Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
3.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2938 Ratings

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User Reviews

  1. Sep 5, 2022
    2
    Some of the effects and cgi looks nice and all but , plot characters really lacking, plots that don't exist, lines that try to sound wise and profound but are totally nonsense, some visuals/costumes don't fit the universe.
    How i wish it was good, sadly it isn't
  2. Sep 5, 2022
    2
    Why did you ruin my favorite movie? Some elves are not beautiful, it was boring to watch, I put 2 only because of the good graphics.
  3. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Besides extremely high production value, there is almost nothing positive to say about this series. Tolkien fans will feel lost. The average fantasy fan will find nothing new or original. The cast seems misplaced. What a disaster.
  4. Sep 4, 2022
    2
    Be woke - get broke.
    well, that's one factor lol but to be more serious... much CGI, boring story and has nothing to do with Tolkien. Another franchise which got destroyed by AMAZON like they did with Star Trek and other things.
  5. Sep 4, 2022
    1
    Galadriel’s amazing and all the men are stupid. But atleast it looks good.
  6. Sep 4, 2022
    3
    Seelenlos. Ich werde nach den ersten beiden Folgen nicht weitergucken. Eine klare Handlung ist nicht erkennbar. Alles will groß und episch sein, aber man fragt sich, warum eigentlich?
  7. Sep 4, 2022
    1
    boring, it lasts a long time, almost every minute I see this thing I would rather play Human Fall Flat (one of the worst games I've ever played)
  8. Sep 4, 2022
    2
    When I watched the Rings of Power, I could not find the immersion I found in the literary works of Tolkien nor the Jackson movie adaptations of the property.

    I understand there's a lot of review bombing going on but really, this does not evoke the feelings of Tolkien level of storytelling and work but more or less, it feels like a Netflix treatment of a property. Think of the Netflix
    When I watched the Rings of Power, I could not find the immersion I found in the literary works of Tolkien nor the Jackson movie adaptations of the property.

    I understand there's a lot of review bombing going on but really, this does not evoke the feelings of Tolkien level of storytelling and work but more or less, it feels like a Netflix treatment of a property. Think of the Netflix adaptation of Resident Evil and you have a better idea of how Amazon treated Rings of Power in terms of handling the property.

    I encourage you to watch at least the first few episodes to form your own opinion, perhaps your experience will be different and more positive but for me, it was just not very good even with creative license for the age in which the Rings of Power is set. I'd gone into it with higher hopes than most I believe for the series but as time has progressed during production and more information was released through trailers and interviews, I felt the focus was less on the work itself and more on pushing a social message through the production.

    Nonetheless I did give it a fair shot but found it sorely lacking in canonical detail and with droll and contrived writing, even for major moments in the series. Again however, you may see it differently and that is okay but the purpose of this review is to simply share my experience with Rings of Power so, do not hold my opinion as end-all-be-all and watch it yourself.

    What bothers me is that given the reception of this series by the large existing fanbase, whether they've actually watched or not, it will likely result in future adaptations of Lord of the Rings being far more harder to greenlight for production regardless of their quality. I was hoping that it would bring the world and works of Tolkien to new generations but, it is what it is and I really can't say more than my personal thoughts and experience.
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  9. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Guys I just went in blind because Tolkien is a bad writer so who cares if this is all made up. Going in blind though, this made no sense and was really boring. Its just some nasty frigid tomboy lady with pointy ears swimming around for an hour. Why did she get on that ship if she was just going to swim around for an hour? What's a morgoth? Why are the pointy eared effeminate teenager and dwarf teenager dudes fighting like schoolkids until that big elderly dwarf lady puts them in their place? They should grow up, they don't look like teenagers, they must be at least 30 years old. Visually it looks like a cheap version of the phantom menace, but at least things happened in the phantom menace and they had laser swords. Here its just people standing around looking at a homeless man fall out of the sky for two hours. WTH none of this makes sense to me. Is there a novelization of this story somewhere to make it make sense, because I don't get any of this at all. What a waste of money, they could have helped so many people with that money, disgusting. They should have just saved that money and remastered Xena Warrior Princess in HD. That show was cheesy but at least a watchable fantasy with a much more likeable leading lady Expand
  10. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Gratest fantasy universe. Gratest budget. And gratest FAILURE. thats really sad.
  11. Sep 3, 2022
    1
    Sin duda alguna esta es una ofensa para los que vimos las pelis de la trilogía original y leímos los libros. Le doy un uno porque tiene excelente fotografía y música. Pero en cuanto historia, guión y ritmo es pésima.
  12. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Visually stunning but content is weak. The dialogue is embarrassing and the characters unlikeable. The portrayal of Galadriel as an unconvincing warrior elf is so far removed from the angelic, mysterious character in Tolkiens ream. Dreadful.
  13. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    "Do you Know why a ships floats and a stone cannot? Because a stone sees only downward"..!?

    Do you know why Tolkien could write dialogue but Amazon cannot? My rating sees only downward.
  14. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This show has an absolute plethora of problems, from small to very very large. The biggest is that it fails to create a fantasy world that feels like the world Tolkien created. Armor is clearly made of plastic, dialogue is either overly complicated in an attempt to sound high brow (it fails anyway) or ripped out of our current day English (no one ever said "OK" in medieval times). Personalities that we know from Tolkien's writings have been massively changed to the point they are those characters in name only. The Elves act just like humans, indeed with the exception of their Spock-like ears, look just like humans. The bullying scene at the beginning is ridiculous...behaving like human children is just one of many things that remove their other-wordly atmosphere from them. Characters make super illogical decisions (jumping our of a boat in the middle of nowhere with no way to get home wtf), or say super illogical things (when hunting Sauron yes you actually WOULD want to go where sunlight "fears to tread" (more shoddy dialogue there too)). The acting is forced or unconvincing in most characters...only a few actors seem to be comfortable with their role. The initial premise is flawed as well - all the Elves knew Sauron was a Maiar (basically a fallen angel)...so they should have known that he'd be able to come back....Galadriel being the only one to know makes no sense. And Galadriel is either always right, angry, or both, and can do anything, without flaw - not a believable character. Where are the Ripleys from Alien, the Sarah Connors from Terminator 1 and 2? There's a lot more I could say (the pacing.....or lack thereof!) but I think I've provided enough detail to back up this rating. There was zero respect shone to Tolkien's lore, so zero is what I'm giving to this show. Expand
  15. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    It is not even close to Tolkien. This abomination is just bad fan fiction poisoned with modern agenda and politic interests.
    Hopefully this garbage will get canceled after the first season.
  16. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    seriously insane how bad is this show in cinematic aspects, its all cgi also for panorama, all set in studio nothing of real. I write a review on imdb an they deleted because the show is going under 6 and they blocked all reviews becuase imdb is of amazon. Nice. In this age when something is trash you can say . Nice
  17. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    This show has nothing to do with Tolkien's work. Only some of the characters names are from Tolkien, and the name of geography where the events are happening are from Tolkien's work. Everything else is completely different. Dialogues are very bad, casting is very bad, storyline is very bad, acting is very bad. The only good thing about the show is the scenery. This is not middle earth.
  18. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    An abomination . A total direspect to the Tolkiens legacy. Seems the writters never cared reading the work they are suppposed to be based upon.
  19. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Literally the worst writing I've ever had to listen to in a show. Maybe it just feels worse because the characters are supposed to be intelligent and thoughtful and what they're given to say is so dumb and shallow. It starts stupid from the first 5 minutes, "why does a boat float?" Who wrote this nonsense metaphor?? Like something a 14 year old writes in their creative writing class thatLiterally the worst writing I've ever had to listen to in a show. Maybe it just feels worse because the characters are supposed to be intelligent and thoughtful and what they're given to say is so dumb and shallow. It starts stupid from the first 5 minutes, "why does a boat float?" Who wrote this nonsense metaphor?? Like something a 14 year old writes in their creative writing class that the teachers laugh about in the lounge. I feel bad for the actors who have to say these lines with a straight face... speaking of which straight faces is all you get from the actors. Maybe that's the inexperienced directors fault but I find myself questioning if all the characters are secretly dead since they can't emote. Remove all the social experiments that once side hates and one side loves and you're left with a bad fan fiction written on a YA forum by a middle school student. Expand
  20. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    It's horrible fan fiction at best. They've completely changed characters such as Galadriel, she doesn't have her husband or child, not a sorcerer but a warrior which she never was, left out several of her brothers to make her a strong independent woman on a revenge quest which never happened, have her leading an army which never happened, made the men around her ignorant to highlight howIt's horrible fan fiction at best. They've completely changed characters such as Galadriel, she doesn't have her husband or child, not a sorcerer but a warrior which she never was, left out several of her brothers to make her a strong independent woman on a revenge quest which never happened, have her leading an army which never happened, made the men around her ignorant to highlight how strong and independent this woman is compared to men. She's unlikable, the horrible writing doesn't help.

    There's more, such as harfoots not being in the second age, dwarven women missing their beards, casting to fit identity politics, Gandalf being in the show when he wasn't alive during this time, etc. They should have just made their own universe instead of tainting lotr.
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  21. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    This made me appreciate th PJ movies a lot more than I used to. I tried giving it a chance but couldn't even finish it. It's just Bolshevik trash. The woke casting was really jarring - like seeing White tribe members in Wakanda would be - and it felt like the non-Whites were cosplaying as fantasy Europeans and doing a poor job at it. Other than that, this show has a very flashy, overlyThis made me appreciate th PJ movies a lot more than I used to. I tried giving it a chance but couldn't even finish it. It's just Bolshevik trash. The woke casting was really jarring - like seeing White tribe members in Wakanda would be - and it felt like the non-Whites were cosplaying as fantasy Europeans and doing a poor job at it. Other than that, this show has a very flashy, overly clean presentation - nothing at all like the 'lived in' feel of the movies. Many of the performances were poor, especially from the sneering SJW activist who plays Galadriel. I don't recommend this. 0/10 Expand
  22. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    I was looking forward to this, despite the questionable acting, but it's just sooo bad. Thanks to Amazon Tolkien's works have been ruined for the sake of 'The Message'. Honestly, if you love Bezos or hate white people then this is likely going to be a 10/10 for you, but otherwise you're best steering clear.
  23. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    If you love Tolkien and LotR, you should stay away from Rings of Power. While the series clumsily cannibalizes elements from Tolkien's universe, it cannot hide the fact that large parts of the plot are fictitious and not only non-canon, but also have absolutely nothing to do with Tolkien's original intention. Die-hard fans know: Tolkien had built the universe of Middle-earth as aIf you love Tolkien and LotR, you should stay away from Rings of Power. While the series clumsily cannibalizes elements from Tolkien's universe, it cannot hide the fact that large parts of the plot are fictitious and not only non-canon, but also have absolutely nothing to do with Tolkien's original intention. Die-hard fans know: Tolkien had built the universe of Middle-earth as a consistent, purely Anglo-Saxon mythology (in contrast to the then established Greco-Roman mythology). Accordingly, one finds a large number of cross-references to Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Norse mythology in LotR. The cultures and people of Middle-earth also represent members of a fantasy culture, but they unmistakably originate from the continental European community of legends and culture. That was also the secret of the success of LotR, a community that, analogous to the Germanic-Anglo-Saxon heroic epic (Beowulf, Siegfried), fights a seemingly invincible threat with credible cultures, myths and people. So let's take a quick look at the most prominent characters that were invented in this series and aggressively placed in marketing: Arondir - black Legolas Disa - black dwarf princess (without beard) Elanor Brandyfoot - halfling woman Poppy Proudfellow - halfling woman Marigold Brandyfoot - black halfling woman and matriarch Bronwyn - Iranian woman Sadoc Burrows - black hobbit Theo - Asian man The canon characters continue this trend, which of course leads to even greater conflicts with Tolkien's lore: Míriel, who is the mother of Feanor, who is described in the book as "bright-eyed", is - surprise - black, as well as Tar-Miriel, who is even explicitly described in the book as "fairer than silver" and "with bright eyes". You CAN do something like this. I have absolutely nothing against fair representation of minorities in contemporary or historical films. But only if it can also be reconciled with the plot and the logic of the respective universe - in a Transformers film, Avengers or anywhere else. But if a film based on Anglo-Saxon-Germanic culture suddenly presents a population structure like that of a modern US college, that leads to a break in immersion, to put it mildly. But then please don't pretend that this cast came about by chance and not the product of conscious, ideological-political motivation. Expand
  24. Sep 6, 2022
    1
    Tolkien had bad days. Tom Bombadil could have been less ridiculous, Goldberry more meaningful. However he had an instinctive knowledge of what makes something epic and resonant.
    Rings of Power doesn’t seem to have a handle on what makes people emotionally engage and empathise with characters caught up in events beyond their control, forced to rise to a challenge.
    Instead we have the
    Tolkien had bad days. Tom Bombadil could have been less ridiculous, Goldberry more meaningful. However he had an instinctive knowledge of what makes something epic and resonant.
    Rings of Power doesn’t seem to have a handle on what makes people emotionally engage and empathise with characters caught up in events beyond their control, forced to rise to a challenge.
    Instead we have the usual roster of Mary-Sues contemptuously despatching monsters without effort while their adoring peons pick themselves up off the floor.

    If Frodo had Simply Walked Into Mordor after slaughtering everything that tried to stop him then tossed Gollum and the ring into Mount Doom while repeatedly kicking the Mouth of Sauron in the crotch for fun, Jackson’s trilogy would not have been as highly regarded. Rings of Power screenwriters take note. When you write characters that are unstoppable you run into the Superman Effect- there are no threats so there are no stakes. Learn to do better.
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  25. Sep 5, 2022
    3
    I liked the Dwarves, they were the most interesting characters in the show. Scenes are pretty, CGI is decent.

    Unfortunately, other than that, the show is boring, the acting is CW quality at best, and the characters are so often obnoxious that it's hard to watch. Morfydd Clark, who plays the main character, is the one ring to bore them all, despite apparently being stronger and more
    I liked the Dwarves, they were the most interesting characters in the show. Scenes are pretty, CGI is decent.

    Unfortunately, other than that, the show is boring, the acting is CW quality at best, and the characters are so often obnoxious that it's hard to watch. Morfydd Clark, who plays the main character, is the one ring to bore them all, despite apparently being stronger and more skilled than any other elf. She looks angry or annoyed the entire time, which ironically, is the same look on my face while I watch this. This is not Tolkien's Galadriel. Other characters are just as bad, some were not even supposed to be there. If they weren't going to portray the characters correctly, then why even use the LOTR name?

    It's truly heartbreaking that studios today are unable to respect our favorite stories, our fondest memories, our cherished nostalgia. Instead, they always believe they can do better, that they can improve what is already the best of the best.

    Now they are hiding their heads in the sand, manipulating, hiding, and deleting honest reviews, and outright assaulting fans with valid criticisms. This is a complete and total embarrassment, and someone needs to answer for it.
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  26. Sep 5, 2022
    0
    This show does not sound like, feel like or look like how you imagine Lord of the Rings. The 'elves' are old-faced and terrible. Why one of the characters has an 18th century style wig like this is some costume drama, I don't know.

    The dialogue is corny, not sounding Tolkien-esque at all, and the acting is wooden for the most part. Characters have such a range of different accents, even
    This show does not sound like, feel like or look like how you imagine Lord of the Rings. The 'elves' are old-faced and terrible. Why one of the characters has an 18th century style wig like this is some costume drama, I don't know.

    The dialogue is corny, not sounding Tolkien-esque at all, and the acting is wooden for the most part. Characters have such a range of different accents, even those from the same community, that it really breaks the immersion.

    The show has no respect for Tolkien or his vision, messing up his timeline, cutting out plot points in a way that makes the whole thing make no sense and the people involved look stupid, focusing on characters that aren't in the lore or changing the character of existing ones entirely.

    The musical score is overused, filling every second of silence and trying to make it more epic than it is, not letting people take it in.

    The main character, Galadriel, is nothing like Cate Blanchett's perfect rendition of her, instead she is insufferable and even unlikeable. Her action scenes look like something out of a Marvel movie, which is out of place here (and yes, those Legolas superhero scenes were out of place as well, but not as offensive as he wasn't the main character by a long shot).

    Amazon pays no homage to Tolkien or even Peter Jackson's superb example of how to bring LOTR to the screen, instead says 'we can do it better', forcibly changes things like the aesthetic of the elves, relies far too heavily on CGI, and falls flat on its face.

    There is nothing redeeming here. Cast it into the fire.
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  27. Sep 5, 2022
    0
    “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made"
    J. R. R. Tolkien
  28. Sep 5, 2022
    2
    Отвратительная поделка, нагло паразитирующая на имени Профессора. Ставлю 2, только за более-менее хорошую графику
  29. Sep 5, 2022
    1
    Truly a waste of time. You'll be more entertained listening to unhinged rants on TikTok for 2 hours
  30. Sep 4, 2022
    1
    Very disappointing.

    Visually some moments are pretty stunning with beautiful scenery aand that's pretty much the only good thing I can say about this show The writing is simply atrocious: the dialog are very poor, un-engaging and unnatural, the characters are extremely bland and hard to attach to, there are many convoluted expositions scenes that just made me sigh. Overall it's slow,
    Very disappointing.

    Visually some moments are pretty stunning with beautiful scenery aand that's pretty much the only good thing I can say about this show The writing is simply atrocious: the dialog are very poor, un-engaging and unnatural, the characters are extremely bland and hard to attach to, there are many convoluted expositions scenes that just made me sigh. Overall it's slow, generic and just not very engaging, on top of giving little regards to the source material. I hope it gets better but I'm not holding my breath.
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  31. Sep 4, 2022
    1
    First, I couldn't stand the scenes with Galadriel. Everyone else must be dumb and weak so she can appear smart and strong, to me this is lazy writing. Also, she has absolutely the same expression on her face the entire time, and the action scenes are the worst I have ever seen.
    Second, why are all the main elves (except Galadriel) so ugly? I'm not interested in any of them because they
    First, I couldn't stand the scenes with Galadriel. Everyone else must be dumb and weak so she can appear smart and strong, to me this is lazy writing. Also, she has absolutely the same expression on her face the entire time, and the action scenes are the worst I have ever seen.
    Second, why are all the main elves (except Galadriel) so ugly? I'm not interested in any of them because they all look weak or old or dumb. Celebrimbor is supposed to be a smith, yet in this series he looks like a 60 year old man.
    But, I did like the scenery and costumes. Everything looks very beautiful. The soundtrack, however, was very generic, not even close to the soundtrack in PJ's trilogy, but comparing this with the trilogy is probably too much to ask.
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  32. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    I didn't like the Caribbean hobbit or the elf 'from da hood'. I tried to give it a fair chance but I won't be watching further.
  33. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Muito desinteressante, falhas de roteiro, interpretações fracas, ritmo muito lento, erros de continuidade. Todos esses fatores são nitidamente notados e nos tira de toda fraca tentativa de imersão que o show tenta criar. Não assistirei mais, esses dois episódios é o suficiente para ditar todo resto da série.
  34. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    I didn't like this at all. It was obviously made by people with political agendas who don't much care for Tolkien. The acting was very bad. Lenny Henry stank in every scene he was in. Woeful.
  35. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    It's a shame to make a movie with so disrespect to original story. I don't understand, for whom this show make for.
  36. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Sad to say the rings of power has moved so far away from Tolkien's work and doesn't feel like the books or the movies. Plus the woke political nonsense shouldn't be rammed into tv shows. If they wanted to put diverse characters maybe stop being lazy and look at the world and lore like the easterlings or the southerners and bring well made characters into the lore of middle earth. A massiveSad to say the rings of power has moved so far away from Tolkien's work and doesn't feel like the books or the movies. Plus the woke political nonsense shouldn't be rammed into tv shows. If they wanted to put diverse characters maybe stop being lazy and look at the world and lore like the easterlings or the southerners and bring well made characters into the lore of middle earth. A massive opportunity for new interesting characters but instead decided to race swap and make characters like Galadriel and elrond completely out of character. Because a woman cannot be storing without a sword... Expand
  37. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    5.5/10 as a fantasy series, 0/10 as a LotR series. Since they decided to use the LotR name but betray that name, it gets a big fat 0.

    Also, Galadriel deserves a better actor. She shouldn't be killing trolls in one hit. And the Harfoot are ridiculous and boring.
  38. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Incredibly slow pacing. Plain and bad writing and dialogue. Even worse characters that you don't even care about.
  39. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    I would like to ask the creators a question. Who did you shoot THIS for? Definitely not for Tolkin fans...or just fans of good movies....
  40. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This is infuriatingly bad. It is an utter insult to Tolkien, his works, his beliefs, morals and his fans! Political virtue signalling creating this disgrace! This treats Tolkiens works especially the Silmarillion with utter contempt as these hacks try to 'improve' one of if not the greatest linguist and fantasy writer in history! It's outrageous!
  41. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Stupid and empty dialogues, ridiculous costumes (artificial wear, raggedness) as well as hairstyles, all this looks like in the Witcher from Netflix, unnatural. The casting is just awful, just the freak show. Well, as always in our time, an obvious agenda, a strong and intelligent woman GG, stupid and cowardly men.
  42. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This serie will be remembered as one of the greatest scam of all time. The only consolation we can find in the contemplation of this disaster is the certitude that not everything can be bought (for now).
  43. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This is NOT a Lord of the Rings, this is NOT a Tolkien - this is NOT of anything good at all.
  44. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    The episodes are so lame. So not tolkiens work. Amazon did a bad job. No season 2.
  45. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Waste of my time il re-read the books instead All they wanted to do was virtue signals and destroy the storie to fit they're agenda
  46. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Galadriel as an action hero with no powers.....earendils son as yes prime minister clerk....elves with wrinkles....finrod with gijoe haircut....total disgrace of tolkiens work.... Expand
  47. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    The simple fact that bezos is trying to censor the reviews prove that this series is real bad.
  48. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Es mi primer review, nunca he sentido necesidad de hacer uno, pero esto es demasiado, han llevado las cosas demasiado lejos, no solo el lore es malo, la ambientación es mala, los actores son malos, average como mucho, lo peor de todo el guión no es que sea malo, es que deliberadamente pretende destruir el legado de Tolkien.
  49. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    A Série distorce a obra de tolkien. Muitos erros crassos, como a galadriel pulando ao mar ao chegar em Aman para voltar nadando para a terra média. Se fosse simples, Fëanor não teria cometido o fatricidio de aqualondë e teria ocorrido a maldição de Mandos. Além disso, onde está celeborn? Elrond ficará solteiro pelo jeito. A heráldica na armadura da Galadriel também está errada, e diversosA Série distorce a obra de tolkien. Muitos erros crassos, como a galadriel pulando ao mar ao chegar em Aman para voltar nadando para a terra média. Se fosse simples, Fëanor não teria cometido o fatricidio de aqualondë e teria ocorrido a maldição de Mandos. Além disso, onde está celeborn? Elrond ficará solteiro pelo jeito. A heráldica na armadura da Galadriel também está errada, e diversos outros problemas que fariam uma longa lista aqui se fossem citados. Expand
  50. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is just a very poor fanfic. Poor casting, poor script, poor cgi, poor dialogues and very poor knowing of lore. Expand
  51. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    The biggest problem with this show by far is the horrendous dialogue and writing. The constant wannabe-poetic, deep and ponderous exchanges are so damn exhausting. You can't put that kind of stuff everywhere at the beginning of the show, you actually need to earn it. And you'd of course need competent actors if you want the lines to be delivered well. Now, It gets old really quick. It'sThe biggest problem with this show by far is the horrendous dialogue and writing. The constant wannabe-poetic, deep and ponderous exchanges are so damn exhausting. You can't put that kind of stuff everywhere at the beginning of the show, you actually need to earn it. And you'd of course need competent actors if you want the lines to be delivered well. Now, It gets old really quick. It's impossible to get immersed into this when every utterance is expressed in an "epic" and "dreamy" fashion. You can't throw this kind of floaty stuff at us at every turn and expect us to buy in. We need to actually get to know the characters before you start with the serious and epic stuff.

    Then there's of course the obvious problems with the forced diversity. It makes the whole world seem incongruous and incoherent. Tolkien's Middle-Earth is not 2022 LA or NYC. Peter Jackson's LotR felt organic and historical. RoP feels modern and fake.

    And the music, it's so lackluster. I can't remember a single tune or theme. The costuming is also really bad, especially the hairstyles. What's going on with these modern haircuts and fades? Are they just incompetent or where did the money go?

    The acting isn't great either. Especially Galadriel, it's like she's about to break down crying after every faux-epic line she's forced to deliver. And all of the other characters are put down to make her seem more grand and wiser. It just makes her seem insufferable.

    The fight scenes also do not work. If the troll can grab an elf and crush him against a wall with no damage, where are the stakes? The goofy "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" tier moves don't help one bit either.

    And these are the first two episodes. You really need to hook the viewer in some way at this point, whether it's with the writing, characters, music or world building. This series fail in every single regard.
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  52. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This series is an insult to Tolkien's work, and for all lore fans. I'm very disappointed.
  53. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This has nothing to do with The Lord of the Rings. It's a fanfiction with some Tolkien characters. It would be good for younger people and teenagers most likely, surely not for older people who grew up reading Tolkien books.

    Remember Peter Jackson's movies? They were criticised in the past because of some differences from the books, but they were acceptable since making a movie from
    This has nothing to do with The Lord of the Rings. It's a fanfiction with some Tolkien characters. It would be good for younger people and teenagers most likely, surely not for older people who grew up reading Tolkien books.

    Remember Peter Jackson's movies? They were criticised in the past because of some differences from the books, but they were acceptable since making a movie from such a book, for the sake of cinematography and screenplay, required some changes. Not like the horrible elf/dwarf love story of the hobbit, that was really ridiculous.

    But compared to this, those were golden, epic movies.

    This is something else. I literally started cringing after 15 minutes of watching.

    This Galadriel is not Galadriel, her behaviour is totally out of character.

    And Celeborn is an old man. Unfortunately, there is no such thing like elderly looking elves since they don't physically age. This is basic knowledge. But since this is just a fanfiction, that's alright, I guess.

    Let's spread a pitiful veil on the casting, and the omnipresent one-way ethnic change on shows nowadays... but, again, it's just a fanfiction.

    But the main question is : Why don't you create your own universe and stop ruining the epic stories we grew up with just to put up a messed up show with the sole purpose of creating yet another useless politically correct product? This is ridiculous.
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  54. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    No importa que tanto dinero le gastes para crear una mega producción, si no tienes amor por la obra original y respeto por el hombre creador del mayor mundo fantástico (la tierra media) se nota.
    Está es una serie genérica de fantasía inventada al rededor del nombre de Tolkien, me recordó a series fantásticas genéricas de los 90's cómo "Sena" en cuestión de historia y una pésima narrativa
    No importa que tanto dinero le gastes para crear una mega producción, si no tienes amor por la obra original y respeto por el hombre creador del mayor mundo fantástico (la tierra media) se nota.
    Está es una serie genérica de fantasía inventada al rededor del nombre de Tolkien, me recordó a series fantásticas genéricas de los 90's cómo "Sena" en cuestión de historia y una pésima narrativa ya que ninguna de estas historias que nos quieren contar fueron escritas por Tolkien todas son inventadas y se siente su ausencia.
    El casting pésimo, los personajes no transmiten la sensación que transmiten sus homólogos en los libros.
    Esto no es The Lord of the Rings, esto es una serie genérica y se debe tratar como tal.
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  55. Sep 3, 2022
    2
    Poor, very poor, to the point of being unwatchable. Graphics good in places - not unexpected given the money thrown at it but the wooden script, terrible acting (especially some of those corny accents), insipid pacing and deviation from original Works makes this a howler.
  56. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    It seems that Californian woke capitalism is out to ruin everything in our culture that is beautiful and worthy. Everything that doesn't fit into their left liberal politics must either be homogenised or destroyed. The sad thing is that it'll likely be wildly successful because everyone bends the knee to Bezos. This is pure trash though. the diversity casting alone is an insult toIt seems that Californian woke capitalism is out to ruin everything in our culture that is beautiful and worthy. Everything that doesn't fit into their left liberal politics must either be homogenised or destroyed. The sad thing is that it'll likely be wildly successful because everyone bends the knee to Bezos. This is pure trash though. the diversity casting alone is an insult to Tolkien's memory. Expand
  57. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Not commenting on whether it's woke or why they used black actors in a European fantasy counterpart, but I just foubnd this show to be shallow and boring. I've read the appendix and imo Amazon are doing a poor job adapting it. It's a shame.
  58. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This was a disappointment. You'd think with all the money they spent they'd have better performances to go with the cgi? And the writing is awful. Thery did Tolkien a disservice making this. That is all.
  59. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    A plodding, listless affair that tries to woo with visual spectacle but with nothing else to recommend it. Terribly miscast actors (Celebrimbor looks like one of the Golden Girls instead of a mighty Elven smith), complete mischaracterization of Galadriel, who despite being over 3 millennia old acts and is subsequently treated like a teenager when she isn't easily slaying giant trolls likeA plodding, listless affair that tries to woo with visual spectacle but with nothing else to recommend it. Terribly miscast actors (Celebrimbor looks like one of the Golden Girls instead of a mighty Elven smith), complete mischaracterization of Galadriel, who despite being over 3 millennia old acts and is subsequently treated like a teenager when she isn't easily slaying giant trolls like Xena in in battle scenes so weightless they'd might as well be cartoons. Despite the alleged 1 BILLION dollar budget the props and costumes are barely above community theatre fair. There is no real abiding love for Tolkien or the world he breathed life into, as the showrunners have twisted and bent the lore and history to fir their own ends, and one can only assume this entire affair is nothing more than a monumental vanity project for Bezos. Expand
  60. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This is a total disrespect for the beautiful universe that has been created for many years. A spit in the face to the fans. A classic attempt to make money from the studio that filmed this.
  61. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Simply atrocious. The first five minutes were the hardest thing I’ve ever had to watch. No mention of Fëanor or Fingolfin. No mention of Ungoliant. No mention of the Oath of Fëanor or the kinslaying. No mention of the burning of the ships. I watched the whole episode and it was awful. Galadriel’s quest is not her brothers. Finrod died happy as he had fulfilled a debt to Beren. But we don’tSimply atrocious. The first five minutes were the hardest thing I’ve ever had to watch. No mention of Fëanor or Fingolfin. No mention of Ungoliant. No mention of the Oath of Fëanor or the kinslaying. No mention of the burning of the ships. I watched the whole episode and it was awful. Galadriel’s quest is not her brothers. Finrod died happy as he had fulfilled a debt to Beren. But we don’t see that because they don’t mention Beren and Luthien. No Mention of Celeborn, Galadriel’s husband and confidant either.

    Galadriel is rewarded by Gilgalad with the gift of returning home to Valinor. The gift is not his to give her as only the Valar can give her that and, in fact, they already did. After the War of the Wrath the Noldor were pardoned by the Valar, this included Galadriel, Elrond, and Gilgalad but they all chose to stay in Middle-Earth anyway. I could go on endlessly about all of the facts they got wrong and the ones they made up but it all boils down to this: this is not Tolkien
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  62. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    On this series just names are related with Profesor Tolkien nothing else. This is so bad
  63. Oct 25, 2022
    2
    More liberal garbage ruining beloved series
    Same liberal nonsense that is present in every single piece of media produced in the last few years. Black characters that make no sense. Men bad, women good. Teenage girls that are stronger and smarter than men. Just one episode in, and I already know what the main focus and theme is.
  64. Sep 6, 2022
    1
    Tolkien must be very upset about this … This show makes no sense at all ! This is just a stupid showcase of wokism. No need to keep watching this, two episodes is enough for me.
    Those big corporations really need to invest on original stories and stop destroying classics.
    Glory to Power Ranger Galadriel !
  65. Sep 6, 2022
    2
    Bad pacing, juvenile writing, lore destroying, sub par repetitive music, and good visuals. It’s a polished turd
  66. Sep 4, 2022
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I couldn't watch more than 20 minutes of the first episode so I fell asleep. I don't even dare to finish. The second forgets. The series is bland, boring and boring and with very poor characterization, plot and interpretations. Characters without charisma, shallow dialogue, confusing context and chronology. Abominable how far these people involved in this production have reached in an attempt to destroy one of the greatest cultural legacies of humanity left by a genius of world literature with absurd questions. And these expert analyzes do not match reality. Expand
  67. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Vfx and set dress is fine 6 out of 10 . Everything else is terrible.
    Among other things show clams to be progressive and push strong Female characters but portaging Galadriel extremely unlikable ( She is neglecting to her own ppl mean with the friends and obsessed over revenge idea (
    is it the role model that supposed to be promoted? Odd scene with Elven maidens on the ship that's
    Vfx and set dress is fine 6 out of 10 . Everything else is terrible.
    Among other things show clams to be progressive and push strong Female characters but portaging Galadriel extremely unlikable ( She is neglecting to her own ppl mean with the friends and obsessed over revenge idea (
    is it the role model that supposed to be promoted?
    Odd scene with Elven maidens on the ship that's are kind of speechless veiled servants for warriors? How progressive is that?!
    Overall just cringe 1 out of 10 (
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  68. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    There is so much wrong here and so little right, it shows that all the money in the world cant make up for absolut horrific script and amateur actors. When you give the lead role (Galadriel) to someone who knows nothing about the Character she is portraying, the result is annoying and unlikeable...
    I believe most of the cast and the showrunners for sure never read a book written by
    There is so much wrong here and so little right, it shows that all the money in the world cant make up for absolut horrific script and amateur actors. When you give the lead role (Galadriel) to someone who knows nothing about the Character she is portraying, the result is annoying and unlikeable...
    I believe most of the cast and the showrunners for sure never read a book written by Tolkien, they only watched the Peter Jackson Films (which i like) and its shows in the series as they copied much of the Locations and the settings.
    All in all a Disaster, the only believeable actor who portrays his role very good is Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir, the rest is mostly miscast.
    Just my two cents and i will not watch the rest of the first season as it annoys me to much.
    Thank you Metacritic for not censure critics as the rest like Imdb, Amazon and to a certain extend Rotten Tomatoes did...
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  69. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    I advise that you stay away. Writing is very poor for the caliber of budget. Its actually that bad. CGI and scenery were good at points but the way the lore is twisted and disrespected is abhorrent. They managed to take a powerful and complex character in Galadriel and turn her into a shallow, angry Mary Sue with a warrior princess complex. She has a default setting of being pissed off andI advise that you stay away. Writing is very poor for the caliber of budget. Its actually that bad. CGI and scenery were good at points but the way the lore is twisted and disrespected is abhorrent. They managed to take a powerful and complex character in Galadriel and turn her into a shallow, angry Mary Sue with a warrior princess complex. She has a default setting of being pissed off and it was annoying to the point that I was rooting against her character. That is NOT Galadriel. This show is an expensive fan fiction that is LoTR in name only. To say this is an epic failure and disappointment is an understatement. Don’t even get me started with Elrond’s character, what they did to him is laughable. Barely made it through the first two episodes and I will not be watching further, instead I will be reading the books and doing an extended edition Lord of The Rings marathon where they actually attempted to honor the spirit of the source material. Just yikes. Expand
  70. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    I would give it around 5 stars if it wasnt advertised with Tolkien name.This isnt anywhere near Tolkien.Its utter stinking t u r d
  71. Sep 3, 2022
    2
    The casting was weird (high king looks like the high accountant), the story was all over the place, I still don't know what's going on, etc etc. looks fine but doesn't have any substance, and visuals can only carry so much. maybe it'll get better for now it's bad and stop changing the stories and pushing agendas on people this is a fantasy world.
  72. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    If my eyes could puke they would, I couldn't even get through the first episode it was so bad. I feel like my childhood has been attacked and brutally murdered by this SJW crap.
  73. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Редкостное гавно
    this is not Tolkien material, this is a fake story that Amazon completely made up based on like 2 offhand sentences in LotR. So it is not a true reflection of real LotR, it's just silly modernist deconstruction by people who would hate Tolkien if they met him in real life. - They initially planned to release the show on the anniversary of Tolkien's death. No way was this an accident - This show only got made because Tolkien's son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien died in 2020 and was no longer around to protect the books from predatory corporations looking to subvert them (he was disgusted with the results of the Hobbit movies and didn't want to let any more of that crap get made) It's not just bad on the merits of acting, scripting, and plot, it's actively an insult to Tolkien's memory. Amazon should be ashamed of what they've done
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  74. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    My enthusiasm for this show began to die when they cast Lenny Henry, but I went into this with an open mind regardless and boy was I disappointed. I didn't even bother finish watching. How can a show that has had so much money spent on it have such poor performances, poor writing and bizarre casting decisions? This is woke, bend the knee trash.
  75. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    I didn't like it. The acting and writing were sub standard. Several characters were unlikeable.
  76. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Simply stated in the title of this review it’s not compelling whether the stories or characters - Best read the books or for a great adaption watch the Oscar winning LOTR trilogy esp the extended versions and enjoy the extras the care taken by PJ writing team crew and actors who honored Tolkien and kept their politics out of it. Bezos GOT attempt is expensive but not well written or executed ROP looks expensive in some shots but falls way short on plot characterization and dialogue, coming across as boring, cringe, and unintentionally funny at times - this is not even good fan fiction coming across as CW’ish like generic identity politics modern fantasy with all the tropes associated with post-modern ideology. And the SJW activist actors have not helped sell the show by their obsession with identity politics and obsessively discussing it in every interview. Thus revealing the message and corporate agenda Prime and the not-book showrunners and producers have made. Guyladriel is no book Galadriel or powerful ethereal movie Cate Blanchet but an angry elf vengeful and obsessed with finding Sauron Elf’s of Shanara others with short hair coming across as human Elrond is a book nerd and Politician - two travelers moving across the mountains are straight out of Monty Python, and the Holy Grail leading to the intro of the Willow Hobo Hobbits straight out of Cosplay looking disheshembled and dirt accept for perfect orthodontic & white teeth Galadriel is 6’ 4” Ethereal, commanding, powerful elegant but not in this show; she is out of the Matrix or Xena for single handily destroying a cave troll after it kills some of her men, who then subsequently quit their D&D quest to find Sauron because it’s getting too dark / and get rewarded for their mutiny by Gil-Gilad by getting to cross over “I should resent perversion of the characters (and do resent it, so far as it appears in this sketch) even more than the spoiling of the plot and scenery” Tolkien Letters 210 Expand
  77. Sep 5, 2022
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The writing is bland at best, nothing like what you get from Tolkiens work. The characters are all quite bland and Galadriel is a farcry from the Galadriel Tolkien created. Many characters are far away from the source material. It is an aesthetically beautiful series with no intrigue to draw you in.

    It is also VERY slow. Not a slow burn mind you but just SLOW.

    The fact that the whole fellowship almost died taking out a troll and in the 1st 10minutes Galadriel slays a Troll with barely cutting a sweat or even looking at it, totally stops you from really caring about this character. The whole 2 episodes are more about trying to make you go "WOOOOOW, slaaaay girl" and yet failing at that too, its just too easy and the characters are very one dimensional.

    Also, its not about being a racist, at all, but if you are using Tolkiens work and he never describes elves as being black or Harfoots being black, why create black characters of such race? For me, it took me out of the world i know. Its not like there weren't black fans of tolkiens work before this series, so why do this?

    Also, Harfoots didn't exist yet!

    Also, if you remove "LoTR" from the name, it's just another 2nd rate CW fantasy series, that got a huge budget to make it aesthetically beautiful yet with bland writing and boring 1 dimensional characters.Summary: Boring, slow & not Tolkien characters
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  78. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    This series is an absolute insult to the late J. R. R. Tolkien. He would be rolling in his grave if he saw this travesty himself. Any TRUE fan of his work knows this to be a fact. 100% cash grab, nothing more.
  79. Sep 4, 2022
    2
    I've watched LOTR and the Hobbit series, read the books multiple times. I just cannot get into watching these episodes. There is just no continuity, it jumps all over the place and you lose interest fast and literally do something else. I think it would have been better for Amazon to take that Billion and buy homes outright for needy families. I really wanted this series to work, but it isI've watched LOTR and the Hobbit series, read the books multiple times. I just cannot get into watching these episodes. There is just no continuity, it jumps all over the place and you lose interest fast and literally do something else. I think it would have been better for Amazon to take that Billion and buy homes outright for needy families. I really wanted this series to work, but it is like most woke productions. Has the veneer of quality, is only skin deep, hollow inside and isn't worth what you paid for. Expand
  80. Sep 5, 2022
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I started watching this and so far I've been cringing throughout. It looks pretty but it stinks of terrible writing already. The acting is like they're reading the script instead of actually acting, for the for the most part. The music is okay but doesn't do anything when there's terrible dialogue and **** characters. I think I don't want to continue watching this visceral and brutal disrespect for Tolkien, on his death anniversary no less. This was such a disappointment despite me lowering expectations, my expectations were exceeded by how bad this really was. I had to stay caffeinated to sit through the entire episode and for the most part just laughed out loud. Wait, is this a comedy or are they trying to disrespect Tolkien even more? The dialogue is so terrible they seem as if they are reading from a teleprompter instead of actually acting. What is this? A Shakespearean tragedy? Yes this show is definitely a tragedy, a billion dollar tragedy. Wow. I went in hoping it was going to be good but it really fell flat and completely went off-road from Tolkien lore. That took me out of the show as well but what took me out was the dialogue, most of all. The costumes already look terrible, especially the armour!! At one point it looked like paper plate armour on Guy-Galadriel. Some of the characters are insufferable already and it's the FIRST episode!! Galadriel is by far the most unlikable already, I couldn't help but facepalm and roll my eyes every time she blatantly insulted someone or did warrior things. It is completely off-character for her, she was already supposed to be the most powerful of the Noldor!! What does she have to prove?? It's frustrating! The haircuts in this show!! Is there a barber shop in Middle-Earth I didn't know about?? It just takes you out of the immersion of the story and your eyes would start wandering off elsewhere.

    (To everyone who thought this review was before the show came out, I have an Amazon subscription. I am working on a video essay covering all the reasons why this review is 2 stars.)
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  81. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    They really thought they could twist a work as beloved as Tolkien's to push their propaganda and not get backlash. Their arrogance knows no bounds.
  82. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    What a waste of money and time. Whan an insult to the fans of the books and previous movies. The budget went only to the visuals because other than that, the story line (boring) the script (lame and silly) the acting (annoying) they completely destroyed the Galadriel character to make her into this Mary sue annoying know it all woman. This is not Tolkien, and it's a bad quality and boringWhat a waste of money and time. Whan an insult to the fans of the books and previous movies. The budget went only to the visuals because other than that, the story line (boring) the script (lame and silly) the acting (annoying) they completely destroyed the Galadriel character to make her into this Mary sue annoying know it all woman. This is not Tolkien, and it's a bad quality and boring waste of money. Expand
  83. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Rings of Power is not Tolkien. It is the sacrifice of an intellectual property on the alter of diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE). It is a vandalism, with bad writing.
  84. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    This show embodies all that is rotten about the recent film industry .
    The script sucks so badly that they should instantly fire whoever wrote it.
    The characters are shamefully inept and devoid of any identity and charisma. The dialogues, Christ, the dialogues... not even a twelve-year-old in full hormonal crisis would write these b.s. Not to mention Galadriel that they f***ing devastated
    This show embodies all that is rotten about the recent film industry .
    The script sucks so badly that they should instantly fire whoever wrote it.
    The characters are shamefully inept and devoid of any identity and charisma. The dialogues, Christ, the dialogues... not even a twelve-year-old in full hormonal crisis would write these b.s.
    Not to mention Galadriel that they f***ing devastated with a lousy characterisation and with an incapable actress totally unsuitable for the role.
    The mere fact of putting the name of The Lord of the Rings on this abomination is a total lack of respect for Tolkien and the message he wanted to pass on.

    Amazon you should stop playing the victim and admit that you have produced s**t in the name of PC, of which you don't give a f**k about.
    By removing the negative reviews you have only proven yourself as the insecure crybaby you are. Pathetic.
    Peter Jackson's films are an adaptation too, but they were crafted with passion and fidelity that shine from every shot.
    You hypocrite have not only failed in every aspect, but have also stolen and perverted some elements from a trilogy that you boast to want to break away from.
    Congratulations, you are the product of a sick society that clearly deserves all this.
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  85. Sep 5, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dont like how they portrayed the characters and Galdriel feels arrogant. And Elrond was the commander of the elven forces not Galdriel. Expand
  86. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Awful acting, terrible pacing and complete disregard for Tolkien views. Another woke show made for the agenda sake.
  87. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Complete waste of time, watched 2 episodes will never return with truly awful writing, awful acting, and most of all its not following LOTR lore at all
  88. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    The acting, dialog, costumes, the compression of time, characters being where they aren't supposed to be, and characters that are known and loved are now unrecognizable. The heart and soul are missing and that is Tolkien. This is an atrocity and needs to be tossed back into the chasm from whence it came.
  89. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    A massive failure. Forgot to use the script or dialogue from Tolkien. No plot. No nobility or likability in any character. Hopefully Amazon will cancel the awful show. One of the worst shows I’ve ever seen.
  90. Sep 4, 2022
    1
    Being a fan of Tolkien for over a decade, I was quite excited when it was first announced that Amazon would be doing LoTR series, but my concerns start to rise when I saw the many trailers as well as the interviews with the showrunners that they admittedly said, they won't follow the Lore. So I was already skeptical eversince, but I decided to just watch it, and I just couldn't imagineBeing a fan of Tolkien for over a decade, I was quite excited when it was first announced that Amazon would be doing LoTR series, but my concerns start to rise when I saw the many trailers as well as the interviews with the showrunners that they admittedly said, they won't follow the Lore. So I was already skeptical eversince, but I decided to just watch it, and I just couldn't imagine how bad the show really is and the cast, the story , the dialogue are just not there, visually though it looks nice but that's not enough to make a show considered as a successful show. I wish Amazon with its massive budget didn't use a very famous name like Tolkien. They could've just go ahead creating their own fantasy lore. It is sad to see how the lore that Tolkien spent creating during his lifetime is being butchered to the ground. This is simply a generic fan fiction with grandiose CGI and massive budget. There is nothing Tolkien about it. Expand
  91. Sep 5, 2022
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bronwyn seems like the Joyce Byers of “Rings of Power.” She’s a single mom whose son finds a mysterious object, which leads to all kinds of trouble for the neighbors. I guess Arondir is the Sheriff Jim Hopper of the series. BTW, it’s impossible to get a fade haircut in Middle Earth because there are no electric razors. Amazon should have given its "Galadriel" a different name. She's nothing like the character in the books nor the Peter Jackson trilogy. Morfydd Clark's acting is as bland as Amber Heard's. The dialogue sounds like it was written by a child.
    "You don’t know what’s down there." — Bronwyn
    "That is the reason I must go." — Arondir
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  92. Sep 5, 2022
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Prolog itself was kinda ok. First part with young Galadriel and her bro was good, some of the dialog was a bit pretentious, but overall good. The shot of the Trees would've been amazing if they didn't spoil it already. I wanted to see Morgoth, that didn't happen, so that's sucked. The scene with Sauron was pretty cool.

    The battle scene was also already spoiled. It had a cool shot of dragon roasting an eagle. The scene were orcs are attacking Finrod was kinda stupid. They were just kinda pushing him like he's trying to get in to the mayor's office without an appointment. Then Galadriel steals his ugly letter opener.

    Galadriel is hunting for Sauron and she's leading a merry band of elves in the Northern wastelands. The scene were they climb the ice wall was pretty bad. They are just free-handing it, stabbing knifes and pikes into icicles. And Finrod's knife doesn't snap as Galadriel is hanging off of it?

    The ice troll scene is very stupid. The design of the ice troll was pretty bad. The fight against the troll was terrible. Also, Sauron is now leaving his mark at every place he visits. That's convenient. Galadriel now knows that seeing Sauron's mark means he is somewhere north, and couldn't possibly went somewhere else. Definitely went north few hundreds of years ago.

    Anyway, she wants to go north, other elves say nope, and they do some cringy stuff with laying swords on the ground, idk. And even though later Galadriel says she will go after Sauron even if she needs to go alone, at this time I guess she doesn't wanna go alone, so she travel all the way back to see the king.

    Long story short, the king grants Galadriel and elves a free trip to Valinor. I found this to be very dumb. It feels like they're trying to say that elves are held hostage in Middle-Earth and they can go in to the West only if the king allows it. I'm pretty sure anyone not under the ban can leave, or just commit die and have your spirit fly back. Anyway the ship sailed all the way across the ocean and then some stupid light appears. What was that? They should just sail to the shore and that's it. Whose idea was to have this dumb light? Must be hard to fall asleep in Valinor with these stage lights blasting your eyeballs non-stop.

    Anyway the dork next to Galadriel starts scraming "GRAB MY HAND!!!!". Ok, dude, she's standing right next to you on a boat. You're both gonna end up in the same spot. What's gonna change if she grabs your hand. Well, she jumps over board and start swimming back to Middle-Earth. I guess she didn't need to walk through Helcaraxe this time. Halbrand was kinda cool.

    I've already seen the buzz cut elf plenty of times before, so it didn't really had the impact as the very first shots Amazon released. I still think it's pretty bad, but during the show I got over that quickly. The "romantic" scenes with the lady had me cringing. There was no chemistry there. Still better love story than Twilight.

    Anyway, some cow has oil coming out of her utters, so they decide to make a trip to the place where that cow wandered off and ate something, allegedly. And it's a day's journey! How does a cow wander off a day's journey distance? Is it a flying cow?

    They find that orcs (maybe something else too?) is digging tunnels from one town to another and attacking the people. That was really stupid. Seems like a gigantic waste of time to tunnel between two town a day's journey apart, just to leap out of the tunnel and start attacking. These town have no walls or anything. Just walk to the town and do the same.

    And even though the tunnel is already at the town, orcs still don't attack. Maybe they're waiting for the cover of night. Nope. All the villagers go to bed and start migrating the next morning.

    Also the scene where the underground tunnel is actually touching the floorboards if the house is stupid.


    The discount hobbits were very boring. Everything about them was not interesting at all. After the meteor dude shows up, I was interested in him. He seems to draw a lot of stuff and I was trying to figure out what he's trying to say, and who he really is. Probably the most interesting part of the show.

    Nothing really interesting in Moria. There were some ok shots of Moria, Durin and what's-her-name had an ok dinner scene, they have more chemistry than Brondir.

    Overall, intro was ok, Meteor Man had some mystery that was intriguing. My favorite character so far is Arondir's elf friend that smells like dry leaves. Few other scenes were good or ok, few other scenes were really bad or just stupid, but mostly it was just boring. I was checking my phone every few scenes. I think I will watch a few more episodes because I wanna find out what the deal is with Meteor man and Halbrand, and I wanna check out Numenor, but I don't think I will stick with the show for long. 3/10
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  93. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    So far, this show is terrible. Even if I try to forget that this is Tolkien (because it's not), and try to watch it as some fantasy show that got nothing to do with LotR, this show is still pretty bad.
    Dialogs are really bad, bad acting, unlikable characters, especially Galadriel which is terribly unbearable to look at and listen to while she talks through her teeth non-stop (only Durin
    So far, this show is terrible. Even if I try to forget that this is Tolkien (because it's not), and try to watch it as some fantasy show that got nothing to do with LotR, this show is still pretty bad.
    Dialogs are really bad, bad acting, unlikable characters, especially Galadriel which is terribly unbearable to look at and listen to while she talks through her teeth non-stop (only Durin is OK so far), occasionally not very good visual effects, suspicious-looking paper elf armor.
    I would call this fan mad YouTube-like show, but you need to be fan to actually made fan show, and these guys are not fans, although they persistently claimed it for publicity purposes and tried to convince us that they work according to Tolkien and that they are his big fans.
    Nothing shows that this is the most expensive series of all time, when there are shows that are visually much more beautiful. For example, a direct competitor House of the Dragon, which for now, in my opinion, is nowhere near as good as the original GoT series, but it looks much, much better, has good actors and a solid script.
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  94. Sep 3, 2022
    1
    The forced diversity in the cast makes zero sense in the context of middle Earth and totally breaks the immersion. It is just taken for granted that there are colored halflings, dwarfs and elves. Apart from that also just didnt really get the feels, did not really care, even fell asleep at one point. And the LotR trilogy is one of my favorites in movies of all times. Sad and soullessThe forced diversity in the cast makes zero sense in the context of middle Earth and totally breaks the immersion. It is just taken for granted that there are colored halflings, dwarfs and elves. Apart from that also just didnt really get the feels, did not really care, even fell asleep at one point. And the LotR trilogy is one of my favorites in movies of all times. Sad and soulless effort. You cant buy everything, Jeff. Expand
  95. Sep 3, 2022
    2
    Slow, filled with unnecessary content, lacks soul and wit and drifts too far away from the original story. I keep wondering why tv writers believe they can write better than the original authors.
  96. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    I just watched 2 episodes, what can i say, there is none of the original Peter Jackson's magic in this tv show for me, none. Characters not interesting, actors too, plot is boring, CGI is awful. Very well spent 1 bil$.
  97. Sep 4, 2022
    3
    I might just be too deep into the lore to ignore how the showrunners butchered it. Apart from that, it‘s lazy storytelling, sub par acting, really weird dialogues trying hard to simulate depth and a good measure of boredom. Costumes/Armour are not impressive over all. At least the dwarfs got some cgi love, hence 3 out of 10.
    Why did they even think inventing lore that‘s totally against
    I might just be too deep into the lore to ignore how the showrunners butchered it. Apart from that, it‘s lazy storytelling, sub par acting, really weird dialogues trying hard to simulate depth and a good measure of boredom. Costumes/Armour are not impressive over all. At least the dwarfs got some cgi love, hence 3 out of 10.
    Why did they even think inventing lore that‘s totally against what JRRT already wrote could ever be a good idea? Why even try to tell a story without the appropriate rights to about everything they would have needed to get it right? Did they really believe woke messaging would pull in enough normies to create a whole new fanbase? Fascinating.
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  98. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    I will not cancel my Prime Account like some others have, and like I did after Netflix butchered “The Witcher.” However, I am gravely disappointed in how poorly this was done. Very sad. There’s nothing remotely Tolkien about this. It will be interesting to see how much viewership drops in the next few “episodes.”
  99. Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Watched ep. 1. Seeing the beautiful visuals I only think, they could have done a great Tolkien universe tv show.
    Instead they decided to go the racist, misandrist way.
    Shame on this. I cannot recommend it. Super woke
  100. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are too many things I don't understand of this series: elves looking like old humans, faeric inhuman fantasy entities like the aforementioned elves and dwarves being defined by human etnicities of our own world... People dressing cheap low quality amateur cosplay robes in very expensive and high quality scenarios and cgi cities and landscapes, making a series about a central event in Tolkien worldbuilding without anything but the tv rights of a few names and vague concepts... I can't understand anything so I can't provide a better rsting. Expand
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 40
  2. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. Reviewed by: Jo Livingstone
    Sep 16, 2022
    80
    Adar’s début drips with signifiers. ... When Adar informs Arondir in Episode 4 that he has been told many lies, some that “run so deep even the rocks and roads now believe them,” it is still a thrill. Tolkien succeeded in creating a mythic world, one that has now grown vast enough through acts of typological repetition and imitation to conquer television, too.
  2. Reviewed by: Chris Barsanti
    Sep 16, 2022
    63
    With war brewing and the forging of the rings seemingly still far off, the first half of The Rings of Power’s first season constitutes little more than stage-setting for the struggle to come. Given the lack of quests and central commanding figures, it often makes for less-than-gripping drama. However, given that there are four more seasons already planned, and potentially dozens of new characters to be introduced, the slow and throat-clearing build is possibly a good sign.
  3. Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Sep 9, 2022
    90
    The Rings of Power is a reminder of what drew many of us to epic fantasy in the first place: wonder. ... This series set in an ancient realm displays one dazzling and painterly landscape after another. Power also doesn't skimp on action. [12 - 25 Sep 2022, p.10]