THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (3D) (12A)

Run time: 170mins

Director: Peter Jackson   Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Stephen Fry, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt

Synopsis: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, is the second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The three films tell a continuous story set in Middle-earth sixty years before The Lord of the Rings.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), the Wizard Gandalf ( Ian McKellen) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) as they journey on their epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company continues East, encountering along the way the skin-changer, Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt) and a swarm of giant Spiders in the treacherous forest of Mirkwood.  After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood-elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all— the Dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), a creature more terrifying than any other; one which will test not only the depth of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself.

The screenplay for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, and the evocative music is by Howard Shore.

Under Jackson’s direction, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was shot in 3D 48 frames-per-second and will be released in High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D) in selected cinemas, other 2D and 3D formats, and IMAX®.

Set to be a major Christmas hit, the film is full-blooded pacy action romp with giant spiders (not advised for arachnophobiacs) white water barrel rafting, danger, dwarf-elf courtship , a sparkling cameo from Stephen Fry (Master of Laketown) and the utterly brilliant sonorous, basso-profondo voice of Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug/Necromancer.  Martin Freeman’s hobbit character, Bilbo Baggins deepens and darkens in this section of the story as he further contemplates his magic gold ring.  This epic fantasy continues amid mystical landscapes, realised in stunning visuals and breathtakingly beautiful effects, interspersed with the wonderful natural landscape of New Zealand.

Photographs courtesy of Warner Bros

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG