Bilbo Baggins and the Company of
Dwarves continue their quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain of Erebor for
would-be dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield in THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.
The second chapter in Peter
Jackson’s tripartite prequel to last decade’s acclaimed THE LORD OF THE RINGS saga
will be revered with the best middling movie installments for its effectiveness
in fleshing out characters we’ve already met, thrusting them into
knuckle-whitening new perils, and setting up narrative dominoes we know will
topple next time out (or saw unfold already in LOTR).
Don’t worry if you’re a little hazy
on your Tolkien. Like his celluloid LOTR
adaptations, Jackson’s HOBBIT films are as long and winding as the journeys
undertaken by their protagonists, and it’s easy to get lost among the colorful
characters and fanciful places—or forget a few plot points between
outings.
