Peter Jackson loves epic film making. He could take The Hungry Caterpillar and adapt it into a 3-hour extravaganza, bursting with eagles, spiders, an evil overlord, topped with a Cate Blanchett voice over. It has been both a blessing and a curse with Jackson’s filmography over the years, and his latest venture into Middle-Earth, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, is a return to form after the tentative first entry in this new trilogy. However, what is a fun, entertaining and exceptionally well-made film is unfortunately brought down by what seems like needless padding, forced sub-plots and an excessive running time.
The Hobbit is around 300 pages long, and a much simpler story, originally devised for children, than its successor The Lord of the Rings charting the war of a fictional world. Many were cynical and felt that dividing The Hobbit into three films would just mean more money for Jackson and Co. (which of course it does), but in his work there is undeniably a love for his source material. The only problem? He has turned a story that could be told in two hours into one that is going to be pushing nine hours in full. This means The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has its fair share of filler, which is undoubtedly going to make purist fans as mad as Gollum when he loses his precious. Although what we see on screen is not necessarily bad, it is just questionable whether it needs to be there at all.
Featured image: Abi Daré by Edith Powell The largest conference for aspiring writers in the North returned to Manchester for its tenth anniversary, giving budding writers access to a busy day of panel talks and creative workshops. The National Creative Writing Industry Day (NCWID), hosted by Comma Press and the Manchester Writing School, featured two…
By Imogen Lambert-Baker, Freya Barwell, Lowri Simmons, Megan HallFeatured image: Laura Bates “I’ve seen policy makers change their positions on issues that they have been really entrenched on because of the power of people’s stories told in their own words,” says feminist activist and Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates, reflecting on the power of personal…
By Immy BurgessFeatured image: Lorna Elizabeth aAh! speaks to 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Festival organisers Kim Moore and Frazer Heritage ahead of the launch. Manchester Metropolitan University is hosting the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign, a powerful initiative running from 25th November – International Day for the Elimination…
Featured image: Mexican Pets, Nobody’s Working Title – Blunt Records Pinning down a genre as sprawling as indie-rock is as futile as painting your living room with gravy instead of emulsion. However, we can at least set some boundaries. We can drill down through layers of subgenres and microgenres, but ultimately, a broad definition of…
Leave a reply