Several factors
have contributed to this extremely later review of The Hobbit – The Desolation
of Smaug. Firstly, I saw the movie on a
Sunday (15th December 2013) as against the Thursday (12th
December 2013) preview that was organized @ PVR Juhu – Now that was on
principle because it is nothing less than rank insulting to watch The Hobbit at
any other screen but for an IMAX one.
If you don’t have
an IMAX in your city, make sure you go to the screen that has the best 3D
effects that you are aware of or to an HFR screen. The second reason was that I was unwell for a
few days after that Sunday till the release of Dhoom 3 (I know. I know.
How can I call out D3 in this review).
It is just that D3 left me pretty much exhausted to be able to write a
review of a great movie (just kidding).
But the third
and most important reason – actually the only one – was that I was at a loss of
words to describe the scale at which Peter Jackson has made this movie. Each one of the Tolkien series has been taken
to the next level with the best use of technology available to Jackson. There have been no compromises
whatsoever. So much that I cannot wait
for what will be “The Hobbit – There and Back Again”.
For those who haven’t
read the books, I recommend that you do so immediately. People have wondered about how Jackson could
have converted a book that was less than 300 pages long into a movie that is a
little under 9 hours and in 3 parts. The
essence of the effort can be captured in 5 words, “Staying true to the book”. I was amazed at the detailing in The
Unexpected Journey. Desolation of Smaug
makes that look like a walk in the park.
The biggest challenge
that Jackson would have faced had to be the creation of Smaug and he says that
in as many words on the hobbit blog (http://www.thehobbitblog.com/). He had to come up with something or someone
that was bigger, better and most importantly scarier than anything that people
had seen before. With Benedict
Cumberbatch, Jackson brings to life the personality of Smaug – probably as well
as it could be done. The lust for gold along with the anger when
someone tries to take it away - scary as can be.
There is no
point in delving into the story on this blog.
If patience isn’t your strongest virtue (read – I cannot read the book),
it should not matter much. But try and
catch up with The Unexpected Journey before you walk in for Smaug. Apparently both are playing in theatres
today. The next year, I will be in line
for all 3 back to back once again. 8.5
on 10. Definitely makes the list for the
top 10 @ the Oscars this year. May just win it I say
My favorite Holly film this year :D
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