The Desolation of Smaug addressed so much that was wrong with Peter Jackson’s second foray into Middle-Earth, after the light-hearted tonal shift of An Unexpected Journey. It was a more focused beast, with Martin Freeman’s wonderful interpretation of Bilbo placed front and centre into the action. He was a character in genuine peril, rather than one who’d previously been lost amongst any number of indistinguishable personalities thrown around in a visually impressive, but completely weightless CGI fairground ride.