THE ANNOUNCEMENT of Peter Jackson taking over directing duties on The Hobbit, after a series of delays and lawsuits meant original helmer Guilermo Del Toro departed for other projects, was greeted with enthusiasm.

After all this was a man who created Tolkein’s world in Lord of the Rings to stunning effect. The announcement that a book of just over 200 pages was being turned into 3 films, was not greeted as warmly.

The idea was to use appendixes from the Rings books and other backstories Tolkein had written, and create a proper backstory for the events leading up to the Rings trilogy.

The first film was not received as well as would have been liked, combining a new filming technique with a stretched out story. The follow up would have to really deliver, to see if the three film decision worked.

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is continuing his adventure with the Dwarves, who are out to reclaim their rightful throne under the Lonely Mountain, which has been taken over by Smaug The Dragon (voice and motion capture by Benedict Cumberbatch).

They are being pursued by a band of bloodthirsty Orcs and so cut through the haunted woods of Mirkwood - where they are captured by the Wood Elves, among them Legolas (Orlando Bloom) - giving the role a context to his involvement in future films.

Bilbo uses the magical ring he picked up in the first film, evades capture and masterminds the Dwarves escape in old win barrels down a series of rapids, while being pursued by Elves and Orcs.

With a bit of help they make their way to the Lonely Mountain, and Bilbo finally encounters Smaug, with potentially devastating consequences.

The Desolation of Smaug is essentially a non-stop action film, which is a marked improvement on the first film.

It is superbly shot, and Jackson proves himself to be the master of the epic spectacle, while always having an eye for those tiny details that add flavour to the scene.

The barrel escape sequence is a masterpiece of filmmaking. The characters are not given as much time to develop, having met them in the previous film, but there is a tinge of darkness to Bilbo and the leader to of the Dwarves, which is a nice touch.

New characters are introduced, with Stephen Fry as a corpulent Master of Lake Town and while it is great to see Bloom return to one of his best roles, no effort appears to have been made to make him look younger than previous films, which is a bit odd.

A great adventure for Christmas.

8/10