The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug 4K 2013 EXTENDED Ultra HD 2160p

Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson presents The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second of three film adaptations of the world-famous great book by J.R.R. Tolkien.

All three films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, a trilogy brought to the big screen by Jackson and his team, culminating in the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the protagonist Bilbo Baggins and his journey in the company of the wizard Gandalf the Gray and the thirteen dwarfs led by Thorin Oakenshield, whose goal is to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

Having survived the difficult beginning of their unexpected journey, they head east, on the way colliding with the werewolf Beorn and the gathering of giant spiders in the treacherous Mirkwood forest. Having barely escaped being captured by the dangerous Wood Elves, the dwarves head towards the City of Lake, but it is the Lonely Mountain that is the final goal of their journey. There they must face the greatest danger of all - a creature far more terrifying than all their past opponents, which will test the strength not only of their courage, but the strength and their friendship and the correctness of the chosen path - the dragon Smaug.

The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug 4K Review
Thorin Oakenshield, heir to the dwarven throne, and his companions continue on their way to the Lonely Mountain, into the depths of the ancient city, captured by the fire-breathing dragon Smaug. Before the expedition lies Mirkwood, home of the wood elves, for some time now teeming with dark forces. Everything is complicated by the fact that the gnomes and the hobbit will have to do this way on their own - the wizard Gandalf is forced to leave them in order to figure out what kind of powerful creature settled in Dol Guldur.

There are films that run for an hour and a half, but it seems like three hours have passed. In The Wasteland of Smaug we have an even more "neglected" situation - the film lasts two and a half hours, but it feels like all five. Which in this particular case, however, will serve as the best recommendation for many - after all, five hours spent in your favorite fantasy world is better than two and a half?

One of the first to appear in the frame is Peter Jackson himself - he leaves the house and gnaws a carrot
It is necessary to clarify right away that this effect is not achieved due to the fact that the film "sags" or is simply boring, no. It's just that there are a lot of events in it - or rather, what is usually called the word "adventure", and this is even surprising, it is worth considering that Peter Jackson split one not so thick book into three initially long films. Wandering around Mirkwood, an army of spiders, meeting the wood elves, escaping in barrels and fighting the orcs, a trip to Dol Guldur, a visit to the Lake City, repelling an orc attack, in the end, a clash with Smaug ... It can be seen that Peter Jackson is sincerely in love even not into this world, but in his own interpretation - he furnishes each act of the plot in the most detailed way, but in such a way as not to lull the viewer to sleep. As a result, you get the feeling that you are watching not one big film, but several episodes of the series in a row - and at what point the session will be interrupted, God only knows. Jackson, however, did not become original and ended "The Desolation of Smaug" with a classic ending in the spirit of "The Empire Strikes Back" - the cast is removed, the client leaves, everything is lost! How can we wait for the final part of the trilogy now?

Orlando Bloom is two years older than Lee Pace, who plays his father in The Desolation of Smaug
It was said above that Jackson did not become original, and this is another plus or minus of "The Wasteland of Smaug". On the one hand, the picture fits perfectly seamlessly into the cycle - this is not the case of the first and second Star Wars trilogies; years later, our children will watch the saga, starting with The Hobbit, and will not experience any difficulties when switching to The Lord of the Rings. On the other hand, in the ten years since The Fellowship of the Ring came out, Jackson's "big style" has worn out a bit. Pompous pauses, expressive extra-close-ups, computer "doubles" of elves, jumping over the heads, like Jet Li in "Fong Sai-Yuk" - any special freshness in all this is no longer felt. Happened, seen, passed, heard, we know. And even the dragon Smaug, undoubtedly impressive in the first minutes of its appearance, somehow suspiciously quickly becomes familiar and mundane.

However, there is at least one successful fresh decision in The Desolation of Smaug - we are talking about the "battle elf" Tauriel performed by Evangeline Lilly and her charming "romance" with one of the dwarfs, Keely. This heroine was not in Tolkien's book, but she fit into the film like a glove. Perhaps you can even play a seer and assume that the new generation of teenagers has got their princess Leia - a vivid object of romantic (erotic?) Fantasies. Tauriel does not seem to show anything special, but he looks stunning, he deals with the armies of orcs extremely dashingly, and shoots with his eyes no less effectively than from a bow.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English SDH, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Thai.