The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

December 11, 2013 (NZ) • Fantasy, Adventure, Action • 161m

Overview

The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.

Director

J. R. R. Tolkien, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro

Top Billed

Ian McKellen

Keywords

gold lake based on novel or book elves dwarf shapeshifting mountain giant spider melancholy sequel bear troll dragon turns into animal barrel fantasy world wizard journey ring invisibility captured live action and animation high fantasy sword and sorcery trekking good versus evil

Where to watch

Free / Included

HBO Max Amazon Channel

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Top Billed Cast

Crew

Collection

The Hobbit Collection

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Reviews

Andres Gomez

⭐ 7/10

February 9, 2014

The second part amends the fiasco of the first one.

Spectacular and, again, with several moments of the already classic "platform-like" fights on the run from these series of movies that could be enhanced if some sense would be given to them. Still, the staging of every location and, remarkably, Smaug, is worth seeing.

Dark Jedi

⭐ 7/10

April 19, 2014

7 out of 10 stars would normally be considered quite okay and I guess you could say that this movie is quite okay. However, it has a reputation to live up to. As a movie in the Tolkien universe and with LOTR and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this movie have a lot to live up to and, as far as I am concerned, it does not.

As an action/adventure/fantasy movie it is a quite okay movie. It has a lot of action of course, a lot of adventure and a lot of special effects. Of course everything plays out with the Tolkien universe as a back-drop. I guess it is rather superfluous to mention that the movie is based on the book The Hobbit by Tolkien. However it is here the problems start.

In my review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey the first thing that I mentioned was that you should be aware of the fact that the movie did not follow the book in any great detail and that this was quite okay since the extensions were well made. Well, it should be no surprise that the first part of this statement is valid for this movie as well. Unfortunately, whereas the first movie felt like a fluid extension of the book this one feels like it is just full of fillers.

There are a lot of cool scenes and a lot of action but it really feels like it was just put in there as fillers to showcase the special effects. Speaking of special effects, quite a few of them where rather unimpressive I have to say. The scenes where the dwarfs went down the rapids in barrels frequently looked plastic and artificial. The scenes with Smaug was not too bad even though he was quite overused but the parts around the forges was just plain ridiculous. I know it is fantasy but come one, getting them started and producing tons and tons of molten gold in a few minutes not to mention riding on molten metal without getting burned was just silly.

On the whole I found it an enjoyable movie but I was expecting more.

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Tom Goetz

⭐ 4/10

January 15, 2018

Jackson turned a great story into just another Prates of the Caribbean. Jumping, sliding, gags, etc. All the thinking parts are gone.

Gimly

⭐ 6/10

January 20, 2019

I'm happy to be back in this world, but _Empire_ this ain't.

_Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

r96sk

⭐ 8/10

February 21, 2021

Still very good, but I found <em>'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'</em> to be a step below the preceding 2012 release.

The conclusion is what affects it the most, in my opinion. It isn't anything bad, but it goes on for too long - yet the ending itself comes out of nowhere a little. It's iffily crafted, with the entertainment value not enough to cover it up. Again, nothing anywhere near terrible... just not as great as I wanted/expected.
… read the rest.

CinemaSerf

⭐ 7/10

April 2, 2023

I'm afraid I still really struggled with the lightweight casting here, but once I'd convinced myself to get over that, I found this to be a far more characterful and entertaining adventure. With the dragon "Smaug" now safely in possession of the gold, it falls to "Thorin" (Richard Armitage) and his band of dwarves to make their way - via the misty mountains and the realm of the elves - to the human settlement of "Laketown" where the nimble-finger… read the rest.

Dr_Nostromo

⭐ 8/10

May 15, 2026

82/100

Our troop of adventurers continues to make their way to the Lonely Mountain. Along the way, they encounter a wearbear, giant spiders, elves, including the introduction of Legalos, and the town folk of Laketown before the fateful confrontation with Smaug. Meanwhile, Gandalf the wizard discovers the return of the evil one and it doesn't go well. The conversations between Bilbo and Smaug are wonderful and the sequences involving the Mirkwo… read the rest.

Recommended Movies

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Austin Powers in Goldmember

Status

Released

Original Language

Budget

$250,000,000

Revenue

$958,400,000

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

J. R. R. Tolkien, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew