Review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) by Gil8Ert — 28 Jan 2014

What George Lucas did to Star Wars pales into insignificance compared to what Peter Jackson has done to Middle Earth. There is so much ethereal mulch and noticeable CGI crammed into the visuals that it is almost impossible to be carried along on the journey because you can't believe they are on a journey, and it's certainly very difficult to make out uniquely discernible locations. Crammed full of not only tired movie cliches, but badly and needlessly re-used ideas from the LOTR films.

The script is awful and plodding and without any joy or bite, and the constant use of panoramic, sweeping camera shots was in the end both annoying and alienating.

It is a poor imitation of the LOTR films and a poor film in it's own right - ridiculously strung out for no apparent or rewarding reason.

Lastly - what these films have done to the story from the book is, for my money, nothing less than hateful. The Hobbit is a magical tale which has been decapitated and gutted until a thin, barely recognisable husk has remained. This second installment is worse than the first, which in itself should be a punishable crime.