There was quite a bit of controversy when it was announced that The Hobbit would be cut into three films. The book isn’t that long, and you could probably tell the story in one big movie. Some felt Peter Jackson was being greedy by stretching the movie out to three installments, and some critics felt the first installment was too long as it was.
Nevertheless, The Desolation of Smaug is nearly upon us, it opens on December 13, and according to Variety, it comes in at two hours and forty minutes, which will be about twenty minutes shorter than the first Hobbit installment. No word yet on whether Smaug will be a better movie than the first Hobbit installment, but initial reviews should be in very soon.
The Hobbit is not the only film that has a case of epic-itus. Apparently the new Martin Scorsese movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, will be a minute under three hours as well. Even though I’m a big Scorsese fan, I’m not sure what’s in this story that could warrant this kind of length (After all, GoodFellas told it all in two and a half hours.)
But early buzz on Wall Street is strong, and maybe it will provide a nice, lengthy treat this holiday season. Wall Street screenwriter Terence Winter promised Variety that the film moves “very fast” despite its length, and we’re hoping the same for Smaug.
