The first question you should ask yourself is "Do I want to go on adventure?" And then, "Do I believe in dragons???"
My family and I saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (a title I love writing out) earlier today, and still it is impossible to put my thoughts into coherent words. Basically I love Smaug, I love Thorin, and I love that Tolkien and Peter Jackson are utter geniuses. All of them at once, I suppose.
We rejoin Thorin & Company after they have narrowly escaped Azog and his orc gang. Their narrow escape was actually a fail. A LOT of bad things happen. For the plot, I really can't say more than the trailer does. Even the trailer only shows you PART of the story. If you thought the last film was a journey - well, this is the real deal. So real I felt literally exhausted at the end.
Can we talk about characters for a bit, and then favorite scenes?
Beorn. The bear shapeshifter dude. My expectations were low, but Beorn was so well-written and emotively portrayed. And very, very scary.
Hold on, let's go ahead and mention Beorn's house. Beorn's beautiful house! And the gigantic bumblebees. I hope this scene has an extension.
Legolas. It's as if PJ was thinking "Oh, purists hate Legolas's martial arts, do they? Let's double it for the Hobbit!" Confession: I love Lego's fighting stunts. It's great seeing him as a hot-headed young prince. With a bloody nose.
Tauriel. I felt Tauriel was sadly non-descript, not nearly as compelling as Eowyn or Arwen. On the other hand, her religious/spiritual convictions gave her character a little more depth in a couple of scenes. Overall, not a bad addition, just not a great one.
Thranduil. Lego's dad. On the surface, he is calmer and more levelheaded; in reality, not much better than his son. Thranduil oozes royalty and contempt, from the top of his artsy crown to the bottom of his regal
Bard. I liked Bard. I like the fact he has a family, and can read through Thorin's obsession and the Master of Lake Town's politics. He's well-written, and though I once thought Richard Armitage had to play Bard, Luke Evans does a great job.
Gandalf. Some great Gandalf moments, if rather few and far between! I always miss him when he's off-screen. There is a magnificent battle of wills between Gandalf and one of the antagonists - you definitely want to see that part.
Bilbo. Once again, Martin Freeman puts life into a protagonist I used to think was a trifle flat. I love how Bilbo's double life, if you will, is subtly and deftly portrayed. On the one hand, he has gained real, substantive courage of his own. On the other, he is becoming increasingly dependent on the Ring. The scene where he momentarily loses the Ring is stunning, like a flash-forward to Fellowship. (My sister and I both thought for a minute he looked like Ian Holm, too.) Even though I know the story, I can't wait to see where this goes in the last film!
Thorin. THORIN THOUGH. I love this guy. He's stubborn and way too self-assured (*cough* Boromir *cough*), and if you first saw Richard Armitage in North and South like I did, this casting makes perfect sense. I like Thorin better than Thornton, though. Thorin (and Boromir)'s downfall is half naivete and half willful blindness. He believes good intentions are everything, and that ends could justify means. The Hobbit 3 is going to break my heart.
Smaug. The only character to possibly outshine Thorin. Though I've seen Benedict Cumberbatch in several movies now, and though it was obviously his voice behind the dragon's head, it was also Smaug, 100%. He's very book!Smaug, convincingly so. He just might be my favoritest part - the cliffhanger was infuriating, if that's any indication. If I had to pick one scene to rewatch right now, it would be his conversation with Bilbo. You thought Thranduil, Thorin, Master of Laketown - hey, even Elrond - you thought those guys were regal? They don't hold a candle to the King Under the Mountain.
And...it's almost 2 am here, so I will follow up with another post(s) tomorrow (er, later today)!
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