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Watch The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug 2013 HD - The biggest question about "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" is whether the first Hobbit movie was so tedious that it will prevent moviegoers from finding out how fun the second one is.
The first movie in the trilogy was about dwarves who wandered around in circles, but "Smaug" has plenty going on: A righteous quest. Fearsome creatures, including the titular dragon, Smaug. The growing bravery and gravity of little Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman). Plenty of humor. A tender smidge of romance that features an elf, gracefully played by Evangeline Lilly, who has been added to Tolkien's list of characters.
And it all takes place in the kinds of wondrous, special-effects worlds that no movie series has given us as consistently as the "Lord of the Rings"/"Hobbit" films: a medieval-looking village that hovers over a lake on stilts, a prison whose design appears to have been based on a honeycomb, a mysterious cavern filled with golden treasures and statuary carved out of a cliff face, a la Mount Rushmore.
As "Smaug" opens, a band of dwarves is packing for one of the journeys that J.R.R. Tolkien's characters can't get enough of: They want to rescue their kingdom, which is hidden in a forbidding mountain, from the evil Smaug. That also entails regaining control of the Arkenstone, a gem that functions as a powerful symbol of their birthright.
What that means is that "Smaug" makes palpable a crucial emotional backbone the first film lacked: It's about how badly the dwarves want to go home.
The second film also has a dandy bad guy, Smaug (impeccably voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). He faces off with Bilbo when the hobbit attempts to retrieve the Arkenstone in a scene that pairs the actors who play Sherlock and Dr. Watson on PBS'
"Sherlock" series in a very different setting.
Their battle of wills (and thrashing tails) is the centerpiece of the movie, a scene that begins with witty suspense as meek-trying-to-be-heroic Bilbo attempts, unsuccessfully, to steal the stone without waking Smaug.
Of course, the movie's big special effect is going to wake up, and when he does, one of the most exciting and satisfying sequences in all of director Peter Jackson's Tolkien films is off and running.
Like most of those movies, "Smaug" is more a collection of episodes than a continuous narrative, and yes, there are a couple of episodes that could have been eliminated with ease. But where "The Hobbit" lurched from hill to dale, "Smaug" moves fluidly, kicked off with a cameo by Jackson, as if to say, "I am Peter Jackson, and I endorse this movie."
He also returns humor and a sense of play to the series, whether it's in the Seussian design of musical instruments, the entertaining timidity of Bilbo or the sly timing of elegant Gandalf's (Ian McKellen) warning to the dwarves that an intimidating new acquaintance may be friend, foe or both.
The somewhat overpadded "Smaug" may not change anyone's minds about the wisdom of splitting a slim book, supplemented by other Tolkien materials, into three movies. I still think that decision encouraged bloat and occasional boredom. But it is clear Jackson has things clicking again, almost as if he listened to Gandalf when he warned Bilbo, "No matter what may come, stay on the path!" read more at:
