The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

[Drunk Monk]

Desolation only covers about half a dozen chapters in the center of The Hobbit. It's a lot about the drudgery of a long march. Mirkwood is dark and depressing, and the characters are pushed to their limits with hunger and thirst, not just for their food and water, but for light, which is amplified by the fact that they are dwarves and in Tolkien's world, that means they are cave dwellers. It also represents the turning point for Bilbo, as he had just acquired the RING, and in Mirkwood, he learns how to use it. It should have been dreary and claustrophobic, hopeless, and Bilbo, through his Hobbit charm, restores hope with a desperate rescue. Jackson turns the whole section into a chase scene, which is really silly if you follow the logic of Middle-earth. Tolkien devoted a lot of time to the geography. That, and his development of all the languages and cultures, formed some of the best parts of his work. He had a encyclopedic sense of backstory, one that preceded so many other fantasy worlds like Star Trek, Star Wars or Harry Potter. The whole reason that they cut through Mirkwood was because the goblins wouldn't go that way. So to have the goblins chase them to Laketown really messed with the story's integrity.

I suggest you smuggle a flask of wine into the theater to enhance your enjoyment. Maybe take a drink every time a goblin gets chopped. LCF is driving, right?