It tells the dangerous journey of 13 dwarves* asked by the wizard* Gandalf to help Thorin Oakenshield take back his kingdom of Erebor. Erebor was lost in the terrible battle that opened the first film.

    Although there are dangers every step of the way, the biggest one is Smaug, a huge dragon that lives deep in the Lonely Mountain.

    To give more contents to Tolkien’s book of less than 300 pages, the film borrows the character Legolas from “The Lord of the Rings” and invents a woman character named Tauriel, an archer* loved by Legolas but who shows an interest in Kili, one of Thorin’s companions.

    There are plenty of incidents and action in the film. They walk past the farm of the “skin-changer” Beorn. They deal with the dangers in the Mirkwood forest, where giant spiders quickly spin webs around the travelers.

    However, as one battle follows another, it becomes clear that you don’t have to worry about them at all. The elves* are immortal*. The dwarves are not, but the little guys always escape* unharmed.

    With Gandalf taking care of other business, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) has to work harder. He does have a nose for gold, first finding the ring, then feeling his way towards the treasures hidden in the mountain kingdom occupied by the sleeping dragon.

    Still, Baggins steps aside in the middle of the film to provide time for Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). They also stop in a port called Lake-town. The central player here is Bard (Luke Evans), a trader who brings the dwarves into a Middle Ages-style region in which workers, poor families and criminals are ruled by the venal* Master (Stephen Fry).

    Once Baggins offers the key to the kingdom under the mountain, his main task is to avoid being swallowed* whole or burned to a crisp* by Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The ending is a true cliffhanger*, the resolution to which audiences will be lining up for on December 17, 2014.(SD-Agencies)