Within The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a character looks off into the distance and says, “What have we done?” It’s a question I can only imagine a filmmaker with any consideration for his/her audience would ask with incredulity after looking back at the five-and-one-half hours that comprise two-thirds of a filmed adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s “The Hobbit”.
This, however, isn’t a means of getting into another discussion concerning how bloated these films are and how turning what was originally slated to be two films into three is a cash grab. Even the supporters of the trilogy-to-be recognize this, so to delve into it again is unnecessary. The Desolation of Smaug, however, is something that can’t necessarily be looked at in the same way as other films and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was no different. The main issue is the fact we aren’t really talking about a complete movie and Desolation of Smaug is one of the worst offenders to date in the increasingly long line of films without a beginning or an end.
Dare say the film feels unfinished and someone is sure to fire back, “Of course it feels unfinished, it’s only the second movie of three.” “Movie” in this hypothetical reply should be in quotes, but beyond that, is this what we consider cinema these days? Unfinished projects with the promise of the rest of the story a year later? Would you read only one chapter of a book every year?
To watch either of the first two films in Peter Jackson‘s Hobbit trilogy on their own would be a waste of time, but I’m not blind to the fact Desolation of Smaug and An Unexpected Journey could have made a satisfying first two acts of one great film, but as it stands it only proves long-winded and numbing with so much filler it destroys its own momentum before it’s ever earned.
There is no narrative arc or overall sense of purpose outside of “We are standing here and we need to stand over there.” In the time it takes them to walk from point A to point B, obstacles present themselves and a few new characters are introduced. Characters such as Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman, Lee Pace as Elf King Thranduil, Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, Stephen Fry as Master of Laketown and the return of Orlando Bloom as Legolas and in a matter of minutes we know more about these characters than we do the throng of dwarves Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is accompanying on their journey to the Lonely Mountain. That is, outside of Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), whom everyone seems to know.
This is another problem The Hobbit films face when compared with Lord of the Rings. At least with the Rings films we knew the characters. We knew Sam, Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn and the whole lot of them. Here all I know of these bearded dwarfs is that, well, they have beards and are fat and Kili (Aidan Turner) has a thing for Evangeline Lilly and the feeling just might be mutual. Exciting!
All we’re doing is watching things happen with absolutely zero emotional attachment. The greatest scene in Desolation of Smaug comes once Legolas is reintroduced and he and Tauriel take on a horde of orcs as Bilbo and the dwarfs escape capture by floating down a river in barrels. Jackson has a fun tracking shot in the midst of the escape that had my audience laughing with delight. However, that same audience laughed as the screen went black and the credits began to roll as it felt like we were all part of some big joke.
Then we get to the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). Herein is the big reveal of the film. A dragon. Surprise! He looks like… a dragon, his mammoth frame rising from beneath the clutter of gold coins and riches. And then, he speaks. Smaug, as it turns out, is quite the talker. The Hobbit: The Chatty Dragon could have been another title under consideration because he doesn’t seem to want to shut up.
The effects, however, are great and fans longing to see Smaug brought to life on the big screen will love every minute of it. Not for a second will I discount the enjoyment people are going to get out of Desolation of Smaug, but if we’re being honest with ourselves we have to recognize what we’re watching. As much as I may marvel at the effects of a dragon brought to life ,I can’t deny the overall project is as boring as it is frustrating.
As a movie, Desolation of Smaug is a failure, because it’s not a movie. As the second third of a whole, it’s certainly more entertaining than An Unexpected Journey if only because more happens and Legolas and Tauriel’s fighting abilities are a welcomed addition to the slow monotonous thud of watching Bilbo and the dwarfs hammer away at the ground beneath their feet, traveling hundreds of miles only to easily give up when it appears the hidden door isn’t so easily found. You know, because it’s hidden and all.
Yet, we are avoiding the point.
Bringing it all back to that one line in the film — “What have we done?” — the answer is obvious, you have ruined a potentially great telling of Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” in exchange for money. The reason the Lord of the Rings trilogy worked is because there was only so much Jackson could pack into three, very long installments. What was left on the cutting room floor, after we had gone on the journey and gotten to know the characters, became the much-loved extended editions. How there is more footage to create extended editions for these Hobbit films I’ll never know as it seems the story and then some has already made its way to theaters, before Jackson & Co. ever earned reason to add so much bloat.
These Hobbit films were created by a filmmaker who clearly loves the source material as much as, if not more than, anyone in the audience. You can feel Jackson’s appreciation for the story and the characters within it, but the films are over indulgent and to be so presumptuous as to turn it into three films is nothing more than greed on the studio’s part.
The Desolation of Smaug has a lot of what you loved about the Lord of the Rings trilogy within it, but there are only so many times you can watch characters you don’t know or care about escape death knowing full well there wasn’t any danger in the first place before you lose your patience. Hopefully, one day, a fan will cut together a three hour version of The Hobbit from Jackson’s three films. Because that, I’m sure, would be one hell of a movie to watch.
