Warning: Long, pretentious post incoming.
I was thinking about what scene from the movie was my favourite, and it turned out that the one which had the biggest impact on me, was the one that's most controversial - Dwarves final confrontation with Smaug.
I think many people are mistaking the kind of whimsical, slapstick energy that PJ is bringing into those films, with typical, souless, holywood fireworks. It is much more heartfelt than that. The battle with Smaug is a perfect example of this.
Watching it in the theatre I thought it had a wonderfull energy, but at the same time I also thought it was a bit excessive. But the more I think about that sequence, the more I believe it was not only the best in the entire film, but most importantly - it was an example of a moment where PJ's unhinged, cinematic craziness melded perfectly with his love for Tolkien. Here's why:
There are at least two important things in this trilogy that Peter Jackson actually did better than Tolkien. And that is the way he handled Dwarfs and the way he utilised Smaug. The final sequence in DOS is the culmination of the two. The Dwarfs in the movies are much more important, much more active, much more dramaticaly substantial group, than they were in the book. Jackson really managed to convey the theme that the 13 dwarves are like a lost diaspora. Desperate, down trodden, wandering folk with no place to call home home and no identity. For them the quest to get rid of Smaug wasn't about gold, riches or even the Arkenstone (means to an end), it was about reclaiming their lost homeland, their cultural ancestry and one of the last save havens for their race. You didn't get that feeling in the book. Tolkien didn't develop it well enough. Reading the original "Hobbit" you could almost get the impression that Bilbo was recruited by a bunch of greedy, cowardly *******s
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In Jackson's version their quest not only has much more dramatic weight than in the book, the dwarves themselves are also much more active as a group and generally more pronounced. That's why I think their final showdown with Smaug was absolutely necessary. It wasn't CGI filler. In the book that confrontation wasn't needed, couse the dwarfs and the importance of their quest was secondary to the story. But in the movies Jackson spent all this time and effort building up the dwarves and the importance of their quest - as such it would be incredibly dissatisfying and underwhelming from a narrative stand point if Jackson denied them the chance to face the beast that killed their ancestors. They needed that last face-to-face showdown with the creature that took so much from them, even if in the end they didn't hurt it. Leaving it all to Bilbo - like in the book - would be very dramaticaly deflating (not to mention, it would significantly reduce Smaug's screen time, whose presence in the book was also suprisingly small).
Plus, from a purely cinematic standpoint, I think that sequence was very well done. Yes, it was OVER THE TOP. Yes, it followed the logic and physics of a video game. But it was so full of heart and pure cinematic energy. This is PJ unhinged crazyness at it's best - the kind of visual pomposity, that is fuelled by emotions. Some people were allready complaining about the "video game antics" in Goblin Town in AUJ, but I think this kind of comedic, almost slapstick energy fits wonderfully with the idea of dwarfs as a group of fairy-tale troublemakers, as well as with the adventurous, whimsical spirit of "The Hobbit". The Smaug confontation cranked that up to 11, and it wonderfully showcased the slapstick muscles of the Dwarfs, showed how industrious and resourceful they are, and also how well they function as a group of brothers, how they support each other, how they fight together in the face of overwhelming odds (what is more Dwarven than that I ask?). For me this whole sequence was full of wonderfull cinematic energy and spirit. The moments when Thorin says to his companions: "if this is to end in fire, then we shall all burn together!" and when he finally faces Smaug and shouts some dwarven curses at him, was incredibly cathartic and worked well as a narrative finale for DOS. I think it would be a shot in the foot from a storytelling standpoint, if the dwarves were denied that confrontation.
So in the end, its an example of a sequence that on the outside may seem like excessive, blockbuster fireworks, but in truth - not only did it make a lot of sense storywise, it was also full of heart and spirit (and that translates well to other things PJ done in this trilogy). I think its a real shame that many people are bashing that sequence.
The only problem I had with it, was that PJ continued to intercut it with unnecessary shots from Lake Town, which extended the lenght of the whole affair. I was reminded of Lucas prequels, when he kept intercutting important lightsaber battles with **** that few people cared about.
