TJ walks through the good and the bad of ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’. Is it better than the first installment of this would-be trilogy? Though TJ questions the wisdom of making a trilogy out of a single book, TJ does think this installment is better. Martin Freeman continues to impress as Bilbo and overall, the pacing feels far better. This is one TJ recommends catching in the theater.
Show Links
The Hobbit trilogy is, I think, perhaps the ultimate fan fiction for the universe surrounding Middle Earth — that is to say, for The Lord of the Rings. Consider: why would one take a book less than 300 pages and make a trilogy out of it where with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, 3 books of about ~400 pages each were made into 3 films? If the same logic was applied to The Lord of the Rings filmmaking as we’re seeing here with The Hobbit, we’d have 9 films, 3 for each book.
The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.
The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.(c) WB
Domestic Total as of Dec. 16, 2013: $79,847,401
Distributor: Warner Bros. Release Date: December 13, 2013
Genre: Fantasy Runtime: 2 hrs. 41 min.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 Production Budget: N/A