Towards the end of their arduous journey to the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo and the Dwarves happen across the burnt out husk of Dale a prosperous town once inhabited by men. Smaug the Magnificent, the last Great Dragon of Middle-Earth, razed it to the ground when he usurped the Kingdom Under the Mountain. This is the physical desolation wrought by Smaug, charred, black and craven. Yet Smaug’s scorched earth policy is secondary when compared to the spiritual and moral desolation felt by the exiled Thorin Oakenshield and the men of Lake-town who live under the shadow of the dragon’s thunderous wings.
Make no mistake, Smaug is the star of Peter Jackson’s latest foray into J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, Smaug is an urbane leviathan, roused from his slumber and melancholy by Bilbo Baggins’ unique challenge. Lonely and the last of his kind, Smaug’s grand entrance is stunning, emerging from a landslide of greed and gold as Bilbo is forced to look into the dragon’s immense pupils. Jackson cleverly milks this visual motif to link Smaug with Sauron and ultimately imbed “The Hobbit” securely within the mythology of his “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Jackson is in good company as Tolkien revised “The Hobbit” himself so that it better conveyed the more adult tone of “The Lord of the Rings.” “Desolation” like “An Unexpected Journey” raids Tolkien’s appendices and spruces them up to give Bilbo’s rip-roaring adventures the necessary grandeur they now deserve. Thorin’s original meeting with Gandalf is suitably Machiavellian, Gandalf’s disappearance on the edge of Mirkwood is fleshed out in dark tones, and thankfully for Orlando Bloom’s flagging career, Legolas cuts a bloody swathe through countless Orcs as a blue eyed killing machine.
Bravely, Jackson has added another character of his own creation that has got the fan boys hot under the collar and the purists calling for his bearded head. Tauriel is a female Wood Elf, played by Evangeline Lilly as a hard as nails warrior at the centre of a love triangle between Legolas and the Dwarf Kili. Rather than slow the narrative down, a criticism leveled at Jackson’s bold move, Tauriel breathes new vigour into the tale, foreshadowing the odd couple friendship enjoyed between Legolas and Gimli in “The Lord of the Rings.” Don’t bet against Tauriel having a guiding hand in uniting the Elves and the Dwarves when the Battle of the Five Armies rages in the concluding film, “There and Back Again” whilst she simultaneously thaws an ice cold Legolas.
The sheer scope and bravado of “Desolation” is a joy to behold. Jackson seems to revel in the challenge of uniting both trilogies and throws the audience a startling array of set pieces. Whether he’s conquering the conundrum of talking Giant Spiders, embellishing the barrel escape from the Wood Elves into three-sided frenzy or filming Orcs lopping over rooftops like psychotic Santas, Jackson never fails to dazzle or delight his audience. For fans of “The Hobbit” who grew up without the mixed blessing of CGI, a film version was just a distant dream to be cradled in old paperbacks and role-playing games.
Once again Jackson makes a mockery of the 161-minute running time that speeds away like a runaway train. And once again keeping the whole grand adventure from flying off the tracks is Martin Freeman’s glorious portrayal of Bilbo, master burglar who finds more than his courage on his adventures. As diminutive as Bilbo is he never shrinks on screen, especially when dwarfed by the illustrious Smaug during their verbal jousting. Bilbo is still bemused and befuddled, but he has found a new darkness that lines his eyes and steers his actions. Still, “Desolation” is Smaug’s film and when he roars, “I am fire… I am death!” we tremble at the year to come.