I think I’ve made it abundantly clear that I didn’t love the last Hobbit film. Certainly that had something to do with seeing it in the incredibly disorienting 48 frames per second format but my biggest issue was with the story itself. Following in the footsteps of the epic – in all senses of the word – Lord of the Rings, this just felt so minor and far too “walk-y”. It might as well have been called The Hobbit: Goes for a Stroll.

At least this second installment in the three part saga, entitled The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, promises a dragon… voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Having read the J.R. Tolkien novel many times, I’m still worried that events will be stretched too far in this book. Smaug certainly has a significant role in the story, but I wonder if that’s a tale that director Peter Jackson hopes to spread out into the next film, making this one just another placeholder in the Hobbit franchise.

Anyone who has watched BBC’s Sherlock will definitely get a kick out of the fact that Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, Sherlock and Watson respectively on the show, will be playing witty enemies. One is a dragon and one is a hobbit but they are both willing to joust intellectually for a bunch of gold.

Take a look at the trailer and see if this looks better than the first one.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is directed by Peter Jackson and stars Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchette, Evangeline Lilly, Richard Artmitage, Elijah Wood, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, and Stephen Fry. It hits theaters over this holiday season on December 13.

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