The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

A stunning 4K and HDR presentation.

The second film in the Hobbit saga, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug amps up the action quotient considerably. As the dwarves and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) traverse dangerous forest ground (coming face-to-face with ruthless giant spiders), the journey forward is still just beginning. The story expands with the return of the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and the introduction of bad-ass heroine, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). Danger looms around the corner as the sinister dragon, Smaug, enters the equation in this middle chapter of the saga. Can Bilbo Baggins survive the fire-breathing dragon and rescue the Arkenstone, the dwarves most prized treasure?

The power of one.

For more information on the theatrical edition, please refer to the original review by Blu-ray.com writer Kenneth Brown. Please Note: the star-rating on this edition reflects my own opinion of the feature-film.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on 4K UHD Blu-ray from Warner Bros., The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is presented in a 2160p HEVC / H.265 encode in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 widescreen. The second part of the trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug is another show-stopping presentation that benefits greatly from the 4K resolution boost and the exceptional HDR grading. No fan of the saga will want to go without the stunning new 4K presentation.

One thing that was interesting about the presentation of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is how different it appears from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey while still being an undeniably great reference-quality disc. The first film in the trilogy has a more colorful and vibrant aesthetic that is brimming with eye-candy from scene-to-scene. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a darker looking film and the HDR visuals convey that faithfully.

As the film unfolds, the spiders-in-the-forest scene is one of the shining examples of how massive a upgrade fans will receive. The spider-webs and eerie forest atmosphere are heightened and show a massive detail uptick. The sequence is even more frightening and intense in 4K. The level of detail displayed in tremendous and enormously pleasing.

Later on during The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the introduction of Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) impresses and showcases another area in which 4K dramatically enhances the detail: the color of her flowing red hair is more vibrant than ever before. The high dynamic range brings out even more highlight detail out of her hair than in any previous presentation of the feature-film. It makes a surprisingly impressive difference. (And, yes, Lilly looks gorgeous in 4K.)

During the conclusion of The Desolation of Smaug, Smaug the dragon carries a formidable presence. The fire-breathing dragon looks even more massive and unwieldy in stature with the rich HDR managing to bring out the vibrancy of the dragon's skin and the glare of his eyes. These scenes demonstrate how much of an impact the resolution and color upgrades can really have on a film presentation: pulling one even closer to the story.

If there is one minor quibble concerning picture-quality, it is one that is almost not even worthy of being mentioned: there are a few seconds of footage during the barrel-riding sequence which were filmed using hand-held cameras. As the water splashes across the lens briefly, these shots are not as vibrant or crisp. These fleeting seconds of footage – do not showcase the benefit of 4K well. Yet it's a minor quibble (and not something so distracting as to demote the score from the reference-quality five-star rating).

From start to finish, the HDR presentation stands as the most noteworthy element on The Desolation of Smaug. Even tiny details seem enhanced: the flickering of fire as the Dwarves enter the city. These are moments that cannot be conveyed with as much visual splendor without the HDR grading. Last but not least, it is worth noting that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug features 24 fps footage. There is no soap opera effect and the 4K presentation doesn't utilize the higher frame-rate versions shown in select theaters on its original release. It is hard to imagine any fan of the film being disappointed. A reference quality presentation.

Note: The screenshots in the review are from the 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded Blu-ray edition of the feature-film.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 4K UHD release features a stunning Dolby Atmos surround mix. The Blu-ray release already had an exceptional sound presentation, so it is hard to top something on that level. Yet the Atmos mix does exactly that: providing overhead details and a new level of immersion which was not previously heard before on any other release. The surround activity is even more engaging and the action-scenes have even more detail.

Whether the track is expanding the use of the impeccable score composed by the great Howard Shore, or utilizing the Atmos speakers to dramatically enhance subtle sound effects, everything is more enveloping, exciting, and engaging. The confrontation between Bilbo Baggins and the fire- breathing dragon, Smaug, is particularly impressive. Every little detail in the sound-design is well conveyed as Bilbo traverses across the dwarves gold and faces the dragon. And as elves arrows zip and zag through the air during some of the action-scenes, the Atmos sound makes it feel even more dimensional and like one is directly surrounded by the action. Outstanding.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplemental features included on the release. Most fans already own the previous sets packed with bonus-features and thus no Blu- ray discs are included in the 4K sets. Take note: Warner Bros plans to release an ultimate Middle Earth collectors edition in the summer of 2021 (featuring brand new supplemental features which are in development as of this writing).

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is in some respects the best of the Hobbit films. The theatrical cut is a bit less intense and action-packed in comparison to the extended edition of the film, but it is a fine starting point. The filmmaking is robust and the production scale is enormous. Smaug, the dragon, steals the show: making the grand finale one that audiences will forever be in awe of seeing. The 4K UHD disc is an outstanding visual treat and showcases both a massive resolution increase and the beautiful HDR grading. This is an essential presentation of The Desolation of Smaug.