The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
I didn't bother to review this movie when I saw it around Christmas time because, in spite of the intellectual pedigree of its source material, it didn't seem to have much to say. There's been much made about the stretching out of the material into three movies where one would have sufficed (maybe two) and of the whole 48 frames per second projection rate versus the standard 24 fps controversy. The second controversy is a bit pointless I think, except for hard core movie geeks like me. I didn't have a problem with the sharper image, though I understand the detractors' point of view. But the first point, that a second and third installment to the Hobbit is overkill, is proven by this film's very existence.
This is where I usually give you all a spoiler free summery of the film that I'm reviewing, but truth be told, I can't. I saw this about six weeks ago probably, nonetheless I have a good mind for remembering movies, especially when I sit down and reflect on it. In the case of Smaug, I really can't remember much of the story itself. We get action sequence after actions sequence, all very well done. There is some back story filled in about the last time Smaug the dragon attacked a village near his mountain fortress, and the failed attempt to kill him that leaves one man searching for redemption, and vindication. We get to the mountain and the dragon is fully realized as a CGI monster for the ages.
I never read the book, but am familiar with the animated version of the adventure from the '70's, which memory tells me was pretty good (at least I remember being really into it as a 10 year old). Memory also tells me that where Smaug ends doesn't leave much of the story left for the third installment to finish off. So, I will be going back next Holiday Season if for no other reason to see exactly how they stretch the climactic battle, which shouldn't take all that long, out into a three hour movie.
I'm not going to pretend; I did have fun, and the action sequences are great. There are some real frightening moments; let's just say that that big spider from The Return of the King has relatives. I wouldn't have wanted to miss The Desolation of Smaug, especially not on the big screen. I just wish they had taken a little out of the first movie, and little out of this one allowing time to finished it here. But as more than one critic has observed, the dragon isn't the only one hungry for gold in Middle-Earth.
When it comes to reviewing David O. Russell directed movies I fear I'm getting somewhat repetitive. The last three movies of his that I've seen all seem to have the same strengths; a great cast giving great performances, keen use of period popular music in the sound track, with his song choices getting stronger each time out, and individual scenes that run the gamut from laugh out loud funny to riveting and tense. But there is also an over all weakness that mars The Fighter (2011), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and his latest, American Hustle (2013); Russell wants to tell gritty, hard edged stories in the tradition of Martin Scorsese, but can't seem to be able go the whole way with it. We are left with improbable happy endings, and in the case of American Hustle, a convoluted moral message that left me baffled.
Christian Bale and Amy Adams play scam artists selling forged art and making phony loans. It's the late 1970's, the prime interest rate is hovering around 18%, people either can't get or afford loans from banks, and the duo claim they can get clients a $50,000 return on a $5,000 non-refundable investment, no guarantees of course. They pull one scam too many and get busted by FBI agent Bradley Cooper in a sting operation. But our ambitious agent has big plans, and sees his two grifters as keys to a bigger operation; one that will let him make a real name for himself. Cooper puts pressure on them to help him bust crooked politicians (the story is very loosely based on the Abscam scandal); they help him with four busts, they go free. Thrown into this mix of colorful characters is Jeniffer Lawrence as Bale's sometimes estranged wife; the hottest mess this side of Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. The first target is a New Jersey Mayor played by Jeremy Renner who refuses the bribe at first but is unknowingly drawn into the plot as a recruiter of other marks. Comedian Louis C.K. has a small roll as a straight laced FBI supervisor from the Midwest who struggles futilely to play things by the book amidst all the New York-New Jersey wheeler-dealers. There's an uncredited appearance by a big name that I'll treat as a spoiler, and only say that he's in a very key scene, and is chilling in it.
So, much like last year's Silver Linings Playbook I walk away with mixed feelings. Individual parts of American Hustle are brilliant and, to repeat my self from the last review, I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. But it ends with this heavy handed speech from Bale about how the politicians they busted weren't really that bad. It's the bankers (not a one we see depicted in the film) who are the real bad guys; what with their high interest rates (set by the Fed, but why let the facts get in the way) that keeps people from getting loans to start businesses. They're the ones who should go to jail, or so the argument goes. Even the mob comes off looking like decent folk. And yes, just about everyone gets their silver lining. If they had kept this more like The Sting, and simply allowed us to enjoy the interplay of the characters and get caught up into the fun of trying to figure out who's playing who without the fuzzy moralizing I would have liked this more.
So a recommendation, with some reservations. And a note that this is not for kids. One area that Russell was really determined to imitate Scorsese here is in the use of the f-word. He doesn't break any records like The Wolf of Wall Street reputedly does, but if you're sensitive to that, be warned.
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