The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

After escaping the perilous Misty Mountains, the company, the Dwarves, Bilbo Baggins, and Gandalf, press forward to reclaim their treasure from Smaug the dragon. Bilbo has the enigmatic One Ring in his possession, a tool that shifts the balance of their mission. The group faces treacherous terrain, mounting danger, and growing tension as they close in on the Lonely Mountain. Along the way they meet uneasy allies and dangerous foes, all while a wider conflict begins to cast its shadow over their efforts. The focus remains on courage, loyalty, and the choices that will shape the fate of their quest to recover what was stolen.

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Desolation of Smaug arrived in 2013 as the middle film in The Hobbit trilogy. It expands Tolkien's world with a brisk, action heavy pace, while retaining the moral questions and character warmth the series is known for, and it further showcases Jackson's visual ambition.

Box office figures are not listed here, but the film performed strongly around the world, continuing the momentum of the franchise. Its expansive scale and crowd pleasing set pieces helped it become a major summertime event and a staple of modern fantasy cinema.

Benedict Cumberbatch voices Smaug, lending the dragon a chilling, magnetic presence that anchors the film's most memorable sequence. The collaboration of motion capture and practical effects creates a living, tactile fantasy world, from the towering stone halls to the clever camera work during the escape from Lake-town. The look and feel influenced later fantasy epics.

Critics were broadly positive about the film's scale and character moments, even as some noted a shift in tone from its predecessor. Major themes include greed as a corrupting force, friendship under pressure, and the costs of war and ambition. The audience score sits around the 7.58/10 mark based on 13,849 votes.