In my review of the first “Hobbit” movie, subtitled “An Unexpected Journey,” I described the film as “flawed,” “awkward,” and “dull.” Almost exactly a year later, we finally have the second installment in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, this time subtitled “The Desolation of Smaug.” A larger, more magnificent, more thoughtful achievement; this is a major improvement on the first film. It still may not have the same lasting legacy as the original series, but for a fun, riotous adventure, it is at least worth a viewing.

“The Desolation of Smaug” picks up where the first movie finished. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and the dwarves are still en route to the dwarves’ cave, where the dragon Smaug resides. Before getting there, though, they must pass through spider-infested woods, deal with some very disagreeable elves, and travel through a mysterious lake city next to the mountain. It is a treacherous journey, where anything can and will go wrong.

One of my main critiques with the original “Hobbit” was that it was often excessive, with a clear preference for extravagant action sequences over scenes with genuine character development. An example is the final scene of the film, when the dwarves attempt to escape from the goblin lair. The entire escape is too perfect, with every goblin managing to be killed by something conveniently hitting them, which also somehow does not hurt the dwarves. The whole effect is more like something you would see in a cartoon. In “The Desolation of Smaug,” Peter Jackson gets close to falling down this path again. Somehow, though, he manages to stop himself before it gets out of hand. There is one scene here, involving dwarves splashing down a river in buckets, while orcs chase them down, and elves run alongside the riverbanks, shooting arrows. It may be silly, laughable, even a bit hokey. But it is infused with such a sense of fun that it is hard not to enjoy yourself.

By far my favorite scene in the first “Hobbit” film is when Bilbo first finds the ring. His altercation with Gollum, with back-and-forth riddles, is almost straight from the novel, and it is perfectly acted by Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis. In the current film, interestingly enough, my favorite scene is also one where Bilbo meets a major character. Here, though, it is the dragon Smaug. While Bilbo is down in the lair, searching for something known as the arkenstone, he comes face to face with the mighty creature. Caught dead in his tracks, Bilbo does the first thing he can thing of: he flatters the dragon. Of course, for any giant, fire-breathing, deadly creature, this is at least a reason to let your prey live for a few more seconds. Smaug, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, is also an incredible CGI achievement. He is delightfully wicked, a perfect foe for that team of dwarves who just never seem to get hurt. Although his final scene in this film runs on a bit too long, I am looking forward to his reappearance in the next “Hobbit.”

And that brings us to the remainder of the characters. With a cast of so many dwarves, it was easy for them all to be blended together, with only perhaps their leader, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), becoming the one that stands out. Here, though, we finally see some development, with romantic subplots and friendships that are likely to continue their course in the next film. However, although I hate coming back to this again, the development of the characters is still not nearly as intensive as in the “Lord of the Rings” series. An example of this is the character Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), an elf guard of the woods who encounters the dwarves when they get caught traveling through their land. She reminded me of the first time we see Arwen in “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Yet, we see only minimal scenes with her actually speaking to other characters, such as a couple scenes with her friend Legolas (Orlando Bloom), or the dwarf Kili, who she immediately takes a liking to. Mostly, though, we just see Tauriel shooting and stabbing orcs. Bad-ass, yes. But I wanted to see so much more from her.

This second installment always felt like it was leading somewhere. There are some interesting plot lines that start to develop, such as Gandalf’s encounter with the Necromancer. But many of these do not really go anywhere, and they only serve to raise more questions that will not be answered until the next film. In the final scene of “The Desolation of Smaug,” the dwarves attempt to attack the dragon before he invades the nearby city. Although it is something that resembles a final showdown, it is not quite enough to feel closure. As a test, just try not to groan when the final credits roll, knowing that you have an entire year to wait before finding out what will happen.

Overall, the “Hobbit” trilogy may turn out to be an excellent saga, even if each individual film doesn’t stack up. I only hope that Peter Jackson ends the series with the thrilling conclusion that it deserves.