The first movie in The Hobbit trilogy, An Unexpected Journey, was a roller coaster ride of suspense, comedy, and adventure. The movie cut off at a cliffhanger, putting Lord of the Rings fans in despair because they had to wait a whole year for the second installment. The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug made it’s big debut on December 13 and has fans in a frenzy. 

Desolation of Smaug had everything that The Hobbit fans were waiting for: orcs, elves, and the colossus himself – the fire-breathing dragon known as Smaug. The sequel is a 20 minutes shorter than An Unexpected Journey, but has double the action.

This movie was absolutely fantastic, from the incredible acting, to the breathtaking scenery and the suspense that leaves you on the edge of your seat. In An Unexpected Journey, I was left extremely confused during fight scenes because the cameras moved so fast, but Desolation of Smaug doesn’t have this issue. The second movie also had a much more developed storyline; An Unexpected Journey seems more like a rushed production to get to the key parts of the story, while Desolation of Smaug follows the events of several different groups of characters without confusing the viewer.

It’s honestly an extreme struggle to find any flaws in the movie. Thorin Oakenshield was a more frustrating character this time around, and the cliffhanger at the end was ten times more frustrating than the ending of the first movie, but that’s all I could complain about. For die-hard fans such as myself, there’s even the pleasant surprise of a character entering the story, a character who happens to be my favorite in all of the Lord of the Rings series.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug was one-hundred and sixty-one minutes of perfection. The direction and writing kept viewers so enthralled and hanging on to every second, and the worst part of it all is having to intensely wait a whole year for the final movie.