The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Let’s start off with the positives, shall we? A lot was riding on the much-awaited introduction of the fearsome titular dragon (last seen hoarding dwarven treasure inside the Lonely Mountain) for the middle installment in Jackson’s three-parter to succeed, and despite everything else, Bilbo’s conversation with Smaug more than lived up to expectations.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice acting is spot on and manages to sell what is, hands down, the most memorable scene in the entire Hobbit series. And as usual, Martin Freeman puts in a great shift as Bilbo, who continues to prove his worth to Thorin and company through the Mirkwood Forest, the elven halls of Thranduil, and the human town of Lake-wood while the heist crew inch closer to their destination — the abandoned dwarven stronghold of Elebor.

Still, you can pinpoint to this bloated, 161-minute middle chapter as the moment where the wheels really started to come off. Standalone scenes that were barely even mentioned in the novel such as Gandalf’s detective side quest at Dol Guldur — while awesome in a vacuum — end up breaking the narrative flow and ultimately make the whole thing a bit of a chore to get through. Oh, and the fact that “The Desolation of Smaug” ends on a massive cliffhanger just before Smaug actually desolates is certainly… a choice (I know, I know, the title technically refers to the Lonely Mountain, whatever, my point still stands).