which he sits. In my mind he was the perfect Thranduil. An ancient and languid isolationist King. His moments with Legolas, Tauriel and the rogue orc, as well as his face-off with Thorin raised all their performances to a higher level. I enjoyed this sequence in both viewings.

Now… lets talk Tauriel, Legolas and Kili. Sigh… I’m willing to go with this plot line as long as we are given a real emotional pay-off in the third film.  I would have been perfectly happy with a budding romance cut short between Legolas and Tauriel. Using their love to deepen the character of Legolas and how we see him in The Lord of the Rings films. I can’t fathom at this point in the story, why Kili and Tauriel should be so enamored of each other. This feels like meddling by the studio to me. I have decided to wait and see where this story-line goes before condoning or condemning it… let’s just wait and see.

Tauriel I love… I think she is a wonderful addition to a story dominated by male characters. Also, there is nothing in the LOTR Appendices or in The Hobbit book itself that precludes her character from existing. She fits very well into Tolkien’s Middle-earth as interpreted by Peter Jackson. I like her character and want to see more. Legolas on the other hand seemed a bit lost. I believe his role in this story was changed, which leaves him hanging. I suppose we will have to wait and see where the script takes us..

Bilbo’s escape and the Barrel Chase.

I thought Martin Freeman as Bilbo played this scene perfectly. There is so much to like in how he saves the day for the Dwarves. The barrel chase was wild and exciting and though it too suffered from the over use of CGI… it was indeed thrilling. There were moments during this scene, when I heard people gasping, screaming, giggling, laughing and exclaiming… much the same kinds of sounds ones hears on a roller coaster or a thrill ride. This occurred especially during Bombur’s flying barrel sequence. The entire barrel chase with Orcs and Elves is way over the top, a blockbuster thrill ride. It doesn’t feel very Tolkien, but it was still loads of fun to watch all the same.

More thoughts on this sequence in the film coming in Part Four ~ The Kingdom of Thranduil

The Mysteries of Azog and Bolg

It was the introduction of Bolg that really set my teeth on edge. I was very disappointed in the entire Bolg/Azog story-line. Even on my second viewing of the film, I felt the same way… cheated. Something was wrong… something was missing. Bolg, rather than being an improvement over Azog was and even greater disappointment. I have spent the last year defending the Mo-cap digital Azog, as a character worth his salt. In this film, I expected him to be on the same level as Gollum in terms of visual quality. To my complete surprise, is he literately pulled off stage like a vaudeville comedian that’s not getting any laughs. The only thing missing was the long cane coming out and snatching him off the stage. I expected Azog to be clarified, both visually and in terms of his character, rather than being diminished. I expected him to be a truly life like digital creation, that would make up for the sometimes weak CGI we saw in the first film. I expected him to be given deeper meaning and motivation, instead he’s almost immediately yanked off screen, stage right. Say what?

This might have been forgivable, if Bolg had been the ravening and realistic monster Uruk we were expecting him to be. We thought he was going to be one of the coolest orcs in the series, based upon how he looked in the photos and action figures released last year. However, he was completely changed in appearance from the cool character we were anticipating, to an even less frightening and CGI laden version of Azog. WHY? These choices really ruined the film for me in my first viewing. I lost all interest at that point.

I have my own thoughts on why this was done and I plan to explore them more deeply in Part Five ~ The Mysteries of Azog and Bolg, along with my thoughts about the over reaching use of CGI in these films. This movie in particular, was on the very door step of being a great film. However, I fear it missed the mark in large part, because of the over use of CGI. If you don’t believe that characters are real, then you won’t have any feelings about them one way or the other as the story unfolds. More on all this in my later post.

So… what exactly does happen in Lake Town?

OK.. to begin, I have to say that the Lake Town sets and digital matte paintings were so much fun to look at. I absolutely loved the look of Esgaroth upon the Long Lake. It was better then anything I could have imagined. I thought Bard cut a dashing figure, the right mix of brooding outsider and likable hero. For the film, his character needed to be fleshed out since he plays such a pivotal role in the film and I was happy to see Bard given depth and purpose. When the moment comes for him to wield the Black Arrow… we will justifiably be rooting for him.

The Master of Lake town was played perfectly by Stephen Fry. The expansion of the politics hinted at in the book are fleshed out nicely in the film.

I was OK with how the Dwarves are taken into Lake Town. Jackson, Boyens and Walsh make use of every moment in these films to deepen character development and move the story forward. No scene is wasted. I was happy with Lake Town up until the moment when Thorin breaks the company of Dwarves by forcing Kili to stay behind.

What The FUCK? Un-fucking-forgivable!

Sorry… I just had to get that out. Up until that moment I was willing to go along with Peter Jackson on his adventure… but for me that was simply too much. The Tolkien purist in me, who had accepted Azog, had wrapped my head around the Tomb of the Witch-king, had embraced the Bunny Sled, and even swallowed an Elvish and Dwarf sandwich, had finally had enough! I wanted out of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth. I did not get up and leave… but at that point I kind of turned off. I was like… whatever!

During my second viewing of the film I was not so taken aback… like I said I’m of two minds about this film.

I will say no more on this for now… I plan to go into deeper detail on the evolution of my thoughts on this in Part Six~ What Happens in Lake Town.

Gandalf goes on a journey of discovery.

At the borders of Mirkwood, Gandalf discovers a sign, with the help of Galadriel. I have watched this scene twice, the first time I barely registered it, during the second viewing of the film I was able to take it in. However, there are questions that need answering. With this film there is so much going on and it happens so quickly that it’s hard to recall all of it after just two viewings. I will share more of my thoughts about Gandalf’s role in The Desolation of Smaug.

Gandalf, after seeing a red painted Eye at the entrance into Mirkwood, decides to leave the company of Dwarves and Bilbo, to go in search of answers. Next we see him at the High Fells of Rhudaur. How did he get there exactly? Did he call upon the reluctant Eagles again? After seeing the ‘Smaug Sneak Peek’ last spring, with the scene of Gandalf and Radgast in the Tomb of the Witch-king, there was much discussion here and at other Tolkien sites about where this scene would fit into the story. Would it be a flashback or would it occur in real time. It appears that Peter Jackson for the sake of the story, is hoping that the majority of his audience for these films simply won’t care about the geography of Middle-earth. I was hoping that this scene of Gandalf and Radagast in the High Fells, would take place after Gandalf left Rivendell. As we know he later shows up to save the day in the Goblin Tunnels. I thought we might see this scene as a flashback. However, Jackson chose to take a different route and let this scene unfold in real time no matter the distance, backtracking and obstacles he must cross. (I will discuss this in more depth later.)

Despite the problems with timing and location, I loved every scene  involving Gandalf in this film. I was especially excited to see the exterior shots of the High Fells and hopefully learn more about them. I thought the dialogue between Gandalf and Radagast was dead on! These scenes held the menacing  tones of The Lord of the Rings films, which will help hold all six films together as a cohesive whole.

Back to the Bunny Sled and off to Dol Guldur. Over the mountain and through the woods! Again! LOL!

I must say I really enjoyed the scenes with Gandalf and the Necromancer, who we all now know is… Sauron! No more need to worry about this as spoiler material. After getting over the initial shock of both the story-line and the visual representation of the Necromancer, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It adds so much to the larger story. I was very excited by the idea of Gandalf exposing the spell of concealment. As a plot point, I was confused that the ancient fortress was empty except for the Witch-king and the Necromancer in the first film. Now it makes sense. I thought this was a brilliant stroke of story-telling the fits well into the films.

In watching the film for the second time, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this sequence from beginning to end. The visualization of the armored Sauron in the great Eye was a nice touch. I believe this will help many who casually watch The Lord of the Rings films and are perhaps confused by the forms that Sauron takes in the films. This helps tie it all together in a very visual way. I can’t wait to see more of Dol Guldur and how Gandalf will be set free! To me, this sequence is a highlight of DoS that will have a big payoff in the final film. I will delve into Dol Guldur more fully in Part Seven~ Gandalf vs the Necromancer in Dol Guldur.

Now we come to the Dragon… oh Smaug the Mighty!

What can I say… glorious… magnificent… a work of art. There is no doubt that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug should win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, simply on the merits of Smaug alone. He is everything.

Peter Jackson once said, while being interviewed about the making of The Two Towers, that everything hinged on the audience believing that Gollum was a living creature. A character just like any other in the film. Peter Jackson stated that if he failed to bring Gollum to life, then the film would fail and so might the entire trilogy. That was how import Gollum was to the story. At that time, no one had ever created a truly believable digital creature with the depth and pathos of a character like Gollum. Attempts had been made, such as George Lucas’s Jar Jar Binks… and we all know how that went! Peter Jackson took a great risk… and it paid off in spades! The rest is history!

The same can be said for Smaug in The Hobbit Trilogy. If Smaug failed to deliver as a fully believable character, then the entire trilogy might collapse. So Peter Jackson did what he had to do. He created, together with his creative team the most impressive dragon that has ever been seen on film. Smaug not only lives up to his namesake, but surpasses him by leaps and bounds with what is written on the page. I truly believe Smaug makes this film!

Benedict Cumberbatch gave the performance of a lifetime though Motion and Vocal Capture.  The conceptual work on Smaug, along with the incredible digital animation, combined to create something thoroughly wondrous to behold.

Now… this is not to say these scenes were perfect. Smaug takes up nearly a third of the film and well he should. As with all of Peter Jackson’s excursions into Middle-earth with The Hobbit and LOTR films, he has taken a few lines of text and turned them into huge action sequences. I personally stand behind his choice to have Thorin and the dwarves interact with the dragon. I might not agree with all of his plot devices, but to have the company of dwarves traverse over half of Middle-earth through deadly peril and needs to have his confrontation the dragon.

In my first viewing of the film, the far fetched nature of the events taking place in Erebor were a bit bothersome to me. But it all pays off when you see Smaug mesmerized by the vast figure of the dwarf in gold, that will seconds later cover him in liquid fire. That is a classic bit of film making that will last over time.

Well… there is much more to say about Smaug and I will be getting into all the details of the dragon in Part Eight~ Smaug the Terrible Unleashed.

However, before closing out this first part of my nine part review, I have to say how much I agree with the decision NOT to kill off Smaug in the second film. On so many levels, this was the right move. It was the most exciting, cliff hanger ending you could ask for in the second act of a three part narrative. I will give further thoughts on this in the later posting.

I will offer up my final review and give the film a final rating between one and ten in Part Nine~ Closing Thoughts.

You might think it’s crazy to create such a lengthy and long series of reviews for just one film… but I just can say it all in just one post!

Please go HERE to our Hobbit: DoS Review Page for all nine parts of the Mordor Review!

Source: Mordor ~ The Land of Shadow.com