This is an epic fantasy battle. HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel nearly two weeks after its release The Dragon House is also looking forward to it The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Power, a prequel from Amazon Prime Video, takes place thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson movies.
This is an ambitious undertaking by Amazon, with the studio allocating at least $1 billion for five seasons of the JRR Tolkien series (and $2022 Million Only the first eight episodes). Due to no Jackson involvement, Ring of Power takes on Tolkien’s mid-level Take a different approach – Earth, solve the lore of the Second Age, and delve into the history of the elves.
The review embargo was lifted Wednesday morning, and early reactions were mostly positive. While most were praising the project’s promising plot and impressive cinematography, some reviews were mixed, as skepticism remained about the beloved franchise’s high price tag.
Read on for key excerpts from some of the most outstanding early reviews.
Daniel Finn of The Hollywood Reporter Daniel Fienberg called the show “a promising start.” He wrote: “In the second episode, where the story really started to unfold, I found some of the characters and scenes to be very captivating, and a show like this needs to survive for a long time, even if some of the effects and epic scale are reduced a little bit. It’s technically pleasing Impressive, quite ambitious, full of Easter eggs that I’m sure I’m not proficient enough to, and which could fall off a precarious cliff at any moment since my interests in different episodes have been so varied.”
Stephen Kelly of BBC wrote , “What makes [Rings of Power] work is The Lord of the Rings works : Seriousness in acting, sincerity in writing. Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay may have developed The Rings of Power out of nowhere, but their soothing sympathy for Tolkien The rhythm, his grandeur and musicality show a deft understanding. It’s great to hear the characters speak.”
Dave Nemetz of TV Line shared a similar positive sentiment and wrote , “ The Ring of Power is not just good, it’s fantastic: a gorgeously immersive and ambitious spectacle filled with stunning imagery and riveting The plot thread. Most importantly, it captures that sense of awe we feel when watching The Lord of the Rings movies – something we rarely get on the small screen I can experience it.”
IGN‘s Alex Stedman also said , “Not only is this one of the most gorgeous TV shows I’ve ever seen, it’s also in line with most The big screen blockbusters go hand in hand. The cinematography is amazing not only in how meticulously it captures the different geographies of Middle-earth, from the snow-capped mountaintops to the bustling Khazad-dum, but also in how close it is in important conversations focus on the actor’s face.”
Ben Travers of Indiewire gave the show a B and wrote “ The Lord of the Rings: Rings o f Power bursts to life, providing enough reason to believe that Prime Video creations may leave over time, playing out their stories and refining their strengths It shines brightly in JRR Tolkien’s still-expanding universe. Real chemistry sparks humor and heartache. The sizable locator contains undisputed epic battles. Yes, there’s almost too much grandeur on display — all those soaring shots of dreamy cities and shimmering scenic routines are enough to feel, um, routine. Still, the main hurdle for this stately show is the same one faced by many ambitious sequels, prequels and spinoffs in the streaming age: over familiarity without any real risk. Investing a large sum of cash is not the same as investing in beliefs, preferences, and a sense of human nature. Satisfying the masses with bits and pieces of nostalgic games is fairly simple; crafting your own admirable ring is much harder. “
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY Darren Franich of took a more negative view , calling the show “a disaster.” He wrote, “There are many Way to make a prequel, and The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power did it all wrong. Everyone remembers six or seven things from the famous movie trilogy, adding a water tank, making no fun for anyone, making fun of a mystery that isn’t a mystery, and taking the best characters on pointless detours. The latter is the super elf Galadriel (Murphy Clark), who told people at the premiere to worry about Sauron. In response, people told her not to worry about Sauron. That’s one hour, seven more hours left this season. Sound like a billion dollars? ”
protector Rebecca Nicholson of Ring of Thrones vs Game of Thrones prequel, claiming that Amazon’s show “was so shocking that it made House of the Dragon look amateurish. “It wasn’t until episode two, the arrival of the Dwarves, that the immersive feeling flourished – the feeling that it was a fully realized world that deserved full attention,” Nicholson wrote. Dwarf anchors it and tempers some of the show’s more pompous instincts. It’s no spoiler to say that the original idyll shattered quickly. The elves’ insistence that “our age of war is over” is more of a dream than a cold political analysis. There were signs of decay in the air right from the start, and those cues quickly turned into sirens with plenty of warnings. When it gets scary, it’s really scary. Towards the end of episode 2, it was breath-taking and much scarier than I expected. ”
Variety‘s Caroline Framke wrote , “Now, it’s safe to say that Amazon has brought the perfect adaptation in this hotel’s vault, showing reverence for the sizable myth behind it. and love. As the series continues to evolve, incorporating storylines and leaving literal translations from page to screen behind, it will illustrate how subtly seen the Ring of Power can take root from its ancient source material, and inevitably bends it into something new. ”
1235354728 The Los Angeles Times‘ Robert Lloyd claims Although many believe the Ring of Power will be a Disaster,” it wasn’t. “While many people like to dig into the details of Tolkien’s cosmological, historical and anthropological appendices, what matters is whether the series tells a good story — or a story, because there are several,” Lloyd wrote. , their intersection does tend to weaken the narrative. My verdict on this is…everywhere. again and again. Some storylines are better than others. ”
1235193692 Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture wrote , “The whole kit and stack is just too big to fail. The story is expansive enough to fill the show’s massive map, and its fantasy locations promise impressive scenarios like battles with ice trolls or ships sailing into the Immortal Lands, The Ring of Power live up to these promises. Its emotional core, while simple, is equally large and open. It’s a straight-up sincere show with no room for cynicism. It’s all about friendship, honor, greed, or power, and it’s all too easy to read as utterly stupid if it’s not completely true to that sincerity on every beat. “
Vanity Fair ‘s Esther Zuckerman said that the prequels managed to “[capture] the spirit of Tolkien’s source material and Jackson’s previous films.” Zuckerman also praised Clark’s portrayal of Galadriel , and wrote: “Clark’s performance is the anchor of the series: she is both the omniscient storyteller and the protagonist. Cate Blanchett portrayed the character in Jackson’s film as an ethereal benevolent force that can turn terrifying in a split second. Meanwhile, Clark manages to get her Galadriel to stubbornly drive without losing her magical elf breath. Even as she twitches in anger, she appears to be hovering over the Earth. “
The first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Lord of the Rings premiered on Prime Video on September 2. New episodes will be broadcast every week.
