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In my last review I spoke of my disappointment in the majority of 3D films but how impressive Gravity is, especially with regard to the way it employs technology and special effects to further the entire experience of the film itself. By putting Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) alongside James Cameron (Avatar) for such feats, one must place Peter Jackson (The Lord of The Rings) among them, if not above, as The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is likely to be one of the best films of the year, and one of the greatest visual experiences in film to date.
Following on from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we find Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman – Sherlock), who has taken the one ring to rule them all from Gollum, still in the company of thirteen Dwarves lead by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage – Spooks), and accompanied by Gandalf the Grey (Sir Ian McKellen – X-Men) on their quest to the Lonely Mountain to steal the Arkenstone from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock).
I managed to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in both IMAX and HFR. Neither disappoints but HFR dominates visually in terms of clarity, 3D, and overall enjoyment of the film. What it lacks in sound and immersiveness when compared to IMAX it easily makes up for in terms of realism, because watching this film at 48 frames per second is like watching theatre through a very clear piece of glass, meaning Middle Earth appears to be but a few paces away, giving it a unique immersive quality of its own.
With less humour than the previous film, yet still containing a few scenes that will make you chuckle, this installment is slightly darker in tone and more probable to make you jump. The build up to the action felt slow in the beginning, but the expectation of what might come was effective, and when the first big set piece came about involving thirteen Dwarves and a Hobbit making their escape from an Elvish prison downstream in barrels while being hunted by a pack of Orcs and two Elves, Legolas (Orlando Bloom – The Lord of The Rings) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly – Real Steel), it was a pay off worth waiting for. I could not help but grin like a child the entire way through it.
Having not read The Hobbit I was unaware of any differences there were between the book and the film, which I have now been told are many, particularly the decision to include Legolas. I understand how difficult it is to watch a novel you love be turned into a film where the people involved take certain liberties with its story or characters in order to make it successful. On rare occasions it works, other times it fails drastically, but mostly the films fail to excite. However, I believe the creative choices made in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, whether Jackson’s or the studios, have not detracted from how pleasing it is to watch and, above all, experience. Also, the heart of the story is not lost amidst two hours and forty-one minutes of impressive fight scenes either. The corruption and the power the ring has over Bilbo is made apparent in scenes where he has the impulse to fight and kill to protect it. In Mirkwood he puts his life in danger when it drops through the forest and he attacks a wild beast in a frenzy that you would never associate with the gentle Hobbit we have come to know. The courage of the Dwarves, the love story between Kili (Aidan Turner – Being Human) and Tauriel, combined with the poetically fantastical dialogue makes everything about it enchanting to watch.
The moment where The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug shines is in the last act. Having successfully been smuggled into Lake-town by Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans – Immortals), only nine of the thirteen Dwarves and Bilbo Baggins make their way to the Lonely Mountain with the blessing of the Master of Lake-town (Stephen Fry – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), but not without hearing Bard’s protests against such an action. While watching the scenes within the Lonely Mountain between Bilbo and Smaug in IMAX, amongst the vast amounts of gold and treasure, everything looked smudged and too dependant on CGI when compared to the HFR, which instead offers you a setting where the individual pieces of gold can be reached out and grabbed, as well as the most realistic looking dragon you are likely to have seen onscreen so far.
The confrontation between Smaug, Bilbo, and the Dwarves makes for the best use of the HFR and these scenes are wonderfully cut between those involving Legolas and Tauriel fighting Orcs in Lake-town while helping the four remaining Dwarves, one of whom, Kili, is poisoned and requires Elvish magic to live. When Thorin begins to organise the Dwarves to use the equipment within the Lonely Mountain to fashion a statue of liquid gold to try to kill Smaug, he is chased by the dragon and the subtly of the 3D used before, combined with the immensity of the HFR, is given full precedence. I defy anyone who watches it not to be blown away by the intensity of the visuals and the wonder they produce.
Despite having made changes to the story which some people may not find appealing, Peter Jackson has taken something conceived in J.R.R Tolkien’s mind and brought it to life in a way which makes you feel as if you are looking out of your window at a world you cannot believe has materialised before you. This is Middle Earth onscreen in the most realistic and beautiful setting imaginable. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is only the second film in what will be a trilogy, with third film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, being scheduled for release in 2014, and if this film is anything to go by it will be a Timeless cinematic experience too. I paid £10.10 (Student Discount) at Cineworld Edinburgh IMAX and £9.10 (Student Discount) at Odeon Dunfermline to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Rating: Timeless
Following on from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we find Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman – Sherlock), who has taken the one ring to rule them all from Gollum, still in the company of thirteen Dwarves lead by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage – Spooks), and accompanied by Gandalf the Grey (Sir Ian McKellen – X-Men) on their quest to the Lonely Mountain to steal the Arkenstone from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock).
I managed to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in both IMAX and HFR. Neither disappoints but HFR dominates visually in terms of clarity, 3D, and overall enjoyment of the film. What it lacks in sound and immersiveness when compared to IMAX it easily makes up for in terms of realism, because watching this film at 48 frames per second is like watching theatre through a very clear piece of glass, meaning Middle Earth appears to be but a few paces away, giving it a unique immersive quality of its own.
With less humour than the previous film, yet still containing a few scenes that will make you chuckle, this installment is slightly darker in tone and more probable to make you jump. The build up to the action felt slow in the beginning, but the expectation of what might come was effective, and when the first big set piece came about involving thirteen Dwarves and a Hobbit making their escape from an Elvish prison downstream in barrels while being hunted by a pack of Orcs and two Elves, Legolas (Orlando Bloom – The Lord of The Rings) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly – Real Steel), it was a pay off worth waiting for. I could not help but grin like a child the entire way through it.
Having not read The Hobbit I was unaware of any differences there were between the book and the film, which I have now been told are many, particularly the decision to include Legolas. I understand how difficult it is to watch a novel you love be turned into a film where the people involved take certain liberties with its story or characters in order to make it successful. On rare occasions it works, other times it fails drastically, but mostly the films fail to excite. However, I believe the creative choices made in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, whether Jackson’s or the studios, have not detracted from how pleasing it is to watch and, above all, experience. Also, the heart of the story is not lost amidst two hours and forty-one minutes of impressive fight scenes either. The corruption and the power the ring has over Bilbo is made apparent in scenes where he has the impulse to fight and kill to protect it. In Mirkwood he puts his life in danger when it drops through the forest and he attacks a wild beast in a frenzy that you would never associate with the gentle Hobbit we have come to know. The courage of the Dwarves, the love story between Kili (Aidan Turner – Being Human) and Tauriel, combined with the poetically fantastical dialogue makes everything about it enchanting to watch.
The moment where The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug shines is in the last act. Having successfully been smuggled into Lake-town by Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans – Immortals), only nine of the thirteen Dwarves and Bilbo Baggins make their way to the Lonely Mountain with the blessing of the Master of Lake-town (Stephen Fry – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), but not without hearing Bard’s protests against such an action. While watching the scenes within the Lonely Mountain between Bilbo and Smaug in IMAX, amongst the vast amounts of gold and treasure, everything looked smudged and too dependant on CGI when compared to the HFR, which instead offers you a setting where the individual pieces of gold can be reached out and grabbed, as well as the most realistic looking dragon you are likely to have seen onscreen so far.
The confrontation between Smaug, Bilbo, and the Dwarves makes for the best use of the HFR and these scenes are wonderfully cut between those involving Legolas and Tauriel fighting Orcs in Lake-town while helping the four remaining Dwarves, one of whom, Kili, is poisoned and requires Elvish magic to live. When Thorin begins to organise the Dwarves to use the equipment within the Lonely Mountain to fashion a statue of liquid gold to try to kill Smaug, he is chased by the dragon and the subtly of the 3D used before, combined with the immensity of the HFR, is given full precedence. I defy anyone who watches it not to be blown away by the intensity of the visuals and the wonder they produce.
Despite having made changes to the story which some people may not find appealing, Peter Jackson has taken something conceived in J.R.R Tolkien’s mind and brought it to life in a way which makes you feel as if you are looking out of your window at a world you cannot believe has materialised before you. This is Middle Earth onscreen in the most realistic and beautiful setting imaginable. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is only the second film in what will be a trilogy, with third film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, being scheduled for release in 2014, and if this film is anything to go by it will be a Timeless cinematic experience too. I paid £10.10 (Student Discount) at Cineworld Edinburgh IMAX and £9.10 (Student Discount) at Odeon Dunfermline to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Rating: Timeless
Last edited by MidnightinMovies; 01-04-14 at 08:56 AM.
