![]() ![]() It starts confusingly, ends abruptly and doesn’t even begin to tidy up all its own loose ends but Smaug still has enough spectacle, sleight-of-hand, action and lyricism to enrapture most viewers. For all its use of 3D and digital technology, this is an old-fashioned romp at heart – a piece of pure cinematic escapism. Jackson gives us rousing, matinee-style action, which rekindles memories both of old Ray Harryhausen creature-driven fantasies and of Douglas Fairbanks swashbucklers. Nonetheless, what makes it palatable is the relish with which it is served up. With more than a dozen principal characters and a stringy plot that pulls in all sorts of different directions at once, Smaug is sometimes very gristly fare, indeed. It is every bit as difficult to digest as its predecessor. Cumberbatch also helped create the movements of the giant reptile through a technique called motion capture, researching komodo dragons, serpents and bats to embody Smaug’s slithering and flight.The Desolation of Smaug is the meat in the Hobbit sandwich – the middle part in Peter Jackson’s gargantuan, three-film adaptation of J R R Tolkien’s slender novel. Martin Freeman stars in the series as Bilbo Baggins, and Benedict Cumberbatch voices the dragon Smaug. ![]() The final film in the trilogy is scheduled to reach theaters in December 2014. Oscar-winning “Rings” filmmaker Peter Jackson also directs the “Hobbit” films. The “Hobbit” films, produced by MGM and Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema, are prequels to the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” franchise that brought in box office gold a decade ago. Through Sunday, estimated sales for 2013 stood at $10.16 billion, compared to $10.12 billion at the same point last year, according to Rentrak. and Canadian) ticket sales record set in 2012. “Smaug,” which cost roughly $250 million to produce, is expected to help Hollywood finish the year close to or slightly ahead of its North American (U.S. REUTERS/Phil McCarten OVERALL TICKET SALES UP Cast and crew members pose for photographers at the premiere of the film "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" in Los Angeles December 2, 2013. ![]()
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