The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the latest addition to the fantasy franchise, as well as the first television series. The Lord of the Rings is arguably one of the most acclaimed film trilogies of all time. The final film of the trilogy, The Return of the King, practically swept the Oscars with 11 wins, tying the record with Ben-Hur and Titanic. Peter Jackson followed up this trilogy with The Hobbit trilogy, which was well cast but unfortunately not as acclaimed as his previous trilogy. Since then, we’ve had a lull in Middle Earth; that is, until Amazon Studios came along.
Amazon Studios made a massive gamble by making The Rings of Power a flagship show for Prime Video. They made a five season commitment to the series with a production value of $1 billion dollars; you read that right, billion. I truly hope this series becomes successful, because it’s off to a shaky start in the first two episodes.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Review
The first thing I have to say is that the scale of this series is MASSIVE! I truly cannot wait to be able to watch the show on a bigger screen because it is beautiful visually. Amazon Studios truly put the money into the show it deserves and it pays off big time. Middle Earth looks wonderful all around, from Lindon (home of the Elves) to the home of the Harfoots. I’m very excited to continue exploring more of this world; I’m glad they filmed the series in New Zealand as well, much like the original films.
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Unfortunately, while the cast of characters is wonderful and diverse throughout, it makes the story incredibly difficult to follow, even more so than Game of Thrones. Morfydd Clark is an absolute star in this show; taking on a role originally played by Cate Blanchett is no easy task. She is more than up to the challenge, both dramatically and physically in terms of action. Robert Aramayo also has a big task as Elrond (originally played by Hugo Weaving) and he is fantastic as well. They have a nice friendship and history, which I feel would have been better as the main focus of the show.
I’m certainly not trying to discourage anyone from watching The Rings of Power at all. I will absolutely be committed to seeing the series through and I hope it comes more into focus and the multiple storylines merge (hopefully). I would recommend watching it on the biggest screen you have available because the visuals deserve it! I believe Amazon Studios and Prime Video will have a hit on their hands, but it might not be as quick as they think.
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