The Big Ticket: The Hobbit, General Release

Knives out: Martin Freeman in a scene from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (AP)

What is it? The Desolation of Smaug, the second film in Peter Jackson’s three-part adaptation of JRR Tolkein’s story The Hobbit. Stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and Ian McKellen.

The Independent says: “As we all know [The Hobbit] was configured as a trilogy primarily for financial reasons, in an attempt to justify the half-billion dollars that it has been estimated to have cost, and with the intention of tripling box-office takings. Unfortunately, there just aren’t any economies of scale that apply to storytelling. Longer isn’t more interesting; bloated isn’t better; and 161-minute films that end on an unresolved cliff-hanger do not generally make for a satisfying night out at the cinema. With that said, part two of the trilogy is where a lot of the action is to be found.”

They say: Variety: “If An Unexpected Journey felt like nearly three hours’ worth of throat clearing and beard stroking, the saga gets fully under way at last in [the] similarly massive but far more purposeful second chapter.”

Evening Standard: “There’s still too much padding. Gandalf’s mission is a snooze and, worst of all, the big lizard, wily and poignant in the book, has morphed into a windbag. Nevertheless, Desolation – especially in its middle section – is a joy. Honestly, I couldn’t stop grinning. The Hobbit franchise may be fuelled by avarice but, this time around, the bangs delivered by Jackson truly deserve our bucks.”

Den of Geek: “In essence, The Desolation of Smaug is a two-and-a-half-hour chase … the renewed sense of pace and vitality makes Tolkien’s world seem all the more vibrant, and some sublimely staged action set-pieces are punctuated by moments of engaging visual poetry.”

You say: @sweatymary: “The Desolation of Smaug was more like The Desolation of Everything”

@IamDodongLee: “Worth every penny!! Especially if you love LOTR and Legolas! Extreme cliffhanger though.”