by Allan Tong for FILMbutton

Peter Jackson returns with a new chapter in his enormously successful Lord of The Rings series.  Audiences meet a younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who sets out on a journey to the Lonely Mountain after being coaxed by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen).  The Hobbit is surrounded by a spirited group of 13 dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. They plan to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.

Audiences are flocking to this adventure flick in 2D and 3D and no doubt are enjoying the gorgeous landscapes and action sequences. No shortage of those here. However, the story is thin and the conflict even thinner.  There are long gaps in the movie that left me reaching for the popcorn. The uneasy alliance between Bilbo and the dwarves isn’t milked for laughs or tension, so the two camps feel oddly disjointed onscreen and don’t feel like a team. Sure, there are some exciting battle sequences and plenty of eye-candy, but little else.

Allan is a Toronto filmmaker, co-directing Leone Stars, a documentary about child victims of the Sierra Leonean civil war. He is also Content Editor for FILMbutton.