Rings of Power

[Halfmiler2]

I have watched the first three episodes of this prequel to LOTR and it is better than I expected. Breathtaking scenery from New Zealand like the films.

LOTR is in the Third Age of Middle Earth. The Simarillion is about the First Age. But the series is about the Second Age about which Tolkien left only fragments so the producers get to fill in many blanks. There are familiar characters and some made-up ones that seem plausible. There are ancestors of the Hobbits called Harfoots who are nomads in the pre- Shire days.

I am particularly curious what Garry thinks since he is our resident LOTR expert.

[Steele]

I have also watched the three episodes. I have read the LOTR and the Hobbit around seven times over the past 50 years.

My current take, which I know matters not a whit to anyone:

Cinematography/CGI: Absolutely gorgeous as Halfmiler noted above. 10/10.
Story: It's unfolding, so remains to be seen.
Characters: My favorite so far is Elendil, who seems to fit most in the mold of the previous movies. Galadriel is flat, de-feminized, angry all the time. It basically feels like the producers took Tolkien's elves, dwarves, trolls, etc., and plug-and-played them into a movie they wanted to make.
Script: There are a few good moments, but much of the writing is flat and uninspired.
Woke-factor: I couldn't care less about race, etc. in real life, but to go from the LOTR to "every scene is the United Nations" just hollows out the movie. Galadriel is basically chest-bound. And so forth.

[gh]

...

I am particularly curious what Garry thinks since he is our resident LOTR expert.

i make no claim in the "expert" department; my "claim to fame" is having read the whole trilogy somewhere north of 50 times (plus multiple readings of The Hobbit, Silmarillion, etc.,multiple times.

Have not watched the new show yet; will wait until it's all in the bag (not to be confused with Bag End) and binge it.

[scottmitchell74]

i make no claim in the "expert" department; my "claim to fame" is having read the whole trilogy somewhere north of 50 times (plus multiple readings of The Hobbit, Silmarillion, etc.,multiple times.

Have not watched the new show yet; will wait until it's all in the bag (not to be confused with Bag End) and binge it.

Wow! Thought my 13, 5 and 3 was a lot. So, once a year basically?

[gh]

Wow! Thought my 13, 5 and 3 was a lot. So, once a year basically?

from my first reading in the winter of '67-'68 through about '86 I read the trilogy every 6 months or so.

[scottmitchell74]

from my first reading in the winter of '67-'68 through about '86 I read the trilogy every 6 months or so.

Okay...gotcha

I was about once-a-year 17-26 and then kids: about once-a-decade since then.

The movies coming out haven't helped.

[Steele]

Have not watched the new show yet; will wait until it's all in the bag (not to be confused with Bag End) and binge it.

You might be tempted to do some fast-forwarding during your binge. It slows down and/or gets a little predictable in spots.

I guess we shouldn't talk in too much detail at this point either.

[Atticus]

Galadriel is flat, de-feminized, angry all the time.
It basically feels like the producers took Tolkien's elves, dwarves, trolls, etc., and plug-and-played them into a movie they wanted to make.
much of the writing is flat and uninspired.
to go from the LOTR to "every scene is the United Nations" just hollows out the movie.
Galadriel is basically chest-bound. And so forth.

Not to dwell on the negative, but I agree with all that. Galadriel is unlikeable.
But . . . this is still JRRT and I will bide my time in any rush to judgment.

[Halfmiler2]

I do not think it is giving much away to say a stranger has a key role. I have a pretty good guess that it is a real Tolkien character but will say no more.

One thing I think is a little weird is that Elrond and Galadriel are shown as good friends (albeit not romantic ones) but later in the Third Age, she will be his mother-in-law. That means eventually he knows his future life as a baby and toddler. Of course, elves live for thousands of years, so maybe it is a normal situation for them.

[Steele]

"Galadriel is flat..."

This, btw, was not directed toward her physique, but her character as written and the lack of emotion she exhibits.

[Halfmiler2]

Episode 6 of 8 will be available on Friday. I do not think it is giving much away by saying Sauron has made an appearance.

[Steele]

Episode 6 of 8 will be available on Friday. I do not think it is giving much away by saying Sauron has made an appearance.

Really? Where?

Tonight was gratuitous gore and violence, although I didn't expect that ending. The in-your-face carnage is not in the spirit of the books or the films.

[Halfmiler2]

Now they are hedging on whether Adar is Sauron. I think he is.

I agree that the 6th episode had too much gore. There were no appearances of the hobbits and dwarves, so I bet they will be back in Episode 7 and the gore will be reduced.

Episode 6 did show the apparent creation of one geographic feature of middle earth that figures prominently in the LOTR.

[Steele]

I don't think he is.

I watched the little preview blurb at the end (for the first time) and you are correct about the direction. Also, the person shown in the last moments of Episode 6 looks quite "affected" in the preview.

[Halfmiler2]

The Season One finale (Episode 8) is available on Friday.

It is pretty obvious now who the tall stranger is.

There will clearly now be some cliffhangers for Season Two. They have not even started making the rings.

It certainly ain’t perfect but it is worth watching.