[SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE! You have been warned!] THEONERING.NET
So far I have seen The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug twice, both times enjoying it and getting excited for what happens next. I looked forward to this film even more than the third one from the get-go because most of my favorite parts of the book take place in that portion. Beorn's house (or "the other Beorn's" should I say, 'cause that's kind of my name), escaping in barrels, Smaug's lair...
DURIN'S HAMMER! Smaug was incredible! Most terrifying dragon I've ever seen! Last time I saw that scene I was actually getting kind of scared, so that must mean he was made perfectly. The only surprise for me was he had two legs instead of four, but thankfully it didn't really mention his leg count in the book and he was huge!
I liked the prologue, 'cause it showed the story of Thorin meeting Gandalf in Bree, which is talked about in the book/s but I had no idea it would be adapted as part of the movie.
As soon as I saw the man walking into the rain and munching a carrot I screamed in my head "PETER JACKSON!"
The present-day beginning did an awesome job continuing the dwarves' quest and introducing the huge skin-changer. Beorn being my OneRing name, it made seeing the eight-foot guy in the nice wooden house pouring breakfast milk and talking about his past quite interesting. I mean, a bit more than it already was.
I guess it's also because of some of the traits I share with [the other] Beorn, like a love of animals (along with honey and nuts), good humored whenever possible, doesn't eat meat, doesn't hunt, and he's a lot of what I aspire to; growing a nice big beard, getting stronger, living in a wood-and-stone cabin in the woods with a fireplace and an axe (no traffic or neighbors to bother me).
I think he was adapted perfectly for the film, down to details like his low growling voice and bushy eyebrows. I can't wait to see more Beorn in the next Hobbit movie, probably rescuing Gandalf in Dul Goldur and fighting Bolg in the Battle of Five Armies.
A scene that really surprised me was when Kili had to be left in Laketown because of his arrow wound. You can see in both him and his brother Fili that they've grown up with tales of Erebor and triumphant leaders, dreaming of they day they could go back... only Kili has to wait so they don't get slowed down, and Fili has a responsibility since he is next in line to the throne. But the amazing thing was that he stepped off that little boat and stood up to Thorin so he could stay with Kili.
"I belong with my brother." For me that really displayed how much Fili cares more about his younger brother than going on the quest.
:')
I'd heard rumors about the Kili/Tauriel relationship (I'm so glad there's no major love triangle and it's not too predictable) but didn't see any confirmations. So when she jumped in and saved Kili from the spiders and he later asked if she was going to search him (I also laughed when the elves' search of Fili's weapons took forever until his last knife came out before the bars closed), that was it. 'Yep, this is happening. Getting pretty curious now...' When she asks about Kili's runestone and it picks up from there, that scene felt like a really honest conversation that anyone meeting a new friend could probably relate to. Because it's just them talking about their memories and listening to each other with fascination. And you don't know how long it goes on for because the next scene starts while it's happening. So that can really set fans' minds wandering, don't ya think? It certainly did mine.
I was really touched when Tauriel healed Kili's arrow wound and he's half-asleep, talking about her and holding her hand. I think that was a good note to end that story on for the second movie, and to pick up with the next one.
As far as the cliffhanger, I thought at first that the movie was gonna end with Smaug getting killed (because I didn't see Cumberbatch on the cast list for There and Back Again. It probably got updated later) and Laketown being destroyed. But now that I watch it, it really keeps the suspense going even more than the first movie and we can start the next one on a really action-packed epic battle scene. It really raises the question about whether Bard is going to kill Smaug with the giant lance thrower or his longbow. Though, there have been several on-set pictures of Luke Evans with a longbow and arrows, on rooftops and hanging by a wire, so I bet the black arrow will get lost or something and he'll have to use his bow. I guess we'll have to see.
I can't wait for the next time I see The Desolation of Smaug, and I know There and Back Again is going to be great.
~Beorn
