PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
Latest editorial
Film: The Hobbit - The Desolation Of Smaug (12A)
The latest in the Hobbit saga is a triumph of inventive filmmaking, says JEFF SAWTELL
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (12A)
Directed by Peter Jackson
5 stars
Co-written, produced and directed by Peter Jackson The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is the second of the trilogy based on JRR Tolkien's 1937 novel.
When There And Back Again is premiered next year the prequel trilogy to The Lord Of The Rings saga will be complete.
The cliffhanger at the end of the first film saw the eagles setting down our diminutive heroes within sight of The Lonely Mountain and you may have been left wondering why they simply didn't fly them there.
The answer of course is that there wouldn't then have been enough material for another couple of three-hour stories.
Thus there are flashbacks to Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and the exiled dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) before the trek continues.
On it the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) travels with the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a crew of 13 dwarves headed by Oakenshield to the Kingdom of Erebor.
On the way there are fantastical adventures in Mirkwood, Esgaroth and Dale where the battle with the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) is pitched.
Our heroes set out, safari-like, to the mountain where the Dragon Smaug resides with the horde of gold he captured from the greedy dwarves.
Greed, the initial inspiration for all the continuing carnage, is evidenced by the dwarves' vast treasure trove, a symbol of avarice that alienates them from every other creature.
So with the Orcs on their Wargs in pursuit, they're pointed towards Mirkwood by the venerable Gandalf.
As usual he has other business but appears later when our band of brothers have to learn some lessons - like getting on with each other.
At each and every step they're confronted with obstacles that have clearly been designed for the computer generation, with loads of running, jumping and being impelled to choose options and solve puzzles.
Shot in 48 frames per second, twice the normal speed to enhance the CGI effects, this is something of a triumph for Peter Jackson.
He's come a long way since the homemade monsters of his first film Bad Taste in 1987, which I predicted would happen if he were given the budget he's been able to access here.
Such is his ability and versatility, he has spawned a whole new industry in New Zealand with talent garnered from the British film industry.
That's the product of our art and design education the Con Dems are torching as brutally as Smaug and, as is the case here, such a force of darkness needs to be desolated - and sharpish.
Similar stories
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review The Six Billion Dollar Man, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Goodbye June, and Super Elfkins
JOHN GREEN recommends an Argentinian film classic on re-release - a deliciously cynical tale of swindling and double-cross
MATTHEW HAWKINS applauds a psychotherapist’s dissection of William Blake
200 years since the first dinosaur was described and 25 after its record-breaking predecessor, the BBC has brought back Walking with Dinosaurs. BEN CHACKO assesses what works and what doesn’t