THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG TWO-DISC SPECIAL EDITION DVD (2013)

SYNOPSIS: “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood-elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all—a creature more terrifying than any other; one which will test not only the depth of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself—the Dragon Smaug.

MOVIE REVIEW:

This reviewer is not going to delve into how unfaithful the second instalment of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is comparing to the book by J.R.R. Tolkien simply because he hasn’t read any of the original material. Instead, we shall discuss the issue on hand based on Sir Peter Jackson’s cinematic treatment of it.

If you are one of those who complained the dragginess of An Unexpected Journey, I suppose Jackson has heard your complaints. Other than introducing a new female character, the gung-ho female Elf warrior Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), the return of everyone’s favourite suave Elf, Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman and Sherlock aka Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Smaug, everything remains as before.

The story as expected continues to bring audiences from Point A to Point B and then to C. The thirteen dwarfs led by Thorin (Richard Armitage) and Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) continues their treacherous journey to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the greedy wicked Dragon Smaug while Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) disappears from the bulk of the movie in a feeble excuse to deal with the growing evilness at Dol Guldur.

Fortunately, the story by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo Del Toro (who is credited as one of the writers) wastes no time in conjuring up some rather massive exhilarating action sequences after the opening which feature a skin-changer and some slow exposition between Legolas and his father, Thrandull (Lee Pace). For entrée, there’s a fierce spider attack on the dwarfs followed by the first main course the movie’s best showcase of excitement, a prolonged dwarfs escape on barrels. The second full course is a chase and attack by Orcs at the lake town and of course dessert is none other served by Smaug himself.

As usual, Sir Jackson aptly delivers the stunning visuals (courtesy of WETA Digital), some humorous moments and a grandeur Middle Earth experience together with the fine primary players old and new. Jackson tweaking with the source material might be bothersome to a small group of readers. From a moviegoer’s point of view, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues to make us crave for the concluding chapter. Just take it as a fun fantasy flick.    

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set is a 40 minutes feature that details the cast and crew’s daily routine on the set including the meticulous catering. So do you want a toufu or a steak burger at teatime?

Production Videos consists of four production features with the first three touching on the post-production, additional filming and the last on composer Howard Shore.

Live Event: In the Cutting Room is a recorded live event in which Peter Jackson answered fan’s questions in March 2013.

New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth, Part 2 shows viewers some of the breath-taking locations in New Zealand where shooting took place.

And lastly, a "I See Fire" Music Video by Ed Sheeran. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

In terms of audio and video aspects, the title remains an excellent choice to showcase your home theater system. Clarity and detailing are rich and the Dolby Digital 5.1 delivered strongly during the action scenes and terrific surround experiences when Smaug appears.  

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee