REVIEW: The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power is All Bark and No Bite
Amazon Studios is bringing fans back to Middle Earth in its new series, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. The prequel to J. R. R. Tolkien’s hit trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the series takes place thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings during the Second Age of Middle Earth and is based on Appendixes by Tolkien. The series will take fans through the beginning of the Second Age where peace and prosperity are being threatened by a mysterious evil set to overtake Middle Earth. It will begin to carve out the legacies that fans were introduced to in the LotR series while also introducing some of the characters that helped shape Tolkien’s lore.
With a $1 million budget, there is no doubt where most of the money spent on this show went to. The cinematography is massive yet absolutely gorgeous. From the majestic Misty Mountains, to the island kingdom of Númenor, to the elf-capital of Lindon, Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have crafted every scene to be a delight to the human eye. Audience goers will have to rewind scenes over and over again to ensure they did not miss something the first time around. And the beauty doesn’t stop there. Costume Designer Kate Hawley pulls out all the stops when it comes to the designs. Each’s character costume, no matter how big their role is, is extremely intricate and delicately crafted. When you aren’t rewinding the episode, you will be pausing it to investigate just how well crafted the costumes are. Except as Cher from Clueless would say, the show is “…a full-on Monet. […] It’s like a painting, see. From far away it’s okay, but up close it’s a big ol’ mess.”
The show contains over 22 main characters, yes, I said 22, and cannot handle the weight. The show spends too much of the first episode jumping from character to character that you will have a hard time keeping up. Because of the jumping, the writers are never fully able to develop the actual story and the audience has no reason to become invested. Also, because of the slew of characters, it was hard to judge an actor or actresses’ performance. There were no real standouts in the premiere because too much time was spent trying to figure out what was going on.
Fans of Tolkien’s work may have a better idea of what is going on in the series, but if you have never read a Lord of the Rings book or seen a Lord of the Rings movie you will have no idea what’s going on. I suggest for all those watching the first episode who have never done either of these things to watch it with someone who has. This way you can ask all the questions to see if maybe they have a better idea of what is unfolding. However, besides the beauty that went into making this series, I think it will even be hard for Tolkien fans to want to come back for more.