The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Just remember, if you're not tired of The Hobbit yet, there's still three more hours on the way.

I mentioned in my The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey review that I haven't read the book this is all based on (loosely, I suppose).  That hasn't changed in the past year, so once I again I can't comment on the faithfulness to the source material.  I don't necessarily have any issues with some of the newly added characters or plot points that seem to be more of a reference to The Lord of the Rings trilogy than having anything to do with The Hobbit.  In some cases, they were a good thing, like with the addition of Evangeline Lilly's character Tauriel.  She's a total badass and gives the audience a strong female character to identify with.  It doesn't hurt that she's super hot dressed up as an Elf.  I think she might have replaced Antje Traue's Faora from Man of Steel as my current nerd crush.  I liked her character so much that I would totally support and happily watch Tauriel: Badass Elf Chick.  I liked how they brought Legolas (Orlando Bloom) back into the fray, as he got some really cool action scenes that showed more of a ruthless side that wasn't necessarily seen in the original films.

I don't figure there's a lot of need to get into the plot.  The Desolation of Smaug isn't so much a sequel than the continuation (more like extension) of a story that really could have been told in a single film, but whatever.  Smaug and An Unexpected Journey could have easily been edited into a single, three hour film, but for some reason I was never bothered by the length or pacing of either.  If you've followed my blog at all, you know that I tend to pick on a movie's length or pacing a lot.  Simply put, I enjoy this world so much and hanging around in it that I don't want them to end.  Hell, I've already sat through the Extended Edition of An Unexpected Journey twice already, even though it didn't expand on the story the way the Extended Editions for The Lord of the Rings trilogy did.  You don't even have to twist my arm to say that I've enjoyed the The Hobbit movies far more than the Star Wars prequels.  The Hobbit is how you make a prequel trilogy and throw in references to the originals.

The real question I think most people will be asking is do we finally get to see the dragon in this one.  Well, we do and it's glorious!  Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) is easily the best looking dragon ever seen in a movie.  It's not just a quick shot either.  We get an extended look and he plays heavily during the last part of the film.  The wait was worth it.  Although, I will add this, why is it so hard for a giant, fire-breathing dragon to kill a bunch of halflings?  Shouldn't he have been able to kill them like fifteen times each?

Overall, the special effects had more polish to them when compared to the first film.  There were times in Journey where it looked too much like a computer game, but I didn't get as much of that here.  I think a lot of that look was due to the high frame rate used.  I saw Smaug in IMAX 3D with the high frame rate, and there were still times where it still had that artificial, sped-up look.  I thought it was much less noticeable though, but I can see how some viewers may still have an issue with it.  If you're on the fence about what format to see it in, you should probably err on the side of avoiding the HFR screenings.  I liked the 3D though and don't have a problem recommending it.

Another reason I enjoyed Smaug so much is that there's a lot more action.  Journey took close to an hour before anything happened, but there's less setup in Smaug and more getting to the very creative and fun action scenes throughout the film.  The "barrel scene" has a almost Rube Goldberg feel to it, as did another scene later in the film.  Again, there there are many scenes with Tauriel and Legolas where they get to kick ass.  There are arrows to the head and beheadings galore.  Oh, and there's no musical sequences this time around.  It's not that I dislike them, but they're not always my thing or don't necessarily fit well in the story.  I also appreciated that there was less corny humor.  The whole tone of the film is much darker.

It isn't just better effects and action though.  There were many character moments I appreciated.  In particular, I liked how they took time to show how Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is slowly getting corrupted by The Ring.  I enjoyed how Thorin (Richard Armitage) was developed, and I came away liking him bit a more than I did after Journey. Many of the company of dwarves get to show more personality, especially with Kili (Aiden Turner), who is one of the few characters that gets a love interest.  If there was any disappointment I had it's that Gandalf (Ian McKellen) took a bit of a back seat in this chapter.  I'm assuming he'll be back with a vengeance in the final chapter.

I had a lot of fun with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  Sure, it's too long, and purists will have issues with the story, but it's still an improvement over An Unexpected Journey.  If anything, it gives fans another opportunity to hang out in Middle-earth while providing more of the action and spectacle that made The Lord of the Rings trilogy so entertaining.  Plus, there's a dragon...

4 (out of 5) Death Stars

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)

I knew in trouble when I walked into the theater and saw that not only was I just about the only guy there, I was the only person over the age of 30.  Applause and giddy laughter was heard as The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones began.  While I knew that this was based on a series of young adult novels, I was unaware of how apparently popular they are.  After sitting through City of Bones, I have to ask, "Who reads this crap?"  Seriously, please tell me the books are significantly better, because otherwise I don't get it.  Judging by the applause at the end, it's clear I'm not the intended audience for the film, but the fact that they couldn't judge the quality of what they just saw kind of made me die a little inside.

Clarissa "Clary" Fray (Lily Collins) goes out with her best friend, Simon (Robert Sheehan), to a club where she witnesses a murder, only to realize she's the only one that saw it happen.  She continues to draw a strange symbol and has visions of goth kids.  While not wholly original, I've always enjoyed the mythology of a world that exists within our own that only some have the ability to access or see.  There's a lot you can do with that.  After Clary's mother (Lena Headey) disappears, she learns that her mother was a "Shadowhunter" and that she must be, too.  Joined by another Shadowhunter, Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower), they attempt to find her mother and something called the Mortal Cup.

I was actually interested and invested at this point.  The problem with The Mortal Instruments is that it continues to borrow, or outright steal, from every sci-fi or fantasy franchise you can think of.  As if that wasn't enough, it layers countless love triangles that rival most soap operas.  Were left with something that's a hot mess of many different tropes and cliches, and has nothing original to offer.

Oh, and I did I mention the dialog is cringe worthy?  While there are a few funny lines, for every reasonably good one, there's ten horrible or awkward ones.  They throw in some modern pop culture references though, so at least it feels like they are still living in our world.  However, you'll see maddeningly inconsistent behavior from characters, even within the same scene.  Early on, Clary is mad at Simon for not answering the phone when her mother called, but the whole reason why she called Simon was because Clary didn't answer the phone when was called first.  Even the kids sitting next to me made a comment about that inconsistency.  Nobody involved in the production noticed this huge lapse in logic?  At one point Clary throws a knife at a werewolf just after it saved her, and it wasn't even the first time the werewolves intervened on their behalf.  Later, there's a simple misunderstanding where Jace goes from trying to act cool and dropping one liners to running away like a brat.  I have a hard time believing the guy is some kind of badass when he can't keep his emotions in check and gets upset at the slightest thing.  Was this written by a completely irrational person?

At least City of Bones looks nice.  There are some interesting character and set designs, with some decent special effects.  In particular, there's a really cool effect with this demonic dog that would have fit right in with something like The Thing or Hellrasier, so I applaud the creativity there.  However, making decent looking werewolves still seems to be an issue.  They must have known this, as most of the time the werewolves are always just on the verge of turning, so they just have claws and cool eye contacts.  Also, when not werewolves, they all look like they are part of a biker gang, like in True Blood.  I guess that's better than a bunch of shirtless guys wearing denim shorts though.  Speaking of attire, everyone is dressed like they work at Hot Topic.  When Clary has to change clothes, even she remarks at how uncomfortable it is, and then later makes a point to remove her knee-high boots during a crucial situation.

The action is City of Bones features more poorly filmed action scenes, with all the quick cuts and close shots that we all hate.  I'm not gonna come down on them too hard for this, as this has been plaguing most movies these days.  I still don't understand why it's used though.  Doesn't anyone care that you can't tell what's going on during climactic fight scenes?  Why even bother putting it in the film if you can't enjoy watching it?  In a weird turn of events there was a scene towards the end where Clary uses some rune to freeze a bunch of demons in place.  However, instead of using this opportunity to kill the demons, they awkwardly sneak past them for no reason at all.  What happens next?  The demons recover and kill a bunch of them.  What in the hell were they thinking?

Speaking of, there's a whole plot thread dedicated to saving Simon after he was kidnapped by vampires.  The issue I had with this was why was Simon even with them in the first place?  He had no powers or knowledge that made him an asset on their quest.  Why would a group of experienced Shadowhunters allow him to even come along, let alone into a den of creatures where Simon would be a liability?  He's just in the way.  After this, they hint he was bitten by a vampire, but then never bring it up again.  Clary sees the bite marks and doesn't even mention it to the other Shadowhunters as a concern.  Oh, but they're setting that up for a sequel, fans will say.  Awww...it's cute you think there's going to be a sequel.

Then there's all the bad melodrama with the love triangles.  It's probably best to read this next part in the voice of a 14-year-old girl.  Simon is Clary's best friend.  He's clearly in love with her, but she just considers him a friend.  Jace and Clary are into each other, which means Simon hates Jace.  Another Shadowhunter, Alec (Kevin Zegers), is gay for Jace, but for some reason isn't allowed to admit it.  Alec hates Clary because Jace likes her.  Jace isn't gay though, so Alec has to know the love isn't mutual and therefore his hate of Clary is totally irrational.  Clary totally calls Alec out on it later, too.  Then, there's this gay warlock named Magnus (Godrey Gao) who's into Alec, so it's not like he doesn't have options. (14-year-old voice: off) Here's the kicker - SPOILER ALERT - it's revealed that Clary and Jace are brother and sister!  This is well after they've shared a kiss and their attraction is mutual.  What the hell?  Oh, and the big bad guy they're worried about reveals himself to be Clary and Jace's father.  Now we're ripping off Star Wars?  Who thought this was a good idea?  The bad guy's name is Valentine (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).  Yes, Valentine, a name that strikes fear into the hearts of all.  Why not just call him Darth Valentine?

This is all pretty much the second act of the film, and when we finally get back to the main plot, you've almost forgotten what they're after or why.  It's never even really clear what this Mortal Cup is needed for.  Valentine wants Clary to drink from it to test it first, but never does.  There's a reference to a master race, so I guess there's supposed to be some ethnic cleansing theme or something.  The plot is really an afterthought to all the melodrama.

There also no real explanation of anyone's powers.  They draw runes on themselves to give different abilities, and these just look like bad tattoos.  No further details are given, so it ends up being a lazy way to allow characters to have whatever power is needed at a particular moment.  At the end of the movie, Clary uses one to clean her apartment.  I'll admit that's pretty convenient.  Why didn't they just make up a rune to find Clary's mom and the Mortal Cup all in one shot?  Drawing the runes appears to be a painful process, so was it supposed to be a weird reference to 'cutting'.  It didn't help that one of the times we see Jace applying one was immediately after he ran off in one of his petulant huffs.

I'll say this though, at least The Mortal Instruments is still better than Twilight.  Clary is a more realistic and relatable character than Bella.  She isn't completely defined by two boys liking her for no reason and has a purpose and goal.  I'm probably a little biased here in that I think Lily Collins is a much better actor and has much more charisma than Kristen Stewart.  I also liked they cast Lena Headey as her mom.  They actually look like they could be related.

Overall, I didn't even think City of Bones was poorly acted.  I felt that the cast was trying, but what are actors supposed to do when the dialog and story is this bad?  It bugs me when movies aimed at younger audiences are written like this.  They deserve and appreciate intelligent dialog, too.  Not everything written for teens has be filled with angst and melodrama.  They even shoehorn a really awful CW-like soundtrack into it.  Then, when you consider how obviously derivative and predictable it all is, I can't see why anyone finds it satisfying to watch.  It's so predictable that without even reading a single page of any of the books, let me guess some stuff that happen in later installments.  Feel free to confirm or correct me:

• It's eventually revealed that Jace and Clary aren't actually brother and sister.
• Even though Clary is the least experienced, we find that she's way more powerful than everyone else.
• Simon eventually does turn into a vampire.  He probably saves the day at some point because of it.
• Simon also ends up with Isabelle (Jemima West).  This is good for Simon though, cause Isabelle is hot and was kind of a badass.
• Magnus ends up with the Alec.  That reminds of another thing. After Alec is injured in a fight, Magnus shows up out of nowhere to heal him.  I don't recall anyone calling him.  Why did he just show up? Was he so into Alec that he was keeping tabs on him?
• After Alec ends up with Magnus, Alec and Clary become friends.

If you're a fan of the book, or a teen that loves Twilight, then nothing I say is going to stop you from watching or enjoying The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.  For the rest of the world, it's one of the cheesiest, poorly written, melodramatic and derivative pieces of trash I've seen in a long time.  The only thing I can say for it is that you might get some enjoyment out of it for all the unintentional comedy.  I can't wait for the Rifftrax guys to sink their teeth into this.

1.5 (out of 5) Death Stars