“The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.” (c) WB

I have been very excited to see The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug.  I really enjoyed the first movie and have been looking forward to this movie for a year.  I was not disappointed.  This movie was a lot better than the first movie in the Hobbit trilogy.

The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug is a great movie.  This movie is non-stop action.  With a running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, it is a very long movie but you don’t notice how long it is because you are on the edge of your seat the whole time.

One thing I have been looking forward to was seeing how the filmmakers were going to portray Smaug (a massive dragon) on the big screen.  He was done perfectly.  He is huge and his voice is performed by Benedict Cumberbatch.  Mr. Cumberbatch did an amazing job with his performance.  Smaug is creepy and scary, which was perfect.

I was really excited to see Orlando Bloom back in the movies again as Legolas.  He is not in the Hobbit book at all.  It was fun to see him back on the screen though.  Another new addition to the movie is the female elf played by Evangeline Lilly named Tauriel.  She is a new character created specifically for the film.  I really liked having her in the film and was not upset that the filmmakers ‘strayed’ from the source material.

I was able to see the movie in 3D.  I thought that the 3D was done well.  It was fun to see to see Middle Earth in an extra dimension and Smaug looked great in 3D.

This movie deserves it’s PG-13 rating.  It is just as violent as the other Lord of the Rings films.  There is a lot of fighting and several decapitations.  It is also dark and scary.  I really don’t think little kids should be seeing this movie.

The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug is a fantastic movie.  It is one that will definitely need to be seen on the big screen.

The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug gets bragging rights!!

The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug is rated PG-13.  It is now playing in theaters.  You can see it in RealD3D, IMAX 3D, HFR 3D, and regular 2D.  For more information about the film, you can go to the movie’s official website.