It’s finally here, the second film in Peter Jackson’s prequel trilogy to “The Lord of the Rings.”

Almost one year ago, Warner Bros released “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” in theaters.  The film was a success with audiences from all over, but can the film’s sequel, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” live up to the greatness of its predecessor?

“Desolation of Smaug,” which was released on Dec. 13, picks up right after the events of the last film, in which our heroes Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian Mckellen), and Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) continue on their way to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom Erebor.

The group continues east, only to encounter giant spiders, wood elves, and eventually come face to face with their biggest threat… the dragon Smaug, who has taken over to keep hidden treasure within the mountain for himself. Our heroes must defeat him in order to regain the homeland of the dwarves.

The film has several very strong points throughout the story that had me on the edge of my seat, with the most intense point of the film being the moment when Smaug first appears. The film didn’t fall short on any of the action sequences, and managed to seamlessly tie them into the rest of the story.

I also like how the film managed to tie in the subplots to add something more to the overall plot, so even something as simple as one of the dwarves injuries tied into the overall story.

The only real issues I had with the film is that certain characters didn’t play as large a role in the story as I would have liked. The film got off base toward the end when everyone is fighting against the dragon Smaug. But ultimately it all seemed to work out and provided a quality ending for the movie.

Overall “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is a fantastic film with a wonderful combination of writing, directing, and casting that blended together to create a film that is perfect for all audiences. I give it a 3.5 out of 4 Grizzly paws.