“I do believe the worst is behind us” were the last words spoken in last year’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” uttered by Bilbo Baggins as he, Gandalf and their band of thirteen hairy dwarves looked at their near future in the shape of The Lonely Mountain. And indeed Bilbo may be right: though sufficiently spectacular and delivered with gusto, the first chapter in Peter Jackson’s epic new fantasy trilogy, the prequels to his earth-shattering “Lord of the Rings” films, was a slight disappointment, lacking a little oomph in its narrative; it took forever to get going and once it did the story lacked focus and took on an all too episodic structure, with lengthy, inconsequential brawls with trolls and goblins and a pointless Rivendell pit-stop that wasn’t even in Tolkein’s book.
Thankfully, follow-up “The Desolation of Smaug” eradicates these problems, Jackson reducing the episodic structure and giving its narrative a smoother flow. Continuing the dwarves’ quest to reclaim their lost homeland, this second chapter is a superior creature, romping along at a brisker pace and journeying towards a clearly defined destination: The Lonely Mountain, where lowly hobbit Bilbo, again played wonderfully by Martin Freeman, must thieve the precious Arkenstone from under the snout of the dreaded dragon Smaug; the dragon whose eye, you may remember, burst open in the final moments of the last movie as he slumbered peacefully in a tomb of stolen gold worthy of Scrooge McDuck.
But it’s a good while until we get to him — a solid two hours, in fact. In the meantime, our vertically challenged heroes get into all sorts of perilous scrapes in their trek across Middle-earth, from a terrifying encounter with a hungry family of giant tarantulas to imprisonment in the dungeons of the Elvenking Thranduil (Lee Pace). All the while they’re pursued by a party of Orcs working under orders from a mysterious, whispery Necromancer who rises from the darkness.
Along the way we’re treated with a series of high-energy action set-pieces, the sheer bravura of which, combined with Jackson’s twisting, turning camera and dollops of gorgeously rendered special effects, is exhilarating and dazzling. Particularly spirited is our heroes’ intrepid escape from the dungeons of the Elvenking: chased by battling Orcs and elves, they ride wine barrels down a thrashing river. Pudgy dwarf Bombur (Stephen Hunter) really gets his chance to shine here, given a spectacular moment in which he, trapped inside a rolling barrel, pummels through Orc warriors left, right and centre like a bowling ball knocking down pins (which is then followed by Orlando Bloom’s Legolas jumping on the dwarves’ heads while firing arrows at Orcs). It is, if you’ll excuse the pun, a barrel of fun, and one of the most unashamedly joyous sequences in the history of Jackson’s Middle-earth.
In amongst the grand spectacle there’s nothing quite as compelling as the central relationship between Frodo and Sam in the “Lord of the Rings” films, but there is Bilbo, whose transformation from a cosy Shire-dweller to a brave and bold adventurer is these films’ real journey. And Freeman is utterly brilliant, nailing Bilbo’s timidness, his growing courage and his creeping corruption from the One Ring. I had my doubts about Freeman, but after his performance here I can’t for the life of me remember why; he’s fantastic and absolutely vital to our connection to the story (the mostly interchangeable dwarves don’t quite cut it, though I do like Ken Stott’s Scottish dwarf Balin and Richard Armitage’s brooding leader Thorin).
They’re all joined by a couple of newcomers: there’s Luke Evans as the handsome smuggler Bard who sneaks our heroes into Lake-town in barrels of stinky fish, and Evangeline Lily as the elf warrior Tauriel. Both are very welcome additions, in particular the pointy-eared Lily, who makes for a kick-ass heroine with an impressive gift for taking down Orcs with a bow and arrow (side note: there’s a ton of nifty, wildly imaginative Orc decapitations in this. You can tell this is directed by the guy who made “Braindead”).
But undeniably, the best newcomer is Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice — and, if those rather embarrassing photos are to be believed, movement — of the gargantuan fire-breather Smaug the Magnificent. And magnificent he is: another miracle creation of WETA, he’s a fearsome beast of startling size, sporting a booming voice, dripping with arrogance and grinning with sadistic glee as he taunts and teases his tiny prey. His face-off with Bilbo inside The Lonely Mountain is gripping stuff as Bilbo’s newfound courage is really put to the test. Their interaction is seamless and the bombastic set-piece that follows is a ton of fun. It’s a finale worth the trek that preceded it, and considering what a lengthy trek it was, that’s saying something.
Indeed, Jackson’s undoubtedly self-indulgent desire to turn Tolkein’s slim story into another epic, 9-hour blockbuster trilogy still shows strain — there’s some definite padding here, some pointless filler here — but as long as the results are as consistently thrilling and immersive as this, you won’t hear me complaining (well, not too much, anyway). I’m kind of excited for “There and Back Again;” after all, “Return of the King” was my favourite of the “Lord of the Rings” films, and given that this will be the third and final entry in the “Hobbit” series it has every chance of being the best of them. Let’s hope Jackson can pull it off — I mean, if anyone can, it’s most certainly him.
Rating: 8/10
