The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Bilbo Baggins and his company of Dwarves press on toward the Lonely Mountain in a bid to reclaim the ancient halls of the Dwarven kings. The way is fraught with peril from orcs, spiders and one particularly irascible dragon who loves every piece of gold in his massive horde. Meanwhile, Gandalf turns down a different road to investigate the rise of a necromancer who threatens all of Middle Earth.

ClearPlay In Action!

It’s all about the violence in this installment of The Hobbit. There are beatings, impalings, slashings, gross orcs, multiple beheadings, corpses and on and on. So yes, with filters on full, you can expect a number of skips during the fighting bits. The content is on par with previous Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, so if you’ve watched those, use ClearPlay to filter in a way that’s comfortable for you.

Will I Feel a Sense of Desolation?

To be sure, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has exciting fight sequences, gorgeous visuals, and spectacle on a grand scale. Smaug, in particular, is marvelous. The film does suffer from being a middle movie, meaning it feels like it’s just a series of events meant to set up the last movie in the series. As with the first one, I wish that director Peter Jackson would exercise a little restraint in his alterations and embellishments, and Tolkien purists will be mightily offended at the changes. Jackson’s excesses in some of the action scenes are particularly eye-roll worthy. Even so, you will be entertained by this film at one part or another.

Brian Fuller - ClearPlay son of Thrain, son of Thror

Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, and frightening images; 161 mins; Directed by Peter Jackson