The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

As a Lord of the Rings fan, I was eagerly awaiting the origin stories of Middle-earth. Of course, I have high expectations after Lord of the Rings, which is close to perfection in terms of time and fiction. Because they have a considerable budget and opportunities, that's why I gave my points by watching the first episode right away. Although it is the beginning part, I can say that I liked the first part very much. The character of Galadriel could have been more strong, but she is still successful. We will warm up to the characters better over time.

Characters: 8 Story: 10 Decor and venue: 10 Costume: 10 Music: 10.

A pleasant surprise, the cinematography is impeccable, the characters quite well done, the plot looks like a link between the stories of the First Age, the Silmarillion and the stories of the Lord of the Rings of the Third Age, the rhythm of narration is pleasant albeit a bit slow. If the outcome of the series will be to narrate how Sauron forged the Rings of Power, it will definitely be something to watch. Until this moment, I think that in general terms, at least the first chapter delivers. I think enough to be cautiously optimistic about what the next 7 episodes might turn out to be. I must add, again that I am pleasantly surprised.

We all know liberties were taken with this series so my review is not based on faithfulness to the source material.

A lot of the marketing for this show led people to fear it would be woke. I didn't see anything like that. I wasn't rolling my eyes or cringing at any virtue signalling.

The pace is a little rough in parts but since it's the beginning of the series I almost expect a little dawdling. There's a lot going on, things to be set up and introduced etc...

The characters and the story is engaging though, the cinematography was well done, and the score seemed to fit... so I'm honestly excited to see where this series goes.

Definitely give this a shot and decide for yourself.

The writing breaks many rules in a way that is either incompetent or extremely arrogant. There is no attachment to characters and dialogue is terribly bland. Adapting Tolkien isn't easy but this show just butchers it. So much nonsensical issues are being juggled simultaneously that one cannot have interest in the characters. The insane cost per episode was clearly not used in costume design, choreography, makeup, or writing. It's hard to determine where all that money went but it's easy enough to conclude that it's money wasted. This show is how not to write or direct fantasy. I hope people will learn from it and prevent future shows from being absolutely pathetic.

My review so far, as of watching 4 episodes.

There is some great CGI (and some not so great), and really interesting environment and creature designs! Some of the characters have some decent/average acting, but most of the actors either over-act and don't really match the feel of the characters described in the source or are not believable inhabitants of that world.

The writing is probably my biggest complaint. Strange and distracting dialogue, weird pacing, and incredibly obvious and predictable plot progression. There is a general feeling of almost complete disregard for the source material.

The best storylines surround the dwarves. And they actually look, for the most part, like the source materials and the Peter Jackson movies established that they should look. "But Michael, this is its own series! None of the races have to look like they do in the movies!" Fair! But, they should at least look like the source material's descriptions and if the show isn't trying to look like the movies, why do the Balrog, the fell beasts, eagles, Sauron, and some of the races look so similar to the movies?

A lot of Rings of Power LOOKS decent (save almost ALL the arms and armor). And, I actually love the orcs' practical effects! But, the show generally feels hollow, hastily written, and over-acted.