Review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) by Jake B — 28 Jan 2018

Jackson has been much-maligned for several (unjustified, in my opinion) reasons after turning "The Hobbit" into a trilogy (instead of the original two movie format). It's worth noting that this, the second film, was the one that had to be cobbled together, reworked, and shoehorned into the trilogy, but it is a better film than the first one (though I love it, as well). Smaug is easily the greatest CGI creature ever put on film, and that distinction may stand for a long time. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun watching a film in a cinema.

Jackson displays an uncanny ability to recognize what makes for thrilling cinema, to enhance those aspects, and to utilize a stunning amount of skilled artisans to help create a completely believable world out of pure fantasy. He utilizes the best modern methods for special effects to tell the story. It's worth noting here, that WETA's use of motion capture animation, or MO-CAP, has done for CGI characters on film what Walt Disney did for animated characters with "Snow White"--namely, given them a soul.

Say what you will about Peter Jackson's journey into Tolkien's Middle Earth, but ultimately cinematic history will record it as a fantastic, influential, thrilling body of film-making that will stand alongside the art form's greatest epics.