Why An Unexpected Journey Was Superior to The Desolation of Smaug
The verdicts – or reviews – are in: Based on everything I’ve read or heard, from critics to the average movie-goer alike, The Desolation of Smaug takes last year’s “inferior” Unexpected Journey and builds upon it in every way, finally delivering, or at least getting closer to, what audiences expected.
The film seems to have won over both professional and amateur critics, earning a 75% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the original movie’s 65%. IMDB appraised Smaug with a metascore of 66/100, whereas Journey only earned a paltry 58/100 (though, interestingly, the user reviews on both aforementioned sites are remarkably similar for the two movies, different only by one-tenth of a percent). Various reviews laud the second film as “more tightly paced and action-oriented than its predecessor” and “even more entertaining”, and the Huffington Post commands its readers, “For the love of whatever you consider holy or hold dear, if you love fantasy or even just like it, GO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW.” Sounds convincing.
So why do I feel so utterly unimpressed by this sequel, when I can (and have) watch and rewatch the first part of the trilogy again and again, and come away with a far greater degree of movie-going satisfaction? Continue reading
D-Pad Not Included 