To say that I was excited to see the second installment into ‘The Hobbit’ franchise would be a gross understatement. Often with the expectation so high the movie, hardly meets the standard. I am pleased to say that this film was epic throughout. Not that you expected anything else right?
The story beginnings where the band of misfits left off in the first film; with the addition of a few extra characters. The elves’ play a major role in the film, with the induction of a made up female character to add a love story into the narrative mix. This coupled with the progress of the dwarfs quest makes the film surprisingly full, without dead space.
The fact that ‘The hobbit’ has so many narrations to tell makes the storyline feel disjointed. To others this is fine, just long as the get their middle earth fix. This is the only criticism I have with the film. With that in mind the exchange between Bilbo and Smaug was a moment best experienced in the cinema. The dialogue and how the scene played out was similar to the first film with Gollum. Imminently that feeling of witnessing something quite special falls seamlessly into place. All credit goes to Peter Jackson and his crew because they simply execute this perfectly. That is what escapism is all about.
So overall this is a must see for any fan of fantasy, oh and of ‘The Hobbit’. My verdict is a solid 8/10.