Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPVWy1tFXuc
Movie dragons, I can think of a few. The Hungarian Horntail in Harry Potter, the Eragon dragons...Donkey's love interest in Shrek. The Desolation of Smaug is a very important film when it comes to the subject. It introduces us to the character in the title, Smaug- the dragon to make you forget about every other movie dragon in history. The dragons mentioned above look like the reptile tank at Pets at Home in comparison.
The Desolation of Smaug follows on straight after an Unexpected Journey left off. The main difference between the 2 films is where the pacing issues lie. Last year's Hobbit seemed to take an age to finally take off before it delivered us some epic fantasy goodness. This time we're thrown straight into the action with 2 great action pieces that will have you smiling ear to ear happening early on. It slows down in the middle this time but really kicks back into gear for the film's grand finale.
We'll get the second Hobbit film's only problem out of the way early on- it still feels a little too long. It's not a 'oh hurry up and finish' long but the gap between the amazing opening scenes to incredible finish is really felt. You know there's a battle with a dragon coming up and you just wish they'd get out of 'Set-up for the Third Movie Town' they visit at the movie's mid-point and get to the action.
Dat action though. Starting with the journey to the Lonely Mountain- the barrel scene you see in the trailers is so much better than you imagined it would be. It steps it from from just a goofy little thrill ride down a river that uses 3D to make you feel like it's a theme park attraction. There's gorgeous sweeping shots of chaos happening all around the river and some surprisingly gory combat and archery thanks to the reintroduction of Legolas from Lord of The Rings. And Kate from Lost.
Legolas's inclusion confused me a little seeings as the Hobbit happened 60 years priot to LOTR but I was informed that elves don't age the same as hobbits and dwarves. Convenient. I'm glad him and Kate (sorry, Tauriel) are in the film though as it freshens up the main-to-sub character list and adds some younger blood to the mostly older mains. It also allows the film to add some great fight scenes while touching on a potential love triangle. The relationship aspect isn't hammed on as much as you'd maybe expect but the subtlety of it works and I'm sure it'll develop in There and Back Again.
And onto Smaug himself. It's a great indication of what the word 'epic' means in this age of cinema. The film gives us a lot of Smaug and I never wanted it to end. Bendict Cumberbatch as Smaug is a great move and gives him character. A very intimidating character. I cringed a little when I learnt the dragon talks in the Hobbit but now I can't imagine it any other way. It never feels silly and gives us some of the most stunning cinema I've seen this year.
The Desolation of Smaug ends the year of franchise blockbusters on a high and as much as I was in the cinema for more than 3 hours I didn't want that end scene to finish. I won't spoil the film's cliffhanger but I can assure you you'll wish Christmas 2014 was much sooner.
The mid section does take it's toll on the film as a whole but it can be forgiven due to the rest of The Desolation of Smaug being really quite fantastic. An improvement on the already great first film and helps affirm the Hobbit as a movie franchise into one of the best of modern times
9/10
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