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Last updated: 12 Jun 2026 at 06:31 UTC

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Review of by Jacob G — 08 Sep 2014

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The Desolation of Smaug brings about several key things that help amp the second Hobbit movie into the realm of surprisingly entertaining.

1. Elves. I was never actually a fan of the elves in the Lord of the Rings movies. But here, watching them slice and dice through orc fiends (and spiders!) is truly fantastic.

2. Smaug and the lair. I remember how fantastic that moment is in the book, but glittering gold is always less impressive on text. Here the towering gold pile, and the absurd beast contained within, demand blinkless attention.

3. Gandalf becomes just so entertaining this time around. He was fine in the first Hobbit movie, but truly becomes a force here.

While it still falls prey to some of the foibles of the first Hobbit movie (thank you, Peter Jackson for being so Peter Jacksony), it's not enough to make me cringe.

Even watching this made me tempted to rewatch the Lord of the Rings trilogy, something I swore many years ago I'd never do again. My guess is that this movie will be the peak of the Middle-Earth films. But, ok, my attention has been caught and I'll be seeing the final movie. Somewhat begrudgingly, yes, but it will be seen.

This review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) was written by on 08 Sep 2014.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has generally received very positive reviews.

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