MOVIE MONDAYS// THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
At 11.00 pm last Friday, yours truly braved a cold wet night in Manchester and made it safely to the cinema to catch a late night showing of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug as not only would the cinema ticket be cheaper, the theatre will be a lot less busy too. And this could mean only one thing- that I was the happiest girl in there because I got to sit in my favourite seat! Yeah, I'm sad like that. It was what kept my eyes open until the film started as long gone are the days when I party till dawn. When the film begun, all traces of sleep were banished and as the story began to unfold one thought crept up in my mind: I think I might be in love with a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins.
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This installment of The Hobbit trilogy did not disappoint me at all. There was so much going on. At first my heart sunk because I thought I'd mistakenly paid to see the first one, but then what once seemed familiar now sparked curiosity as the scenes that were being played were thankfully unknown to me. A sigh of relief was had and the excitement of knowing more about the unknown bubbled within me, growing with every minute.
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Assuming you have not watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (MM post here), this film is a continuation of the fabulous story of how Bilbo Baggins grabs life by the balls, embarks on a journey to help a bunch of charming dwarves claim back what was once theirs and learns a thing or two about self-preservation from evil creatures that only exist in the world of fantasy - thank goodness! - along the way. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was again directed wonderfully by Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; The Lord of the Rings (1-3); The Lovely Bones) and its great screenplay was again created by Fran Walsh (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; The Lord of the Rings (1-3); The Lovely Bones) , Philippa Boyens (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; The Lord of the Rings (1-3); The Lovely Bones), Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy (1&2); Pan's Labyrinth; Pacific Rim). There is a lot more oomph, action, hilarity, drama and elves *wink* in this film. It will be hard not to enjoy it me thinks. Having said that, a certain elf that oh-so-easily won my heart in LOTR sorta let me down in this film for a quick minute. But only by a teeny weeny bit!! So it is all good as that made me love the film even more as it was so... different - can't think of another word at the moment.
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One character that totally has my vote for the 'Mo's Favourite Character from The Hobbit 2' award is Taureil played by Evangeline Lilly (Lost; The Hurt Locker; Real Steel). To be honest I did not like her one bit for a whole 5 minutes maybe but I managed to see past my pettiness (hehe) and see her for who she truly is- a strong, smart, caring, talented, hopeful and beautiful lil' lady with a strong eagerness to see past her nose. Another character that has my vote definitely has to be the witty, resilient and dependable Kili who was brought to life by Aidan Turner (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; Mortal Instruments: City of Bones; Being Human). Ian McKellen (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; The Lord of the Rings (1-3); X-Men (1-3)) reprised his role as the magical, revealer-of-no-secrets-yet-somehow-trustworthy Gandalf. I am never quite so sure what to make of Gandalf. Sometimes I feel that he is a pompous know-it-all but yet he shows a side of himself that is coloured with loneliness, fragility and the pressure to save them all from a great evil. He's a complex one that wizard.
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I am thrilled at the fact that I did manage to catch this film in the cinema before it got replaced by all the other highly anticipated movies that are due to be released this year -how awesome do they look??. If you are contemplating seeing this film, I don't think you will regret watching it especially if you enjoyed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Which character from The Hobbit is your favourite?
Mo xx
P.S. Yes, I am aware that I am publishing this on Tuesday but I was lazy yesterday and couldn't muster the strength to finish writing this post... as well as the others. Better late than never ;-) Expect my thoughts on 12 Years A Slave soon as I saw that last weekend as well.