The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Created by Patrick McKay and John D. Payne

★★

Like the Hannibal series or The Exorcist series, many continuations of familiar intellectual properties further the lore of the original by adding to the overall story. And there are some that do the exact opposite, steal ideas, and basically become a watered-down version of what once worked (think the Lethal Weapon series or That 80’s Show). Yet, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finds itself somewhere in between, galavanting as something that comes off as both self-important vitality and dull unoriginality. It’s baffling that a show that has been marketed as the biggest show of all time has such a lackadaisical scope of intrigue, rather than one of cinematic grandeur.

Overacting is on full display. Consonants are chewed like day-old Calamari. Accents are worthy of something on the CW. And characters are developed as well as a Shamalan twist. What’s worse, is if this show really cost a staggering half a billion dollars, where did the money go? It didn’t go to the largely unknown cast. It sure as hell didn’t go to the effects department, since the films from two decades ago look more realistic by comparison. Maybe just to the Tolkien estate, then?

To be frank, I am not the biggest enthusiast of fantasy, but if done right, it can transport the viewer to a magical new landscape. But, if done like LOTR: The Rings of Power, the viewer will be transported straight to an earlier slumber. Possibly bearing witness to a dream more interesting than this snore. Maybe it will age better as the episodes shoulder aimlessly past prologue. Or maybe, like the Fyre Festival, this is one overhyped pile of scat.

Blonde

Not Okay