From the mind of J.R.R. Tolkien and directed by Peter Jackson comes the “Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” This is the second part of the Hobbit, where the Company find themselves facing Smaug. Their quest is to retake Erebor, which was once the greatest kingdom in Middle-Earth. The dwarves had been chased out of their home by the dragon, Smaug.

Continuing on the quest set by “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the fifteen companions (Thorin Oakenshield, Balin, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bombur, Bofur, Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Dwalin, Bilbo Baggins, and Gandalf) find themselves being hunted by a pack of orcs. Leading these orcs is a pale orc, known as Azog the Defiler. The companions see some of Azog’s work as they encounter Beorn, a man who can turn into a massive bear. When the orcs invaded Bearn’s home many years ago, he destroyed all of Beorn’s kin, leaving Beorn as the last skin changer.

The Companion’s continue on their quest to Mirkwood, the kingdom of the Wood-Elves. Once known as the Greenwood, Mirkwood is under a dark spell, corrupting all living creatures within.

Part of the movie that is not in the book is the rise of Sauron. Since Peter Jackson made “The Lord of the Rings” before he made “The Hobbit,” he decided that he needed a better plot to tie into the two trilogies. So just as the companions enter Mirkwood, Gandalf leaves the companions and finds evidence of Sauron’s returned power; the Enemy has returned.

Back in Mirkwood, giant spiders are attacking the companions. This is where Bilbo names his sword “Sting.” Shortly after the fight begins, Bilbo begins to feel the affects of the One Ring, the ring, which he found in Part One. The Ring is beginning to corrupt his soul, as is shown when he viciously attacks a creature that got near the ring.

Bilbo puts the ring on and turns invisible just as wood elves capture the dwarves. He follows them back to their kingdom, and slips inside of the gates and rescues them by getting the dwarves into barrels and dumping them into a river. Here, Kili is struck with a poison arrow. Had Bilbo not rescued the dwarves, they would have never reached the mountain, and the Enemy could have had a chance to bring Smaug under his control.

The dwarves escape and find a bargeman, Bard. Bard finds out that Thorin leads them, and warns them of a prophecy, which states that when Smaug is awakened, his rage will destroy Laketown. This foreshadows the destruction Smaug will unleash upon the city.

The poison in Kili’s veins forces him to stay. Fili and Bofur stay with Kili. Later, the four saves Bard and his children from orcs who were hunting them still. The rest of the companions reach the Lonely Mountain and find a way inside. Thorin sends Bilbo in to steal the Heart of the Mountain from Smaug. Without it, Thorin cannot unite the seven kingdoms of dwarves. This will be important for future parts of the Hobbit.

Bilbo awakens Smaug, and only survives because he constantly flatters the dragon. While Smaug is gloating, he accidently reveals a gap in his scaly hide, which is otherwise impenetrable. This also foreshadows another part in the next movie.

Eventually, Smaug leaves the mountain and flies towards Laketown, ending the movie.

This ending has enraged many people, with people asking why it is ended like that. Although it isn’t quite the perfect ending to the movie, it is completely reasonable. This ending comes during a break in the action, where the ending would have been much worse is it was right in the middle of it. Had Peter Jackson not been pressed for time or included the Sauron plotline, he would not have had to worry about ending the movie on such a sour note.

There were some parts where the acting lacked quite a bit, though it is understandable, as Peter Jackson had to add quite a few lines that were not in the book. Had it not been for the ending, I would give the movie a 7/10 rating.