BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA ¨C The middle film in a trilogy can be a risky venture. The first film? Audiences are introduced to new characters and exciting possibilities. The final film? Hollywood pulls out all the stops to send those characters off with a bang. The middle? Well, directors often save their best tricks for the finale.
Every now and then a middle film can buck that trend, though: ¡°The Godfather: Part 2,¡± ¡°The Empire Strikes Back¡± and ¡°The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers¡± all held their own when audiences came back for a second round. It¡¯s too early to say how ¡°The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug¡± will be judged once Peter Jackson¡¯s ¡°Hobbit¡± trilogy is completed, but for the most part, the reviews for this sequel have improved considerably on those of its predecessor, ¡°The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey¡± (2012).
¡°It¡¯s a gargantuan undertaking, I suppose the biggest since the two ¡®Star Wars¡¯ trilogies,¡± Martin Freeman, who reprises his role as Bilbo Baggins, tells The Japan Times.
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