movie review - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
Toronto, 2015.10.02
My son's interested in these movies, so we've been slowly seeing them through. I found this one particularly flat and lacking any of the character of the first. The tone is uneven, the acting is hesitant, the whole thing feels like a directorial failure. The state of the movie somehow clobbers the actual story, which is based on one of my all-time favorite books - and which should have been within the grasp of the director that brought us the vastly more expansive "Lord of the Rings". I'm not enjoying this, it's the "Star Wars" prequels all over again.
Not recommended.