Just in from what will be my last viewing of The Desolation of Smaug (at least until the extended version DVD drops), and once again I am reminded of the acting brilliance of Martin Freeman.

Which is funny because he doesn’t get nearly enough material in Desolation.  In the first Hobbit movie, you get a sense of Bilbo’s growth as a character.  Even though he’s spot on in Bag End,  things don’t really click until Bilbo meets Gollum under the mountain and chooses pity. All the way through, though, his sense of physical humor shines through with his mannerisms.  You only really get to see it in Desolation in his confrontation with Smaug.

Which is funny because there he’s acting against Benedict Cumberbatch, who is Sherlock to Freeman’s Watson.  If there’s one thing that season three of Sherlock showed us, it’s that Freeman really can hold his own in the full spectrum of acting.  From funny to fighting, Freeman brings it.

Bilbo Baggins.  John Watson.  Arthur Dent (can’t forget Dent, Arthur Dent).  One of the five from The World’s End.  Freeman’s had his hand in a lot of my favorite stories.  I’m really looking forward to what he does with the end of The Hobbit and beyond.