Hobbits hit the road again
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (12a)
Running time 161 minutes
Rating:*****
GOING to the latest instalment of the Tolkien fantasy is always an enjoyable thing.
You assemble in your local Palace of Visual Pleasures, pay many good Earth pounds, and for your investment see good British actors acting for all their worth while pretending to see either orcs, dragons, or Lords of Darkness.
It’s been providing people with much pleasure over the years and there is still – at least – one more instalment to go.
You have to ask yourself though, in the quieter moments of the film, what it is that makes it so compelling?
Are we still creatures attracted by myth and magic, prepared to believe in the realms beyond this one? Is the power of suggestion in film so persuasive that we so readily immerse ourselves in the world of wizards, orcs, and the elemental forces of Good and Evil?
Or is it just that we like a rattling good tale, written by a master storyteller, and converted into compelling visual propaganda that seduces us all?
The answer is probably all three, and it must be said and after a year of mainly ho-hum movies, ending 2013 watching a good film is a pleasure.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, apart from having a tricksy and complex title, is simple in its narrative thread.
Bilbo (Martin Freeman – back in TV harness as Sherlock’s sidekick) is journeying with 13 dwarves to the Lonely Mountain to retrieve a gem – the Arkenstone – which will unite all the tribes of dwarves under Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage).
Gandalf the Grey (Sir Ian McKellen) meanwhile, is off on a journey of his own to confront The Necromancer, who turns out to be old Flame Eye, Lord Sauron.
As usual, there is much biffing of orcs, who are rotten fighters and no match for dwarves half their size and elves whose hairstyles stay intact throughout the foray. It’s all great fun and despite the film running at close to three hours, we are genuinely sorry when it ends on a real cliffhanger.
Apart from the principal characters, there are some great supporting performances from Ken Stott, James Nesbitt and former Doctor Who Sylvester McCoy.
Benedict Cumberbatch provides the voice of Smaug, making him sound nasty, petulant and paranoid, and director Peter Jackson does his best to get some real flesh and blood acting in amongst the special effects, which, as usual, are as good as they get (until they invent a holodeck).
Sadly, I was unable to watch the film in 3D – good for me in one way as it avoided a migraine, but disappointing in another, as the action in places is clearly designed for that extra level of excitement.
Still, it is gratifying to see cinemas full of totally absorbed customers, watching a piece of cinematic excellence.
