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.

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.

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.

The visuals are really good. But the characters are not interesting or likable. Did not read the source material so I cannot judge based on that. The plot is hard to follow. Galadriel is supposedly very old and wise but acts like an angsty teenager. It's confusing to keep track of which harfoots are related to each other because they all look different, despite claims of being related. Similar point with human villagers. It's pretty distracting. Will be interesting to see if the show improves. Galadriel's smile on the horse (maybe her only smile in the entire show so far) gave me the creeps. Music is pretty good, maybe overly dramatic at times, though.

The lore is ripped to pieces, the pacing is awful, and the story is a thin soup. This soap opera is defiling Tolkiens legendarium, and he's most definitely spinning in his grave. It's hard to think of something they actually got right. They've compressed several thousand years of history into weeks(?), and nothing makes sense.

The Númenóreans are just... average people. They're supposed to be more or less like superhumans. But, at least they have small ships which Hermione Granger has used the extension charm on. They can fit 100 horses, 100 soldiers, equipment and provisions, even if its really doesnt seem remotely possible. Oh, and the ships can teleport across the ocean too.

And, what's the point of the seemingly evil Harfoots in this story? What's their purpose? They've done absolutely nothing to move the plot forward.

The elves are apparently just humans with pointy ears and a really long life span. On a positive note, they are super duper hairdressers. Arondir has a fire haircut with a sick fade, which he maintains everyday.

Galadriel is possible the least likable character in the whole show, and she's the main character. That's a problem. And, speaking of Galadriel, where's Celeborn and their daughter?

And, the dwarves. How can there be two Durin's at the same time? What? Balrogs? I can't. No. Just, no.

Summary: An expensive failure.