☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
The Hobbit: The
Desolation of Smaug (2013) – P. Jackson
A childhood favourite
(now preserved at Mom’s house in a green leather-bound volume with runic
lettering) called to me and I left the house to see some 3D (good for depth of
field, if not for the eyes/head/stomach).
Having been unexpectedly pleased with and drawn into An Unexpected
Journey (on home video), I thought Desolation of Smaug would be a fine holiday
spellbinder and so it was. Of course, we pick up the story in the middle (after
a somewhat disorienting prologue) and we know we will leave it before the end
(being the middle part of the trilogy), so this must be borne in mind. That
said, with less clear reminders of reading time long past, the film plays as a
spectacle, full of orc-killing action, distant NZ mountainscapes, more dizzying
3D fighting, wise old Ian McKellen, a faint echoing of world wars, the darkest
evil somehow forged in a ring (that is trotted out somewhat less frequently),
and a talking dragon in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch (or is it BC in the
form of a dragon?). A roller coaster ride, no doubt, with enchanting visuals (a
true alternate reality unfolding before you) and one peak after another. Those
who say this second chapter is better than the first may be adrenalin junkies …
but how can they (we) go cold turkey for another 12 months?
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