Feature | Lights, Camera, Action! – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (UK Rating: 12A)

Thorin Oakenshield and his company of dwarves continue their quest to reclaim their kingdom and have taken hobbit Bilbo Baggins with them for his skills as a burglar. Their aim is to reach the Lonely Mountain, where Baggins has to find the Secret Door and then steal back the Arkenstone, the dwarves' most precious treasure. However, they have to overcome numerous obstacles and enemies before getting there - and guarding the jewel is the predatory dragon, Smaug.

It takes Peter Jackson just ten minutes short of three hours to tell us this section of the story, which is one of the film's biggest problems; it's simply too long. The first two thirds drag their feet, despite the many battles and escapes that should be exciting but, in all honesty, don't exactly get the pulse pounding. There's a routine sameness about them, with the dwarves under attack - usually from Orcs - and being rescued, albeit reluctantly, by Elvin archers Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). The language doesn't help: it takes its style from the book but, on the big screen, it's plodding, not dignified.

As an army, the Orcs are pretty useless, not much more than bow and arrow fodder for the Elvin mob. From the sound of it, they all suffer from terrible asthma, chronic indigestion and, from the look of their teeth, appalling halitosis. How their master can believe he's going to rule the world with this lot working for him is baffling, to say the least. The elves, on the other hand, are all elegance and art. When they fight, it's almost balletic, reminiscent of recent Chinese martial arts films. Crouching Hobbit, Hidden Dragon anybody?

It's the third section of the film, though, when things really look up. Why? Enter the dragon! Smaug is superbly re-created, fire glowing in his belly as he prepares to unleash his big weapon on his enemies. He's agile, scaly and - apparently - almost indestructible. Every time he's attacked and seems to have been defeated, he comes back for more - at one point rising spectacularly from the ruins of his latest encounter, clad in gold. The action is fast and furious, the settings are striking and it all demonstrates just how leaden the first two parts are. That's the inevitable result of stretching one average-sized book into three parts.

Like many of the current crop of blockbusters, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug comes in 3D, yet it doesn't really add much to the film - just the occasional moment when giant bumble bees fly out towards the audience. The settings, especially inside The Lonely Mountain, are strong enough on their own.

There is, of course, a third part to come: The Hobbit: There and Back Again is due out next year and will tie up all the loose ends from the end of this film. Does Smaug attack the human settlement, Laketown? What happens to Gandalf (Ian MacKellan hamming it up), who is currently suspended in a cage, without his magic staff? Will Thorin reclaim his throne and kingdom? Then there's the small matter of the gold ring in Bilbo's pocket…

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

The third section of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug shows just what Peter Jackson is capable of - superb, imaginative and vibrant cinema. The trouble is, it takes the audience the best part of two hours to find out and it's perilously close to being too late.