After watching The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer you’re left to wonder if this is more the second movie in The Hobbit three-part event — or an advanced prequel to The Lord of the Rings.

Peter Jackson's The Hobbitfilm trilogy was never as well-received as his first foray into Middle-earth with The Lord of the Rings (although neither have gotten the same vitriol as Amazon's ...