The Gist: Bilbo and his dwarves companions continue their trip towards the Lonely Mountain and the stakes keep rising. They will encounter, among other things, a lethal spider colony, a less than amicable race of Elves living in a forest, a less than hospitable race of humans living on a lake island, and even a very mysterious shape-shifter. Nothing however, will compare to Bilbo’s face-to-face with Smaug.
Peter Jackson’s second chapter in his trilogy adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit keeps up the admirable work of blending together a faithful adaptation of the short novel with both additional Tolkien material and original ideas.
The end result is an adrenaline jolt that engages the viewer a lot more than An Unexpected Journey, saddled with the duty of introducing all the characters to the audience, could do.
Just like with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I found the first chapter more intimate and the second more boisterous. By the end, when Bilbo finally meets Smaug and they have their terrific confrontation, one is overwhelmed by the visual treats and the many goings-on.
Overwhelmed is good though, at least in this case.
The Bottom Line: If you’ve enjoyed the first chapter, you won’t be disappointed. I think there’s more original material in Smaug than there was in Journey, but it’s expertly sawed into the story and I liked the end result.
Grade: 8
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