The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– ) User Reviews

Disappoinment

[ryeshack · 1/10 · 18 October 2022]

Overall a very meh series that does not convince at all. No character has developed enough to care about. Now I lied a bit, Adar is honestly the most interesting character in S01 (played by the same actor that plays Benjen Stark in Got). The fact that the series then hangs on a main character with one facial expression, does not make things better.

They have spent absolutely zero time to make the audience care and feel anything for the story and its characters. Everything feels stiff and forced into its dialogue and is very woody. In PJ's LotR Gandalf, Frodo, Aragon, Samwise, etc is way more interesting, credible and human than this party.

Fortunately, there is to see the Got Prequel series, which is so much more vibrant than this mess.

Visually it is beautiful, but at the same time, too beautiful. It's kinda seems fake, cause everything everywhere is beautiful to the max. It's is so unreal when nothing looks used, damaged, gritty. It just feels strange and wrong with the visuals.

This is as bad as Amazon's The Wheel of Time fantasy series. Which also was a huge disappointment.

RoP S01 is a 1/10.

It's a shame they are even calling this Lord of the Rings. They should've made their own fantasy series, instead of ruining Lord of the Rings.

What happened?

[singsong · 1/10 · 16 October 2022]

This show should have us all in awe in sheer enjoyment for a new LOTR series. Instead we get served a show with a very unlikeable main character that basically is portrayed like a kar*n demanding to see the manager (the king) in several episodes. The whole series evolves around the secrecy around whom is actually Sauron. The fact it is Halbrand makes Galadriel Saurons saviour in several scenes. This is a very blatant middle finger to the books they wanted to film. The writing is beyond abyssmal with dialogue wooden and bad. Dir ction is also bad with way to many slo-mo scenes of riding. A coulple of good things; the diverse cast is actually good, the elf and dwarf are the best part of the show. Wich is great since colour blind casting is a must in 2022. Does not save this superbad show though.

This Is Not Tolkien

[clayj · 1/10 · 2 September 2022]

So Amazon Studios spent about a billion dollars buying material from the Tolkien estate. What did they get?:

* Names of characters * Names of places * A tiny bit of backstory

What DIDN'T they get?:

* Any actual character-driven stories * Any actual dialog * Any in-depth material describing character motivations * ANY access to ANYTHING from "The Lord of the Rings" (the books) or "The Hobbit"

No, everything they didn't get, they had to make up, along with a bunch of brand-new characters -- and clearly the writers are not actual fans of Tolkien or his work.

So you have characters doing things they shouldn't and saying things they shouldn't and interacting with other characters who weren't even alive at the same time, all within a just decent-looking setup that doesn't even look as nice as the original movies, 20 years ago.

This was a dumb mistake, Amazon. I hope you come to realize that.

Absolutely abhorrent.

[Love S · 1/10 · 7 September 2022]

This is not Tolkien. This is bad fan fiction masquerading as lore. The actors are all terrible. The script even worse. (Who writes like this?). I don't even get the raving about the CGI - which is much better in GoT. Nothing in this show hits a nerve in the way the movies did. Unfortunately the show runners, writers, actors, directors etc. All seem to first and foremost struggle with getting their modern political points across. Stay clear and save yourself the time.

Elon Musk is correct.

"Tolkien is turning in his grave," the Tesla CEO and founder wrote on Twitter. "Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice."

All the pseudo-heroic dialogue sounds like it was written by Yoda

[discomicky · 1/10 · 30 January 2023]

Budget breakdown: 80% - scenery and special effects; 10% - music 9.99 % - cast and crew; 0.1% - writing and dialogue

What a shame. What a waste. The emperor has no clothes. This series could have been so much better.

The dialogue in every episode was excruciating to listen to. No one could have a simple conversation or give a straight answer to a question but had to respond with some convoluted attempt to be profound and lofty. When Galadriel is asked "Do you believe they (the Numenorians) will return?" she replies decisively: "NO."

Then after a beat, she continues, "I am certain they will." What was the point of that? Belief and certainty are not always interchangeable, but in this context, they're the same thing. Just have her answer "Yes," and give up these pretenses of trying to sound Tolkienish and profound.

The characters I was most interested in were Halbrand, Arondir, Adar, Prince Durin & Disa, The Stranger, and the women in white. I disliked most of the rest and absolutely detested Galadriel.

Better plot, better writing, and sharper dialogue could have lifted this whole series from miserable to at least mediocre.

Garbage writing

[nalsop-93915 · 1/10 · 19 February 2023]

This is NOT true to Tolkiens work, they take way too much artistic license and it is Tolkien would be rolling in his grave! They take characters and add whatever they feel to it whether it is true to lore or not. The casting is bizarre, and considering Tolkien wrote very specifically about the races of Middle Earth they felt they had to change a great number of appearances. Elves are supposed to be ageless, yet many of them look too old and do not portray Tolkien's description of them. The cinematography is about all that is good about this and that is a sad testimony for an overpriced mess. AVOID.

Absolutely not Lord of the Ring

[mariozilla · 1/10 · 5 September 2022]

This is an outrage to the book, to Tolkien, to the lore. This has nothing to do with Lord of The Ring, nothing!!

If you want to watch it, pirate it, don't let them get any money from this crap.

Don't waste your time watching this crap, it's not worth it. Go watch The Boys.

The first 2 episodes made me thing about a satiric show, a comedy. Everything was so ''out of the book'' that I genuinely though it was a satiric show.

To enjoy this show, you must not have any knowledge of the lore, the book, of Tolkien himself. Then, and only then, this show will be a max 6/10. There is not a single character that is portrayed as it should in these 2 episodes, not a single one.

Again, this is a fantasy show, this is not a Lord of the Ring show.

Not The Lord of the Rings

[vingolf-01993 · 1/10 · 17 September 2022]

After reading The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I have to say this production was wrongly named.

J. R. R. Tolkien based on northern mythology created a story that tells us about races whose creations were unlinked to the human race. Immutable beings with a purpose in the balance between forces of good and evil, for finally led to beginning for the age of the human race.

Elves in mythology belong to another plane invisible to the mortal beings, Tolkien brought them as distant creatures, without any human emotion, wiser and more powerful than men.

The casting doesn't fit the beings supposed to be represented, the acting doesn't match with the characters. The plot is poor and timeless.

Could be good if it was something different to the Lord of the rings name.

bad.

[matt-1918 · 1/10 · 9 September 2022]

Not even worth correct punctuation. They phoned it in... so will I. Miight be better than the last jedi... but I may never know as after 2 episodes and falling asleep like 6 nights in a row in 20 minutes maybe at a time this is just boring, crap cgi, bad writing, characters are not developed at all, who is this for? Why? Waste of time, waste of money. Amazon Prime typically makes some pretty great stuff, this I don't care enough to dig into what happened to this.

For those of you leaving the great reviews, I'm glad this does it for you, I just don't understand why.

Says 600 characters... so I will write on I guess. I mean did they read the books, do they care why every Tolkien story was so great? I wouldn't mind if they went so off script if they could at least write a story that makes sense. In this they just jump around with characters that are not doing anything that makes me want to like their character. The whole thing is like some bad home made film with crap cgi where they get all their neighbors to play parts and watch it on the weekend.

Cringe 😬

[JamesLindsayofficial · 1/10 · 3 September 2022]

Terrible dialogue, horrific story and a butchery of Tolkiens universe! The actors also fall short. All visuals no inner filling.

To any fans of the books or Jacksons adaptations this is not Tolkien. This is no faithful adaptation, these series are a mash up of our modern understanding and contemporary culture into someone else's fiction and fantasy. Anyone who ever fell in love with LOTR for what it was will see these series as a mere travesty of a fan fiction!

As many people have said its a fantasy, so why not let it be the way it was made after all it bares no correlation to our modern world and shouldn't!

Aside from this the actors are just too cringy to watch and enjoy even for someone with no idea of lotr! The dialogue is a mess and I really cant find any of the characters likable especially Galadriel...

Testing out the reviews

[pathuson-80068 · 1/10 · 7 September 2022]

I have come to the conclusion that the 1 star reviews for this series are being suppressed. This is a test to see if that is truly the case. I found many 1-5 star reviews on here the first day and now they magically start at 6 and up. Definitely some elf magic going on. In any case I'd probably give this a 4/10, they did a good job casting younger selves of actors however the script is just dry, like lembas bread. Hopefully Amazon can stick to source material a little better in the future seasons. I hope they figure it out because I love the stories Tolkien wrote and imagined.

To all the 10/10 out there, is this really a 100% A+ show? Does it hold a candle to The Godfather, Breaking Bad, The Wire? Shawshank? Heck even Return of the King is only a 9.2, you truly believe this is better than ROTK??

The works of Tolkien reduced to Easter Eggs

[donolinio · 1/10 · 9 September 2022]

2 points for the visuals and the music. The score is good but to repetitive. I espacilly like the Galadriel and the Nori theme.

The story cant be compared to anything Tolkien wrote. The changes are massive. The worst part of the series, is the character of Galadriel: She should be an 5000 year old lady with immense wisdom and power, who earned the respect of literally gods, but here she is portrayed as an angsty and angry teen, who needs to find herself. She is insufferable. On the other hand she is portrayed as a Superwoman, who is better in everything im comparison to a male. Why is it, that in modern media a woman can only be strong, when she is better than a man. Stronger, more intelligent, more loyal and so on.

Why cant both sexes be on the same level?

Another downturn are the Hobbits, upps i mean Harfoots, If i see one more gypsie-like person with things in thir hair, i explode. They have no purpose in the second age. And they are savages too. When one of their own broke his leg and couldn't.pull their cart, the Harfoots leave him in the dust. No help, no sympathy. Ok, well done Amazon.

I wrote that review after watching the third episode, so i is possible that things get better. I hope so. I want to like your show Amazon, i really do. But as a huge Lotr fan who read nearly all Tolkien books i simple can't.

Terrible

[wviking · 1/10 · 3 September 2022]

The show doesn't follow the books or lore accurately. The main cast is generally unlikely especially Galadriel

I do like Elrond and Durin but they alone will not be enough to keep my interest. Sure the show is pretty but that isn t enough. The costumes are pretty poor. I don't understand how they have managed to do worse Clothing and armour etc than many other contemporary shows given the budget. Something like Last Kingdom and Vikings look better and have better actors??

The Harfoots are terrible. A totally unnecessary addition. We don't need a hobbit story, that's been done to death give us something different. And why do they look so filthy and have none of the charm that hobbits are known for? Really the show just doesn't match what one would reasonable expect.

Time to find another show to watch, I hear Sandman is good. Or maybe that Dragon show but GoT wasn't my thing either. Such a shame with the millions of fantasy books out there how come we don't get anything decent??

Long time fantasy fan

[vmpanayiotou · 1/10 · 14 September 2022]

I must say. This is the worst. Irrelevant to Tolkien and the lore. TERRIBLE. I tried to watch the first episode. But it felt disjointed from jacksons work. I understand is a different story. Nonetheless is NOT a Tolkien story. Its a money grab. Amazon could've made an original fantasy show. But they were ao eager to put that lord of the rings name onbtheir show, theybfell victim to their own greed. Shame on you for disrespecting the fan base and the writer.

The acting is mediocre. The plot is meh... And the casting is an abomination. Amazon ridiculed all the LOTR fans. And they expect people to watch this? Its a pity. Trully is.

I wish I did not have to be that harsh

[ondrejbelak · 1/10 · 10 October 2022]

I wish I did not have to be that harsh in my review, but at the very least, I won't be vulgar. Even though I probably should.

Let's forget that this is an adaptation of incredible written work of art. Of course it could not reach the heights it aspired to, so let's consider the show just a regular project. I will express my opinion related to Tolkien's work only once, because I really think I have to.

1. The show lacks pacing in story-telling and character development. Pacing in development is a strong word, as there is none.

2. The characters are superficial and don't act in their presented nature. There is no deeper sense to their motives and behavior apparently, and as the show says: they are just dogs barking on the moon. The presentation of individuals is one of the worst things in the show so far.

3. Dialogue. Ugh. I can't say anything else but eww. It's strongly correlated to characters actions (2) and their place in the story (1) but it never sounds good, believable or in general, worth of interest.

4. Politicizing : FOREIGN ELVES WILL TAKE OUR JOBS. This is the part where I would love to be vulgar. To avoid this, I will just list the point and move on.

5. GALADRIEL - if not the best, then one in the very top of all female heroins, female idols and generally people/characters adored and respected by so many. She is supposed to be THE HUMAN, the person representing all the qualities a human being could possibly possess, perfect and share with others. It was always challenging to portray character of such quality and it was probably always destined to fail as a project, but not this much. The Galadriel impostor in the show deserves a slap each time she speaks / treats someone / takes action towards others or even smile while riding a horse. She does not evoke disappointment but frustration and anger in me. I did not want to see her like this.

6. Costumes. I saw better preparation in regards of finding out what the costumes should portray and symbolize, in high school plays and dramas. And this is not a joke. Some of the costumes just don't make sense and do not look believable. They could have saved money on CGI and cut few one-time shots the showed us and rather invest in this area.

But one thing was also good. The orcs. Their whole perspective and the time they got on the screen. I could comment on some things regarding Adar and his plans, but in general, this is a part of the project they did very well.

Unfortunately it seems that there are lots of median-viewers that like the show simply because it's running on TV and it's (it hurts to say it) COMPLEX enough to keep them invested into it. I have quit it once, but failed. Now I am quiting again and do not intend to come back to it. I hope this review shows how I feel about the whole adaptation.

Everything is terrible. Sad that it was filmed in the first place.

[katarinabanic · 1/10 · 20 December 2022]

Everything is terrible, everythings feels so fake and artificial. It's like something Netflix would make out of joke. The acting is so superficial and there isn't depthness in charachters. Actors simply do not match their characters at all in the original LOTR and those of Tolkien's universe. Traits of characters do not add up, it feels like something is missing (actuaaly a lot more than something). The story is badly written, boring and seeems a lot forced. Comperd to riginal LOTR this is beyond sad and misarable. I would say it's like LOTR from Aliexpress but that would actually be a compliment. Overall everything is unadjusted and off. It's doen't feel like LOTR, it doen't feel like magical world of Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin etc. It doen't feel like Middle earth, it doen't feel like home. It's actually bad that this was ever filmed.

Very generic and clean Narnia/Wheel of time kind of show

[vivekjainima · 1/10 · 3 September 2022]

I was so excited for last 3 years to dive into Middle Earth one more time. Deeply hurt and disappointed, can not connect visually or emotionally with the show. Watched both episodes twice in English as well as in my native language just so I can force myself to love this show. Not even close, did not like it.

Elves look like men, lack that ethereal glow and demeanor. PJ captured it perfectly, every movement, every word they said had a impact that we are looking at a superior creation of Iluvatar.

Even after 4 hours (2X) of this show, I still do not feel connected to these stories or their fate. As a LOTR fan I will watch every episode in hope to feel connected.

You can see that village of men was created a few months ago. It does not give a feeling of middle earth. It was exactly like Wheel of Time show. Amazon you messed it up real bad.

Dwarves are the best till now, love Durin and Disa. Acting is on point, feels great. Harfoots are good to have in this show, a nice unexpected addition.

So all the budget was allocated to the CGI ?

[podh-69430 · 1/10 · 3 September 2022]

First of all don't watch this show if you have a degree in Tolkien's work or if you are a fan of his work. This show is miles away from what Jackson produced past years that even The Hobbit trilogy wasn't that bad.

The writing of the two first episode is horrible. Nobody would have these such behiavors except my cat.

All the characters look so british (no offense) and their acting is really bad (due to the poor writing my guess). I was really disappointed that the dialogs between elves have been act in english and not in elvish as you should expected from a multirace fantasy franchise.

CGI is not good not bad and this is obvious that most of the budget where allocated there.

Fortunatelly they still can fly helicopters to take beautiful landscapes from NZ however the OST is quite inexistant.

Finally costumes and armor look cheap as hell. Next time call me if you need a wardrobe's door to dress somebody in the most uncomfortable way we would recommend you to purchase some at a sweedish furniture store I know.

Globally this show is boring, characters don't have any charisma, such a waste and shame for Tolkien's legacy.

It is a disaster.

[saeidx · 1/10 · 2 September 2022]

It is a disaster.

The only insult was to Tolkien and Middle Earth. It does not convey any special feeling to the audience.

Very bad music.

Very bad casting Very weak and bad dialogues Complicated storylines A deviation from Tolkien's original stories, which is the most interesting story.

Very bad choice of clothes No difference between elves and humans Without any sense of calmness and politeness.

And ..... many other weaknesses In no way can this series be considered Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's writings.

A series with meaningless and excessive compression and very fast timelines.

Very clumsy direction Don't eat ordinary orcs.

The haircut of the elves, which is really nothing but a shame for Tolkien's world.

This series should be stopped or modified from the second season.

Otherwise, there will be no success behind it and it will only spoil the name of Tolkien and his stories.

I hope that at least the next season of the series will be corrected. Especially directing and acting. And its very weak dialogues and especially its very weak and identityless music The opening credits of the movie were awful. It was at the level of children's programs on TV channels.

ROP is not living up

[cezarvarlan · 1/10 · 4 September 2022]

The only good thing is the inclusion. This is managed nicely.

Brings many improvements to the LoTR story background and makes Galadriel from a wise elf into a warrior princess with an olymipic marathon swimmer side.

Much could have been done better but it is done sub standard.

We have famous Durin that is just a house wife. We have dwarf women that DO NOT HAVE beards. What has been done with this story.

The props are fine and seems like the movie had some budget.

It is appreciated that the costumes and actors are well dressed and made up.

Of course there is also the curious fact that I simply cannot find the actual plot. Loooks like a bunch of people doing nothing and all of them know that there is some kind of darkness but this cannot be seen or found.

I wish I had not seen what she had seen

[VoicezInMyHead · 1/10 · 2 September 2022]

Where to start... Disjointed, no natural flow, weak acting & dialog, disappointing sets/costumes/CGI in 2022 for the budget that was boasted about.

Setting aside the story is a corporate fan fiction, money grab by both amazon and the Tolkien estate (I imagine Tolkien is rolling in his grave), none of the fictional races were depicted as Tolkien wrote and described them. Elves were solitary in their objectives, not working as trained units for hundreds of years. Dwarves looked ridiculous. They did not represent a stout, hearty, solid race of mountain dwellers. Weebles Wobble and they hammer on rocks. The Pre-hobbits served no purpose. The "wizard" shouldn't even be there.

I found myself fast forwarding through many parts of both episodes and was relieved when I saw the credits. This may appeal to someone, but not me. I will not be wasting anymore time on this "show".

Oh dear, it blew up on the launchpad!

[jonronnquist · 1/10 · 13 September 2022]

Affirmative action is not the primary reason this show is bad. Making a conscious effort to bring more actors from underrepresented minorities into modern films and television is a positive thing. Cynically choosing a well-established IP dating from the 1930s based on a time and place where people of color simply do not fit into the picture naturally in order to cash in on its proven financial success and then shoehorning activists into the cast with little or no acting experience for purely political reasons is. But that's not even the real issue here. It's more of a side note. A red-herring Amazon has employed to mask the show's real problem. It's just not very good.

The dialogue is contrived, convoluted, and pretentious to the point of parody. Some of this is accounted for by the cast, which is lackluster across the board. But the lion's share of the responsibility must go to the writing. It's simply atrocious. The fact that so much of the script ignores, confuses and reinvents Tolkien's own creation is a factor. But even that isn't the real problem. The script is simply unhinged, be it from the source material or the vision the writers conjured up to replace it. What we end with is a convoluted mess grounded in nothing at all.

I wish there was some redeeming aspect of the show I could point to, but there isn't. Even the CGI is becoming problematic. Every place just looks like a cheap video game imitation of the original trilogy. By the time we get to Numinor in episode 3, the place looks like someone tore down the shanty towns surrounding Rio and rebuilt them in stone.

In summary, this show fails on every level. I suppose if you really wanted to find a silver lining, the sheer scale of incompetence surrounding this production will probably go down in history as record-breaking.

DISAPPOINTING

[brandonlopez-41879 · 1/10 · 2 September 2022]

The first 2 episodes besides the visuals have no substance, weight, character development, poor writing, and horrid acting! Also the story so far has zero to do with tolkiens books and lore. Who was the person responsible for this show that failed this badly. You can have all the money in the world for a big production show that will focus the entire narrative on "Look how beautiful I look" will only get you so far if there is no story, Character Development, good acting, and quality writing then who cares how pretty it looks. And that's just 50% of it. The other 50% wrong is the lore is all screwed up. Everything is fan made fiction by the creative team and not book based! But you know what they didn't care so I'm glad they wasted a billion dollars on a season that may be a major Catastrophe trying to stay afloat by visuals and occasional action instead of Quality writing.

Based, but it is not.

[ricardopelinsari · 1/10 · 4 September 2022]

Make a rating between the first episodes of the series with half of the first movie with extended versions. I see costume and camera elements and CGI as inferior in the series.

Clearly this series copied a power rangers battle, that is, don't look at your opponent, don't show weakness, be "powerful" and finish with fireworks exploding behind you.

Script, bad kids for no reason, stone that sinks in water and boat "looks" at the sky and sees light or shadows lol Introductions and character depth copied from season 8 of Got.

While the films are a reference to the masterpiece, this series is destructive to the work.

What was based on lord of the rings? The (names) of the characters, their personalities are very different.

Geographic regions of the world created by Tolkien Just that.

It is worth mentioning the poverty of the new social justiceiros in creating their own works and implementing their ideas of the world. Here only something was done that should not have been done.

It's so dense. Every single image has so many things going on.

[seanlucmike · 1/10 · 4 September 2022]

Best show ever? Absolutely. I am so glad they deleted all the negative reviews because they were all LIES.

I am a HUGE fan of Mexican soap operas. I may not understand what they are saying, but I know quality acting when I see it, and let me tell you - the acting in this show is on par with the best Latino soap operas. MAYBE even better!

I don't know much about computers, but hold on to your butts because the CGI in this literally made my head cave in. I'm in the hospital right now typing this.

Oh and the story? RIVETING. I literally could not stop asking things like, "What?" And "Huh?" My mind is so intrigued that I think I may have to start doing drugs again.

Only ONE downside, there are absolutely NO trans Asian actors playing a major role. There MAY have been one as an extra, but I can't believe they left this out. The trans Asian community is in an uproar, and I can't say I blame them.

Other than that, the show is so good that I took my blu-ray copies of the LOTR trilogy and burned them (whilst making s'mores mmm) THIS is the REAL Lord of The Rings.

Shoutout to Crazy Mike in Oak Cliff. Miss you bro.