Peter Jackson has delivered the goods with his second Hobbit film, says one of the first reviews of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Time magazine ranked the Jackson-directed film No. 10 on its list of the best films of the year, calling it a "vigorous and thrilling middle episode".
"With Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the dwarves finally done with introductory dawdling, they dive into a nonstop adventure among the noble Elves, the rough-hewn humans of Laketown and the ferocious dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch)," said Time.
The magazine singled out Andy Serkis for praise, calling his work as second-unit director "spectacular".
"Each complex encounter, especially a flume-ride escape of the dwarves, boasts a teeming ingenuity of action and character."
