The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

:

Season 1
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
3.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2938 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 711 out of 2938
  2. Mixed: 141 out of 2938
  3. Negative: 2,086 out of 2938

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User Reviews

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  1. DNA7052
    Sep 22, 2022
    0
    Laughably bad writing, a boring, meandering plot full of unlikable cardboard characters make this a show to avoid. Amazon mass deleting negative reviews of Rings of power AGAIN on their website. Hundreds vanished overnight in the UK alone while 5 star reviews sail through, whatever the content.

    Dishonest doesn't even begin to describe Amazon's approach on this expensive flop.
  2. Tsuriom
    Sep 18, 2022
    0
    Me parece un insulto hacia la obra de Tolkien

    Nada tiene sentido, no soporto el personaje de Galadriel (y los demas tampoco ), me aburre y realmente no veo razones para seguir viendola
  3. eriksl
    Sep 22, 2022
    1
    As a person inspired and engaged with Tolkien, I was looking enormously forward to this show. I can not describe in words how disappointed I am. Now 4 episodes in, I do not care one single bit about the characters, I can not recognize much of the history I have read in Tolkien's works, and even if I lay aside my love for his lore, I think the storyline is horribly written with giganticAs a person inspired and engaged with Tolkien, I was looking enormously forward to this show. I can not describe in words how disappointed I am. Now 4 episodes in, I do not care one single bit about the characters, I can not recognize much of the history I have read in Tolkien's works, and even if I lay aside my love for his lore, I think the storyline is horribly written with gigantic plot holes, ridiculous scenes that don't make sense when you think one second about them, and characters that live more up to tell-don't show when their motivations and drives are explored.

    A missed opportunity, I hope that they instead of cramming all of the Second Age into 5 seasons, had made different storylines with the Fall of Numenor, Galadriel's role in the Second Age, and the real story of the forging of the Rings of Power.    … Expand
  4. Romestamo
    Sep 22, 2022
    0
    Great cinematography but that's about it. The story is non-existent, the pacing is painfully slow, the script is amateurish, acting is poor and well-loved characters from the books are unlikeable here. The showrunners make a passing reference to Tolkien's characters whilst ripping the timeline to shreds and to what purpose? They say that such a long timeline couldn't be filmed withoutGreat cinematography but that's about it. The story is non-existent, the pacing is painfully slow, the script is amateurish, acting is poor and well-loved characters from the books are unlikeable here. The showrunners make a passing reference to Tolkien's characters whilst ripping the timeline to shreds and to what purpose? They say that such a long timeline couldn't be filmed without constantly killing off characters (something Game of Thrones did even with a shorter timeline). There are a number of ways this could have been done successfully such as compressing around the major events of the 2nd Age:

    Season 1: SA1200 - 1600 - The re-appearance of Sauron, forging of the rings
    Season 2: SA1600 - 1700 - War between Sauron and the Elves, Numenor saves the day
    Season 3: SA 2000 - 2300 - Origins of the Nazgul, shadow falls on Numenor
    Season 4: SA 3175 - 3319 - Sauron taken prisoner, Numenor destroyed, Elendil & sons escape
    Season 5: SA 3319 - 3441 - Foundation of Gondor & Arnor, War of the Last Alliance

    Another method, that would have allowed the showrunners to introduce characters earlier, would have been a Highlander-style reminiscing of past events.

    Is it really a good idea to alienate what should be your core audience, the millions of book lovers worldwide that know the lore and chronology better than that of the real world? Would it not have made more sense to hire tried-and-trusted individuals to write/produce such a flagship production or maybe actually listen to the advice of learned Tolkien scholars such as Tom Shippey?    … Expand
  5. CFitz
    Sep 23, 2022
    1
    incompetent and infantile fan fiction. Unworthy of the name of Tolkien. If this was renamed Gladys the Warrior Princess and Tolkien's name was taken off it, then nobody would be angry and some people might even go on watching it.
  6. Herbzilla77
    Sep 20, 2022
    1
    I made it to episode 3 before I tapped out, terrible on all aspects. Slow,boring, no likeable characters , nothing to do with Tolkien, just a really bad show trying to hitch a ride off of a name.
  7. meltwich
    Sep 19, 2022
    3
    It looks great, but the writing and story development is amateurish. It’s a chore to watch, sadly. It’s better than the “Wheel of Time” series from Amazon, but that is a very low bar to step over.
  8. Flashrick
    Sep 18, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wow thought wheel of time was bad. Bad characters, costumes and acting. And why is it so boring ? Smash 2k years together and this is why you get ? Junk… Expand
  9. Axeface
    Oct 5, 2022
    3
    I tried my best. I waited 5 episodes. But this show is corporate corruption personified. The art, the music and the acting, its all passable and at times those elements are actually good - I dont hold any of the actors or artists at fault. They have done good work and performed well within the confines of what they were given. The problem here is really shockingly bad writing along withI tried my best. I waited 5 episodes. But this show is corporate corruption personified. The art, the music and the acting, its all passable and at times those elements are actually good - I dont hold any of the actors or artists at fault. They have done good work and performed well within the confines of what they were given. The problem here is really shockingly bad writing along with the corrupt and frankly heinous undertone of shackled creativity.… Expand
  10. Preissnjaga
    Sep 22, 2022
    3
    There may be some good moments, but show is at times very boring and slow-paced. The writing is also more like a mediocre German soap-opera than Tolkien's "unwritten book".
  11. valekzendu567
    Sep 26, 2022
    1
    It breaks my hearth to say all of this, i wanted this to be good, but i will just be honest.
    This show is an absolute insult to Tolkien creations and his characters in every way possible, its a really below mediocre and generic tv series, if you manage to make Tolkien mediocre, generic and boring you failed miserably, you have no excuses, this should be the best tv show of the last years    It breaks my hearth to say all of this, i wanted this to be good, but i will just be honest.
    This show is an absolute insult to Tolkien creations and his characters in every way possible, its a really below mediocre and generic tv series, if you manage to make Tolkien mediocre, generic and boring you failed miserably, you have no excuses, this should be the best tv show of the last years considering the importance of the source material and its absolutely not, it should be way better than a game of thrones spin-off which itself is a deconstruction of Tolkien, if a show about the Targaryen civil war is WAY better than a Second Age tv show you made a failure beyond comprehension.
    And its the most expensive tv show ever made which makes all of this even worse, i have no words for this, this is the biggest failure ever made in pop culture history, maybe just the disney's star wars sequels can be compared to this, and maybe even not.
    Next time dont give to amateurs, social activists and people without real talent a task of this dimensions, i hope Hollywood will learn a lesson after this, i dont want to see this ever again, its such a wasted opportunity... it makes me so furious.    … Expand
  12. Smudge99
    Jan 12, 2023
    0
    Casting, acting, set design, effects, and much more was just done dirt cheap, and it look's that way. Just another boring and bland pile of stank that turned out exactly as they wanted. Summarily it's cheap, poorly acted and written, and it disrespects the source material.
  13. Urand
    Apr 6, 2023
    1
    This a very bad cinema. Peace of **** Very, very, very bad film. Idiots scenario
  14. Weidenwiesel
    May 2, 2023
    0
    Some shows are great. Most are bad. Very few rise to the level of "crimes against humanity".
    Truly, a remarkable achievement.
  15. Bobby51
    Oct 2, 2022
    1
    The most beautiful, yet most boring thing i've ever seen on tv. Even Disney's She Hulk has a more engaging storyline.
  16. Guimoo
    Oct 5, 2022
    2
    Galadriel is an awful main character and unlikeable here. I can't care about all characters actually. Some decisions made by her as a leader and by the Harfoots make no sense. This is also boring and WOKE to the extreme. Just too hard to watch. I dropped out after second episode.
    I love LOTR. Even if this may appeal to some as a stand alone series, there is too much baggage from the    Galadriel is an awful main character and unlikeable here. I can't care about all characters actually. Some decisions made by her as a leader and by the Harfoots make no sense. This is also boring and WOKE to the extreme. Just too hard to watch. I dropped out after second episode.
    I love LOTR. Even if this may appeal to some as a stand alone series, there is too much baggage from the excellent film and books that this mis-handles in an ignorant way.    … Expand
  17. fukringsofpower
    Oct 11, 2022
    0
    It's sad really.
    This show is a C- fantasy show on the SciFi channel. Something which is crappy, perhaps except the cinematography.
    It had the highest budget in history, a source material by the best author of fantasy who ever lived, the father of fantasy dungeons and dragons style. Putting aside the idiotic deviation from the source material, it's just really bad. The characters are    It's sad really.
    This show is a C- fantasy show on the SciFi channel. Something which is crappy, perhaps except the cinematography.
    It had the highest budget in history, a source material by the best author of fantasy who ever lived, the father of fantasy dungeons and dragons style.
    Putting aside the idiotic deviation from the source material, it's just really bad.
    The characters are flat and we can't emphasize and root for them (with 1-2 minor exceptions, like Durin perhaps).
    The writers rely too much on mystery boxes to build suspense, and not on actual story building.
    The logic of events is flawed, it just doesn't make sense (within the rules of that particular fantasy world of course) - like a river on water which creates a volcano to erupt with any steam pressure.
    The dialogue most of time tries to sound smart, but actually falls flat, just no intelligent enough unfortunately.

    Also please be advised that Amazon has went into extreme spin mode, trying to attack the critic of the show, using bot-reviews, and using defamation of fans who love Tolkien's work who are finding this show to be an insult to the beauty of the world he created.

    The only thing which is truly amazing about this show is the contrast between its potential to the outcome, as it is baffling to watch how they've managed to do such a bad job at this.    … Expand
  18. Antek
    Oct 9, 2022
    2
    Boring, horrible uninspired script writing, flat characters. Gave up on the 3rd episode.
    Good CG though.
  19. nhand42
    Oct 4, 2022
    1
    I had dismissed the early negative reviews as insincere - the rantings of reactionaries are not to be trusted - but if anything they had understated the awfulness of this show. The writing is banal, the acting is wooden, and the world is inauthentic. The production somehow achieves the impossible of being overdone and looking cheap. I gave up after two episodes because I would honestlyI had dismissed the early negative reviews as insincere - the rantings of reactionaries are not to be trusted - but if anything they had understated the awfulness of this show. The writing is banal, the acting is wooden, and the world is inauthentic. The production somehow achieves the impossible of being overdone and looking cheap. I gave up after two episodes because I would honestly rather watch paint dry.… Expand
  20. Reos44
    Oct 10, 2022
    0
    Bad scenerio
    Bad characters
    Bad dialogue
    Bad costume designs
    Boring scenes
    Weak timeline
  21. Jhawk0
    Oct 11, 2022
    0
    Gotta love whomever is getting paid by Amazon to write positive reviews for this show… I’ve read things like 10/10! Faithful to the book(s). Lmao. The writing is terrible. The activists they hired as actors and show runners twisted this series in such a way that it’s laughable at this point. I’ve read EVERYTHING that Tolkien has ever put out, and to say this is faithful to his compendiumGotta love whomever is getting paid by Amazon to write positive reviews for this show… I’ve read things like 10/10! Faithful to the book(s). Lmao. The writing is terrible. The activists they hired as actors and show runners twisted this series in such a way that it’s laughable at this point. I’ve read EVERYTHING that Tolkien has ever put out, and to say this is faithful to his compendium is blasphemous.
    It is more like a fleeting memory of a show, that seems like it’s happened before, but trying to remember the details from a dream that has passed; Hollow, and grasping to recapture the wonder that was faithfully captured by Jackson on film. For $60,000,000 an episode, I’d expect a more flushed out narrative rather than a lifetime movie with incredible CGI.    … Expand
  22. Teresa_Claymore
    Oct 14, 2022
    0
    Made by people who don't understand Tolkien and want to subvert his creation. Acted by talentless nobodies, badly cast - the worst being the arrogant black elf, Lenny Jamaica Henry and the far left activist (and gurning champion) who they got to play Galadriel. This is a stain on Tolkien's name. Utter woke garbage.
  23. Mcgreen_21
    Oct 8, 2022
    0
    They took the lord of the rings world, of heroic men great deeds and thoughtful writing. Threw it on the trash and decided to write this woke billion dollar garbage. Where every man is Weak stupid or mean. They jammed actors into roles that they are doing well, and should never have been considered for. They are not trying to live up to the world we love they want to wokify and destroy it.
  24. Astrocitos
    Oct 11, 2022
    0
    This is by far the worst written piece of entertainment I’ve ever seen, in fact can’t say if it has anything good at all. Has nothing to do with TLODR and is just a bad TV show.
  25. Jtburkh
    Oct 9, 2022
    2
    Yawn. This is just more woke nonsense. I'm sure I am just racist or phobic or this is my fault for not liking it. Yawn.
  26. redbutnotdead
    Oct 14, 2022
    0
    I see people/bots downvoting blindly the low rating reviews. Fock your paid bots, fock amazon, fock your correct shiet. RoP is a hot pile of horseshiet with bad writing, degrading tolkien's legendary work, degrading fans' dreams and intelligence. Well no matter how much you pay for downvoting low rated reviews, people are not dumb so you can kiss your dream goodbye you worthless pieces of shiaet.
  27. Kai82
    Oct 8, 2022
    3
    While visually impressing it is just a generic fantasy show with mostly poor writing and an unlikable main character. If you are a Tolkien fan and / or read the books it is even more painful. They made a lot of poor decisions for the show like developers with barely any experience for the most expensive show ever made. Galadriel is nothing like in the books or movies and is only defined byWhile visually impressing it is just a generic fantasy show with mostly poor writing and an unlikable main character. If you are a Tolkien fan and / or read the books it is even more painful. They made a lot of poor decisions for the show like developers with barely any experience for the most expensive show ever made. Galadriel is nothing like in the books or movies and is only defined by being always angry and burning bridges with other characters and often also viewers. As a sidenote even one of her enemies named Adar says that the search for Morgoths (Big bad guy before Sauron) successor should have ended in her mirror and at that point I agree as she wants to kill all Orcs he considers his children painfully before his eyes just to torture him (By the way Adar is a great character and worthy addition). This is monstrous and unforgivable if you are the hero of the show. Then there are the Hobbits which they have to rename Harfoots because they have only the right to the appendixes of LotR (Why was this greenlighted?). They are not different from Hobbits being just the most common type of all Hobbits. Those are horrible people that abandon everyone to death that falls back behind on their travels. This made it hard to like them. To be fair there are some good parts. I like the Dwarven stuff and characters and this includes Disa who is great (many did not expect this). Gil-Galad is also good and I can see sparkles of something that could be an amazing story. Sadly the slow pacing and horrible dialogues ruin a lot of the story. While the visuals aka the CGI effects are amazing I wonder where all the money was used. The settings, costumes and armor often look cheap. Also they name everyone who criticize the show as istaphobs. Has ever insulting your core audience helped to make a show a success? Lastly I ask myself why buying the rights Tolkien if you abandon most of what is Tokien. At the end you have a generic fantasy show that is Tolkien in name only with poor writing and not many characters I liked. I give a 3/10 and if you are more of a Tolkien fan than me you should read this as 1/10.… Expand
  28. Hakisak
    Oct 8, 2022
    2
    although the scenery, cgi, some of the sets are amazing. Its not enough the carry the show on its own. The story is so poor and I'm not talking about its accuracy to the source material, on its own its just bad story writing.
  29. evyatar
    Oct 8, 2022
    2
    omg this is so bad, i give it more then one chance. they destroy my beloved story. maybe only in 20 years from now they will make LODR good again. how its possible
  30. yozoraskoln
    Oct 8, 2022
    0
    Poor acting; poor writing; needlessly sabotaged lore from an established story with woke garbage.
  31. TangEng
    Oct 11, 2022
    1
    Looks great but no substance. Boring.
    Most characters are unlikeable.
    Need to pad this review up from 69 letters long.
  32. admad
    Oct 14, 2022
    3
    It is bad, maybe even as bad as Netflix Witcher. It is visually better but the dialogues and idiotic decisions are so strong in season 1 it is astonishing. With episode 6, this show just topped my list as the most stupid, idiotic, garbage writing ever.

    It is AMAZON'ing how this show makes you root for the evil, as the so called "good" characters are very bad and frustrating (Karen    It is bad, maybe even as bad as Netflix Witcher. It is visually better but the dialogues and idiotic decisions are so strong in season 1 it is astonishing. With episode 6, this show just topped my list as the most stupid, idiotic, garbage writing ever.

    It is AMAZON'ing how this show makes you root for the evil, as the so called "good" characters are very bad and frustrating (Karen Galadriel).

    3 points for good visuals and not so bad season finale, which actually saves this show from total disaster.    … Expand
  33. TBall
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    WTF? The woke LOTR? No thanks. I made it through about a half hour before throwing up. Tolkien fans will all hate this and for good reason.
  34. SinuousGrace
    Sep 2, 2022
    2
    Feels like an imposter set piece put together by know-nothing activists. Astounding that this much money was spent on something that had "be an engrossing, immersive, watchable show consistent with the spirit and lore of Tolkien and Jackson" way way down on the list of priorities behind "push the desired establishment successor ideology" and "stick it to the 'toxic' fandom." I hope theyFeels like an imposter set piece put together by know-nothing activists. Astounding that this much money was spent on something that had "be an engrossing, immersive, watchable show consistent with the spirit and lore of Tolkien and Jackson" way way down on the list of priorities behind "push the desired establishment successor ideology" and "stick it to the 'toxic' fandom." I hope they lose a ton of money on this cynical cash grab.… Expand
  35. d_mouse
    Sep 2, 2022
    2
    It's worse than poorly written fan fiction, it's terribly written and poorly executed corporate fiction with no resemblence to Tolkien's work apparently cost Amazon $1B to make. If I was Jeff Bezos I'd be asking for my money back
  36. m0nkeybones
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    A whole different world that doesn't feel like The Lord of the Rings. It lacks the passion and feeling of smelling and tasting iron and blood when swords cross. The smell of burning flesh as the city catches fire.
    No attention to detail or tribute to Tolkien's created world. It's a richly written story that feels like a blank sheet of paper
  37. DX87
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    Essa série é um desrespeito a obra e isso se resume em uma palavra ABOMINAÇÃO!!!!!
  38. Cooper92
    Sep 2, 2022
    2
    I am sorry for all the fans of Tolkien's world, and generally, geeks or gamers who love fantasy world-building and DnD. But apparently, we are not the target audience of this show. Amazon just threw a hefty sack of fortune at a bunch of graphic designers and quality audio composers to produce something grand for the normies, sprinkled some women empowerment and minorities as if they careI am sorry for all the fans of Tolkien's world, and generally, geeks or gamers who love fantasy world-building and DnD. But apparently, we are not the target audience of this show. Amazon just threw a hefty sack of fortune at a bunch of graphic designers and quality audio composers to produce something grand for the normies, sprinkled some women empowerment and minorities as if they care about anything else other than profit just to get free sheep fighting off criticism against their product, and win the day.… Expand
  39. Sauron_hot
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    this is not Tolkien material, boring and lost in itself proposal, its a failure for a adaptation and for a original serie!!!
  40. SenpaiEXE
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Yet another woke show that is terrible in every single aspect (visuals excluded). Go woke, go broke.
  41. merimeche
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    Slow serie galadriel is a powerful femal elf better that every one specially man sorry this not for me
  42. Leo37
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    If this show was just an attempt to make a fantasy series, I would rate maybe 2 points above. But actually, this is an abomination against a literary masterpiece. Stop insulting fans with terrible adaptions.
  43. Favkes
    Oct 14, 2022
    2
    Amazing visual content. Terrible script and dialogues.
    The acting is also mostly bad except for Durin.
    I ve watched 6 episodes, but I just can't go any further. With each series, the degree of absurdity increases
  44. HammerOfThorium
    Oct 22, 2022
    0
    The Rings of Power is a tremendous disappointment. It is hard to know where to begin critiquing a show with almost no redeeming quality. The writing, both in terms of the dialogue and the plot, is woeful; the show meanders from one scene to the next with so little development that one could probably summarise each episode in a few lines; the incoherence of the narrative is almostThe Rings of Power is a tremendous disappointment. It is hard to know where to begin critiquing a show with almost no redeeming quality. The writing, both in terms of the dialogue and the plot, is woeful; the show meanders from one scene to the next with so little development that one could probably summarise each episode in a few lines; the incoherence of the narrative is almost impressive, with seemingly little attention paid to the significance of events; while the world itself is simply devoid of the magic one would expect from a Tolkien-inspired series.

    This brings me on to the second aspect of the show that has frustrated so many: for reasons that are beyond me, the characters from Tolkien's work are completely unrecognisable from their book counterparts, while many events from the books have been changed unnecessarily. The makers claimed to have regularly referred back to the books as a sort of creative mantra, yet that is the exact opposite of what we see on screen. Far from being reverential towards Tolkien's world, the show seems to take every opportunity to actively subvert it.

    My advice, for what it is worth, would be to replace the writers, producers, etc. with more capable people who actually respect the source material, and hire Tom Shippey to consult on the show in order that Tolkien's world may be more faithfully reproduced going forward.    … Expand
  45. iamgeorge82
    Oct 14, 2022
    2
    Just about watchable but not much more. The writing is awful, the whole plot driven along by contrivances and implausibly bad decisions by the characters, many of which are meant to be wise, immortal beings but act like impetuous idiots. The pacing is bizarre, compressing a huge timeline I to what feels like weeks.
  46. Makemoney
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Worse then i ever could of thought .
    Story 1/10
    acting 2/10 a few actors did a good job some though were so bad it kills it . filming 1/10 half the show zooms in on heads and blurs everything else out, like soap opreas or video games . it breaks immersion and looks bad . lore .1/10 under a minitue in two hours that didn't redcon lore or make it up props 4/10 way to much like high    Worse then i ever could of thought .
    Story 1/10
    acting 2/10 a few actors did a good job some though were so bad it kills it .
    filming 1/10 half the show zooms in on heads and blurs everything else out, like soap opreas or video games . it breaks immersion and looks bad .
    lore .1/10 under a minitue in two hours that didn't redcon lore or make it up
    props 4/10 way to much like high fantasy and silly choses which make no logical seance
    makeup 1/10 everyone had hairstyles which make no senses and have red makeup on cheeks
    music 8.5/10 this was good no issue and saving grace
    If you like the lotr movies dont watch. if you like the books tolkien wrote wither the silmarioalin or HOME or lotr it will hurt your brain. you might like if this only thing you know of ME
    i had hoped it would be watchable . 1000x worse then my worse fear .
    Ive seen soap opreras that are better.....
    even if you took off the middle earth skin its still horrible .
    id rather spend 10 hours doing manual work then watch rest ....    … Expand
  47. Melora
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A calculated insult against the source material. Astonishingly dishonest theft of something great.… Expand
  48. CapnSmashem1
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    I had to turn it off when she punched through the ice with a ridiculous punching sound effect that sounds nothing like the sound of punching ice, instead of using magic like the real Galadriel would have done... I gave it my best shot but that was the third strike for me. The pile of helmets made 0 sense, and her climbing way ahead of the other elves for no apparent reason when it would beI had to turn it off when she punched through the ice with a ridiculous punching sound effect that sounds nothing like the sound of punching ice, instead of using magic like the real Galadriel would have done... I gave it my best shot but that was the third strike for me. The pile of helmets made 0 sense, and her climbing way ahead of the other elves for no apparent reason when it would be supremely easy for any elves, especial those that train for combat, which she does not, she was foremost a powerful sorceress and leader, not a grunt XD Also the elves in this just kinda look like humans with elf ears XD I tried to ignore all the negativity on social media and go into this with an open mind but this is just plain silly and so much already makes no sense, only about 12 minutes in... and I feel disgusted. They made her into the biggest strongest manly man, instead of just leaning on her strength in cannon, as one of the 5 most powerful beings in middle earth... and she's punching ice.… Expand
  49. bigchez2143
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Horrible show. Bad Acting. Bad Story. A slap in a face for Tolkien fans and Tolkien's work. I could not watch 10 minutes of the show. I had to turn off this trash.
  50. Rethar
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    J.R.R. Tolkien: “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made”. + wtf is this. After watching
  51. MakcRox
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Надо же так было испортить такую замечательную книгу
  52. bania
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Not faithful to the source material. No beard for first female dwarf. No score.
  53. DM327
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    That was boring, soulless and the only thing it was good at is pushing it’s stupid identity politics. When will big studios realise that we don’t want them to incorporate modern day issues in our beloved fantasy worlds. Show is absolute sh*t, amozon are greedy b*stards, it’s not worth your time.
  54. righteousrage
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Just awful. Galadriel was an over-the-top Mary Sue. Somehow, she was a greater warrior than all of the Fellowship characters combined. As she took down an ice troll single handed without breaking a sweat when the Fellowship together barely defeated a cave troll in the trilogy. Also somehow, she can swim 100s of miles in no time. Other characters in the series can also walk 100s of miles in no time as well. It's so boring, the characters are not likeable and deviate to so very far from the books. The writing is just plain bad. They should have spent less on special effects and hired better writers. The idea that 2 guys who wrote a bad Star Trek movie could emulate Tolkien is insane.… Expand
  55. MGoldman
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Really slow and underwhelming. Needed better plot in the first episodes and the quality is bad.
  56. lonksadventures
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    A disgrace to the source material. This attempt to replicate Game of Thrones success would have Tolkien turning in his grave.
  57. Satangoss108
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Que série horrível, texto fraco, atores com atuações fraquíssimas, trilha sonora sem identidade alguma, o design de produção está lindo, mas para por aí, que piloto mais sem carisma, é Senhor dos Anéis feita pela CW, estou constrangido com o final do primeiro episódio.
  58. FordosBaldSpot
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Visually stunning with awesome set pieces, props, costumes and pretty good CGI. Horrible story and messaging. This would have been a win if it was not associated with LOTR.
  59. Gurthang88
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Aburrida a más no poder. Guión malisimo, pésimas actuaciones... No he aguantado ni 15 minutos sin mirar el teléfono.
  60. jane193
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    -ROP was boring, even prologe didn't help. Galadriel is **** girl, worst character of this show. +I like Halbrand, actor is good, looks convincing.
  61. Jose93-7
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    Horrible in all senses: plot, music (good but not emotional), characterization, conversations, use of language, woke inclusiveness... Only the visual part is OK. Neither JRR Tolkien nor Chris Tolkien would have allowed this abomination.
  62. Hispanec
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After first battle with snow troll I stopped watching. Disappointed, this is not LOTR , and not even a good fantasy.… Expand
  63. Trulyyour5
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is so awful, me as Tolkien fan, just cant accept this pile of garbage to my face. If creators want to do something like this, keep Tolkien legacy out of it.… Expand
  64. mateuszj2312
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Really bad , The worst is Galadriela and gay elrond. Show is full of cgi but it looks like game cut scene and is not pleasant for the Eye except nice locations. Costumes are terrible, characters have printed t shirts and not even an Armor.
    Don’t watch it
  65. rassx6
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    The series does not show the world of Tolkien, but some kind of parody of it.
  66. evint1973
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    I've never in my life gone from absolutely loving a character to despising one the way I have with Clark she is the most insufferable unlikable character in the show. The dialogue sounds like it was written by teenagers none of this feels like or looks like middle earth THIS IS NOT TOLKIEN!
  67. caw6795
    Sep 2, 2022
    2
    Really disappointing. I'm a huge LOTR fan and was hopeful this show would at least be mediocre, but it's honestly a mess. The first episode jumps all over the place introducing character after character after character and unfortunately none of them are memorable or engaging. On top of that, the dialogue is quite bad with a lot of really overwrought, awkward language that seems to beReally disappointing. I'm a huge LOTR fan and was hopeful this show would at least be mediocre, but it's honestly a mess. The first episode jumps all over the place introducing character after character after character and unfortunately none of them are memorable or engaging. On top of that, the dialogue is quite bad with a lot of really overwrought, awkward language that seems to be reaching for a quality found in Tolkien, but failing miserably.

    The show looks expensive, but it's still a TV show. Most scenes are just two or three people standing around talking about what might happen or something going on somewhere else. They're talking in front of a green-screen with a pretty background, so it's kind of nice to look at, but not very compelling.

    What I'm most surprised by is how lackluster the acting is. I didn't expect great performances, but I wasn't anticipating just how ineffective all of the actors are. Lot's of bulging eyes, raised eyebrows, and over-exaggerated facial expressions to express emotion, but there's nothing that feels genuine, real, or human.

    Overall I was extremely disappointed with the first episode, but I decided to give the second episode a shot. About 20 minutes in I turned it off and went to bed. I'm a HUGE LOTR fan, and this show is certainly not for me. And it seems far more niche and nerdy than the original films. So who exactly is the audience for this disaster?    … Expand
  68. SandroSansao
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Seriado péssimo, propaganda enganosa, diz adaptar a obra de Tolkien mas a história desse seriado não existe nos livros, não é uma adaptação, mas sim uma fanfic, e nem como fanfic funciona, muito fraca, cenas arrastadas e chatas, transições de cenas toscas, trilha sonora meia boca, atuações horríveis, a Galadriel faz caras e bocas que só conseguem provocar riso em quem assiste, e transformaram a Galadriel numa personagem chata e insuportável que só faz dar respostas desaforadas e caretas toda hora, e o roteiro parece que foi escrito por uma criança, com muitas coincidências convenientes como a de Galadriel encontrar uma embarcação justo quando ela mais precisava e o orc que morreu de forma ridícula pra uma criança e uma mãe de família que teve força o suficiente para cortar fora a cabeça do orc. E o roteiro é burro também, Galadriel desiste de ir voltar a Valinor e tem a ideia de voltar pra Terra-Média NADANDO pelo oceano inteiro, simplesmente ridículo. E o seriado é cheio de clichês, como aquele bem idiota e sem sentido de mostrar Galadriel criança sofrendo bullying dos colegas e espancando um deles em Valinor, um paraíso onde não há morte e não há maldade.
    Disseram que investiram 1 bilhão nesse seriado, mas não parece, ao assisti-lo você tem a impressão de ver uma novelinha de baixo orçamento feita por amadores, a única coisa boa desse seriado é servir de sonífero pra quem assiste. Há algumas cenas que mostram grandes cidades elficas em Valinor e na Terra-Média, mas não mostra os habitantes dessas cidades em suas rotinas diárias, não havendo qualquer noção de imersão na história fraca desse seriado, literalmente as cidades estão desertas, você só as vê de longe e vazias, são cidades fantasma, 1 bilhão de dólares não foi suficiente para contratarem pelo menos dezenas de figurantes pra povoarem essas cidades? Quando mostra figurantes são sempre em pouca quantidade, tinha no máximo 10 participantes de um evento do rei Gil-Galad! Que tipo de rei possui um reino com apenas 10 suditos para assistirem grandes eventos? Até a Guerra da Ira, que foi a maior guerra da história da Terra-Média na obra de Tolkien, nesse seriado foi reduzida a um espaço pequeno e bagunçado de elfos e orcs que se esbarravam e não iam a lugar algum, com meia-dúzia de dragões voando em cima e tudo no escuro, pra disfarçar o cgi tosco. Parece que a produção desse seriado desviou a maior parte do 1 bilhão investido. Enfim, pior seriado que vi na minha vida, e até esperava que ele fosse horrível, mas conseguiu ser muito pior.    … Expand
  69. pwnco
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Utter garbage! It is weird to see black elves and gnomes but it is not an issue. It's the story, poor writing, acting and everything else about this show that makes is so boring and unwatchable. I was waiting for the show for years but had to sit through the first two episodes. The only good thing about the show is a beautiful female lead.
  70. StanislauLysy
    Oct 18, 2022
    0
    Poorly written and badly acted, this commercial product doesn't care about Tolkien's thoughts and ideas, instead trying to fit in with current attitudes and trends. It's simply not Tolkien, just like not a worthwhile movie.
  71. Kojejjd
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Негры эльфы и гномы, получайте заслуженные баллы… Expand
  72. Laurezna
    Sep 2, 2022
    4
    Points in favor: The visual section is spectacular, it is beautifully filmed and the music is very nice. One or another scene is exciting, but not too much.

    Points against: The costumes are quite mediocre, the same with the performances, the canonical characters of Tolkien's work are unrecognizable, both physically (That Celebrimbor is an old man, when the elves do not age and Galadriel    Points in favor: The visual section is spectacular, it is beautifully filmed and the music is very nice. One or another scene is exciting, but not too much.

    Points against: The costumes are quite mediocre, the same with the performances, the canonical characters of Tolkien's work are unrecognizable, both physically (That Celebrimbor is an old man, when the elves do not age and Galadriel is his great-aunt, is unforgivable), as in her personality, for example Galadriel not only does not resemble the great Galadriel that fascinated us so much in Tolkien's universe (Wise, powerful and strong without requiring a sword), but she is simply insufferable, and they make the other characters look foolish to make her shine. Elves don't look like elves, they don't have that halo of beauty and wisdom, and I thought it was a bad decision that they mostly had short hair, the same goes for the lack of beards on dwarf women. The dialogues are embarrassing, in their attempt to be solemn and deep, they seem stiff. The harfoots have a lousy design, they look destitute. And perhaps a point that seems important to me is that it doesn't seem like a world taken from Tolkien's lore, they can't emulate that magic, it seems like a fan fiction that has no coherence with the original material, and although I understand that it's because they don't have rights of The Silmarilion, it seems to me that it was a bad decision to adapt the second age when there are so many important events that have to change. I think this series is disrespectful to Tolkien's legacy.    … Expand
  73. ballistic
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    I couldn't finish the episode, it was so boring. The characters are stereotypes and the CGI is very visble.
  74. WiskeyJack
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    It's sad that during these days giving a negative review is always referred to as a review bomb. As if we the fans are required to shower praise upon every turd. And that is what this is. This isn't Tolkien's work. An author that is very dear to my heart.
  75. plitern
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Beautiful visuals but undermines Tolkien's characters and established aesthetics. He wrote it with European folklore, catholicism, and paganism in mind.
  76. SmalHans
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bad acting, boring story, horrible halfling camp, halflings are the wrong size in shots with the hunters. Only thing they nailed is the elf ears..… Expand
  77. Gojira54
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    The story is wildly disconnected from the source material. Visuals are good and the acting is on par with most tv series. There is potential but as is often the case it is entirely wasted and likely lost.
  78. redhawk
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Horrible & a disgrace to Tolkien and the films. The plotting and pacing is atrocious. The dialogue is cringeworthy—and the acting is some of the worst I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t be more disappointed for a show with such an interesting world and beautiful writing surrounding it. It doesn’t capture the spirit, joy, or adventure of Tolkien’s works—and feels just about as soulless as AmazonHorrible & a disgrace to Tolkien and the films. The plotting and pacing is atrocious. The dialogue is cringeworthy—and the acting is some of the worst I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t be more disappointed for a show with such an interesting world and beautiful writing surrounding it. It doesn’t capture the spirit, joy, or adventure of Tolkien’s works—and feels just about as soulless as Amazon itself.… Expand
  79. Vulgar89
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    when you don't have Hight expectations but still get disappoint , was exactly who i thought it will be
  80. marskorek
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    It's getting 0.5 of star - because I cannot give it less. To be 100% honest it's just perfect example how to make B/C class show with the biggest budget for show in history. As RoP are b/c class show. The writers do not get that you cannot just throw views/content on people - they need story, sense, coherence, dialogue too. That serie is just few good views connected by scenes that do notIt's getting 0.5 of star - because I cannot give it less. To be 100% honest it's just perfect example how to make B/C class show with the biggest budget for show in history. As RoP are b/c class show. The writers do not get that you cannot just throw views/content on people - they need story, sense, coherence, dialogue too. That serie is just few good views connected by scenes that do not have any sense - both if it suppose to be connected to tolkien (Is just from name) or if it suppose to be diconnected from it (lack of inside coherence and just stupid ideas). And story here is schizophrenic and without any sense. I littelary do not care about inclusive dwarves and/or elves - the rest is so stupid that this is just small problem of coherence comparing to other things... I will still watch it (as Tolkien fan) but with Czech dubbling - that way it will be perfect comedy sit-come (sorry Czech people - but your language is so cute that brings smile to my face every time) and I recommend that to others too. :)… Expand
  81. Nikolas_super
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Неуважение к первоисточнику, сериал разрушает наследие Толкина.
    Унылый сюжет, мало экшена, плохая актёрская игра.
    Единственный + это в графике.
  82. KingIsildur
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Despite all of Tolkien's writings and descriptions of his second age characters, this show intentionally ignored them all, claiming ignorance of their existence. Even an average high school student writing a paper could easily create a more honest portrayal of the demeanor of these characters after a few hours of studying Tolkien's actual writings. So, if your expecting something specialDespite all of Tolkien's writings and descriptions of his second age characters, this show intentionally ignored them all, claiming ignorance of their existence. Even an average high school student writing a paper could easily create a more honest portrayal of the demeanor of these characters after a few hours of studying Tolkien's actual writings. So, if your expecting something special from the mind of the man I consider to be the greatest fiction writer to ever live, then you will be disappointed. However, if you're looking for another average fairy tale with worn out forced tropes on a larger budget, then this is for you.… Expand
  83. johngjepsen
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    I really wish they had access to the lore this is based on. Just the LOTR appendices is not enough and it shows. If you enjoy high fantasy but never read Tolkien then maybe you'll enjoy this but as someone who grew up on these books, it is JARRING seeing these characters butchered before my eyes. I had such high hope but this is clearly a monstrously expensive fan fiction loosely based in Arda.
  84. affsxD
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this is not tolkien bad dialogues and even worse actors why did you use lord of the rings if you have no intention of following tolkien's universe… Expand
  85. Clintf5
    Sep 2, 2022
    2
    Dang I wanted to like this so bad. It does have great CGI. But the characters are totally forgettable and not what I would expect from a good fantasy series. Casting and writing is horrible. Is there a storyline? I’m not sure yet.
  86. Ingoo
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    It's an abomination. I thought there was no way this could be worse then the hobbit but somehow it is.
  87. Menrey
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Хуйня собачья, просто взяли белое перекрасили в черное , СЖВ долбаебам понравится.… Expand
  88. anstsi3
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    This is not LoTR, it is simply an insult to Tolkiens legacy presented to the audience on the anniversary of his death. On top of that, they could only do it after Christopher Tolkien’s death, who was the last stronghold protecting the franchise. Amazon, how does dancing on graves feel?

    And yeah: “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or    This is not LoTR, it is simply an insult to Tolkiens legacy presented to the audience on the anniversary of his death. On top of that, they could only do it after Christopher Tolkien’s death, who was the last stronghold protecting the franchise. Amazon, how does dancing on graves feel?

    And yeah: “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made.”    … Expand
  89. Crossezeria
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made”
  90. Enzyme_X
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    A disgrace to the legacy of Tolkien. It could have been so beautiful. But sadly "other priorities" were given than lore and quality.
  91. LastGreyWarden
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    I was eight years old when my father took me to see Return of the King in Cinema. A week later my grandfather took my sister and I. All these years later I can still remember how it felt watching the Rohirrim charge, I was entirely awestruck.

    As older children my siblings and I would sit entranced by Rob Inglis' wonderful narration of the book. As a teen, a third of the repertoire I    I was eight years old when my father took me to see Return of the King in Cinema. A week later my grandfather took my sister and I. All these years later I can still remember how it felt watching the Rohirrim charge, I was entirely awestruck.

    As older children my siblings and I would sit entranced by Rob Inglis' wonderful narration of the book.

    As a teen, a third of the repertoire I prepared for my music exams was from the films.

    There is no fictional work that has had a greater impact on me.

    So I was genuinely optimistic when the Prime show was first announced. As the trailers arrived I became increasingly trepidatious however. Good thing for Amazon that Youtube had already hidden dislikes without you installing a Chrome browser plug-in.
    Because you're looking at a 10-to-1 dislike ratio across trailers. Amazon can't explain that away as simply a bunch of trolls, although they are trying hard to. (current stats on the latest trailer at time of writing are: 43k Likes and 469k dislikes..)

    Yet despite all that, I still went in hoping for the best. Boy...

    It was gut wrenching to see flickers of brilliance from Weta Workshop (Eregion and Lindon being examples for me) but the overall quality of their output didn't touch the original films. The costumes are poor, especially the elven plate armour. I know that heroes like Richard Taylor still work for Weta, and I'm sure that he put his all into this, but whether it's a reflection on who's there now more broadly, or on the direction they received themselves, it doesn't hold a candle to what they achieved 25 years ago.

    I'm sure that John Howes welcome return for concept art also helped produce those flickers or brilliance, although it's a shame that Alan Lee was not there to join him for this second effort.

    Anyhow, now that their work has been acknowledged, there is little else worthy of praise. Owain Arthur put out a solid performance as Prince Durin and Elrond was better than average too. That's about everything positive that I can say.

    When you spend a Billion dollars on a show, you ought to offer a blank check to the best composer you can get through the door bar Howard Shore as they couldn't get him back (Horner, Zimmer, Giachino etc.) but they settled on Bear McCreary, with Shore returning only to contribute to the main theme. McCreary did well enough with games like God of War but he's woefully out of his depth here.

    Despite the shills hyping up an epic prologue in their early access reviews to rival what we saw in Fellowship of the Ring, what we were given was pretty underwhelming. We barely saw anything that hadn't been shown in trailers and the 'war' itself lasted less than a minute.

    The writing throughout these episodes was utterly abysmal. The dialogue was unbearably bad and there was a total lack of plot development over two whole episodes.

    Cordova's delivery is particularly wooden. He had a nice modern haircut, though..

    Galadriel was ruined. Gone is the ethereal grace that Cate Blanchett brought to the role. Gone too are Galadriel's husband and child, apparently. Now we have a bitter woman who is 'nothing without her sword' and berates everyone around her. How could they reduce Galadriel to such a 2 dimensional character? Tolkien would be horrified.

    Clark herself seems like a half decent actress but it's the way her character is written which makes her impossible to like.

    Tolkien wrote his work precisely because he lamented the loss of English Mythology after the French defeated them at 1066 and destroyed what they had recorded previously. He wrote the Legendarium to replace that. While you could see the Anglo Saxon inspiration for the design of Rohan in the Jackson films clear as day, there is nothing quintessentially English here at all. Tolkien wrote extensively about Middle Earth and how it paralleled the continent of Europe, how Harad, Umbar and other places places further afield represented other ethnic peoples. There were no aeroplanes in Middle earth. These racial groups were entirely homogeneous and lived within specified geographic areas. Had Amazon found a way of incorporating a group of charecters from Harad etc. in to the story - e.g a migration of people fleeing war, explores or cartographers etc. - in order to represent greater diversity in the cast, this would have been entirely appropriate and not been seen as an issue by fans. I'm aware that a couple of the characters were actually from Harad in the story which makes the whole thing even more frustrating.

    i.e It is not the diversity being present within the cast itself that people are taking issue with, it's the lazy and implausible way that Amazon brought it about. The fact that their spokespeople and members of the cast are trying to dismiss this valid critique as merely racism is intellectually dishonest and shows a failure to address their total lack of care when it comes to the established lore.    … Expand
  92. Subikinubi
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Tolkien was the greatest writer of all time before this came out and after watching TV is he clearly still holds this title

    If you don’t have the rights to something, don’t think you can do it better than the original, he has captivated minds for decades, people from all different walks of life

    This should have been a tribute to him, instead it’s an atrocity Poor form Amazon, poor form
  93. swpDworkin
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Totaly not The Lords of the Rings.
    It can be wathcable if change the name and make just common serial about elvesdworves etc.
    But if you took this name you should follow Tolkien story.
  94. Minaverus
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Watching this disaster unfold is one of the saddest things I've ever seen, not only for Tolkien's work, but our culture as a whole. To see a company scramble to pay people to create review accounts to praise this abomination of a fan fiction is beyond pathetic, but actually quite scary given the size and power of the company. Is this what creativity has been reduced to? Success measured byWatching this disaster unfold is one of the saddest things I've ever seen, not only for Tolkien's work, but our culture as a whole. To see a company scramble to pay people to create review accounts to praise this abomination of a fan fiction is beyond pathetic, but actually quite scary given the size and power of the company. Is this what creativity has been reduced to? Success measured by numbers? There was always something magical about the Lord of the Rings books, and that magic was driven by Tolkien's life experiences. Experiences which are most obviously much different than the creators of this show, who would have failed miserably to come up with anything even half as profound and meaningful as Tolkien did. This is yet another example of numbers meaning absolutely nothing. No amount of money can buy a good show. It comes from the passion and talent of individuals, and many of the individuals involved with this production only saw the numbers.… Expand
  95. harveman877
    Sep 3, 2022
    2
    Wow what an abomination. This is LOTR in name only and can best be described as pretty trash. I give 2/10 for the hard working crew and effects people as this show clearly shows what 500 million will get you, but the dialogue and writing is laughable. I am not a hardcore LOTR fan, but I have watched all the movies and read a few of the books so I am at least middle of the pack. I watchedWow what an abomination. This is LOTR in name only and can best be described as pretty trash. I give 2/10 for the hard working crew and effects people as this show clearly shows what 500 million will get you, but the dialogue and writing is laughable. I am not a hardcore LOTR fan, but I have watched all the movies and read a few of the books so I am at least middle of the pack. I watched the original Peter Jackson movies tell an epic tale of LOTR with amazing battle scenes. This show has rock breaking competitions and salty Galadriel. What a waste of money and time. Call this review bombing if you will but I watched this dumpster fire and I hated it. There is no such things as review bombing just people showing their displeasure with a product.… Expand
  96. Mevian
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    An unfortunate film, where Tolkien's originality is not respected. She expected a minimum of respect for her characters, even the map of Middle Earth is wrong, there is no Belerian, an empowered Galadriel, when she did not need a sword to fight, the power of magic and her mind were enough. Corrupted characters abuse inclusion. A failure
  97. Ahlgren
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    How can you fail this bad?
    IF... if you compare it to Peter Jacksons trilogi its dog pop.
    A lot off taking about **** that no one care about.
    This fels like a 80s soap opera.
    Talking and stare into the the far, rinse and repeat.
    it took me two time to get thru ONE episod.
    This is not a fantasy it a woke drama.
  98. BillCooper2049
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made”
  99. sirchance
    Sep 3, 2022
    2
    This could have been so good if they stuck with the source material and didn't try so hard to inject 'today's' valuesTM into a mythical saga written by an obsessive master craftsman.

    VFX were great, story and casting were not.
  100. AlexSpm
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    So, another killed story. Apparently, the story of the Witcher has not taught you anything. Funny. In the end, the good news is that lots of people will see this garbage.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Most Discussed TV Season of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. The New Yorker
    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.
    Read full review
  2. Slant Magazine
    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.
    Read full review
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    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]
    Read full review
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