With the Lord of the Rings films, Peter Jackson created three milestones in blockbuster cinema that are still exciting 20 years after their theatrical release. As Jackson this success with the Film adaptation of The Hobbit wanted to repeat, it quickly became clear that the large-scale undertaking would not live up to the original.
JRR Tolkien’s lovingly told adventure story was blown up into a great Middle-earth epic that ended up in a confusing CGI battle loses. Jackson couldn’t replicate the balance of the Lord of the Rings films with the Hobbit trilogy – and yet it has brilliant moments.
Fantasy highlight: The best scene in The Hobbit 2 brings Bilbo and Smaug together in the lonely mountain
One of these brilliant moments hiding in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Before we dive into the action-packed finale, the sequel features a breath-holding scene: the first encounter between Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). The little hobbit meets the big dragon.
You can watch the trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug here:
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Trailer 2 (German) HD
The entire film builds towards this encounter, and Jackson is dedicated to staging it. No playing for time, no hasty unwinding: When Bilbo climbs over the huge mountains of gold and gets in huge dragon eye opensThe Hobbit captures the same magic that immortalized the Lord of the Rings movies.
Every noise, every movement, no matter how inconspicuous, has weight here. And then Smaug’s deep voice rings out, bringing the history of Middle-earth to life. Everything that up to this point was just sagas and legends suddenly comes to life before our eyes and makes for the biggest goosebump moment of the film.
What is particularly impressive is how Jackson creates exemplary thrills through the proportions. Smaug could easily crush Bilbo if he could get his, er, claws on him. But the cunning hobbit doesn’t make it that easy for him. For over ten minutes Jackson builds the scene until the dragon finally takes a deep breath and releases the pent-up tension in a fireball.
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