The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

[Hank Kingsley]

Huge Tolkien fan here. I'm the type of nerd who has read The Silmarillion multiple times.

Haven't seen the show yet. Gonna wait for several episodes to pile up... part of it is that I'm super busy with the start of the school year.

I'm skeptical that a bunch of 21st century writers with a license to 'riff' can pull off authentic Tolkien... but I'm willing to give it a chance.

I got The Silmarillion for Xmas the year it came out. Don't think I ever finished reading it. Dumped it in a garage (garbage) sale.

 

[Gman]

I got The Silmarillion for Xmas the year it came out. Don't think I ever finished reading it. Dumped it in a garage (garbage) sale.

I recommend it.

It's less literature and more a history book... some of it told in tale.

(But I majored in history and don't mind that style)

I marvel at how Tolkien fit a history of many ages together so well. There is a flow and music to it that I really appreciate.

 

[PatsFan2003]

Watched both episodes tonight, and I thought it was very good for a slow burn beginning. Two things jumped out - Galadriel doesn't (yet) have that mischievous spark, but the actress pulls off the strangely alien intensity beautifully. Maybe she gets some of that inner humor later.

The other thing is the mixed-race casting, which was more jarring in some cases than others. The harfoot and the dwarf wife seemed wrong, but the elf worked for me. Maybe because the elves come from a more expansive and alien land, while the harfoots and dwarves are small, closed communities, so mixed races dents credibility. Maybe because the actor who plays the elf totally pulls off the bearing and nobility of the elves, which not all the actors did (elf king just felt like a modern-day middle-aged guy in long hair and a robe).

My expectations were lowered by poor reviews, which is probably for the best. I like it so far.

It was a slow start. I started watching late evening and fell asleep. Doesn't mean the series is bad... LOL. But something this detailed like Middle Earth could take a while to get going.

 

[wilwhite]

I thought the LOTR trilogy was very good...

... I thought the Hobbit "trilogy" was a bloated monstrosity.

I didn't even watch the Hobbit trilogy. I didn't understand how anybody could jam the LOTR into a single movie, and I didn't understand how anybody could stretch The Hobbit into three.

I think I read part of The Silmarillion when I was like thirteen, and I recall it read more like history than like stories about characters. This series of course is a saga about characters, and they seem to use the stuff from The Silmarillion as the backdrop.

It feels like it belongs pretty well to the world of the Peter Jackson movies, although like a lot of things these days they go a little heavy on the CGI. The production design is very good so far, and most of the cast is good, and they're not rushing.

 

[QuestionSocratic]

What it did was convince me to watch TLOTR again. I probably haven't seen it in 20 years even though I had the DVDs. Since the original trilogy is also available on Prime, I 'm watching it there. But I can only handle about an hour at a time, so streaming works great since it keeps track of wherever I pause.

 

[wilwhite]

I have zero interest. Ditto for GOT prequels.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend either yet. The GOT prequel is really thin on interesting characters, especially compared to GOT which was packed with them. And the prequel so far is painfully predictable.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

I recommend it.

It's less literature and more a history book... some of it told in tale.

(But I majored in history and don't mind that style)

I marvel at how Tolkien fit a history of many ages together so well. There is a flow and music to it that I really appreciate.

Like I said, I couldn't finish it. Tolkien is the trilogy to me and nothing else.

 

[Gman]

Like I said, I couldn't finish it. Tolkien is the trilogy to me and nothing else.

Fair enough.

Most people I know who even attempted to read The Silmarillion thought it dry and washed out on reading the whole thing.

So... it's not just you.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Fair enough.

Most people I know who even attempted to read The Silmarillion thought it dry and washed out on reading the whole thing.

So... it's not just you.

But like I said I got it for Xmas in 1977 in hard cover and I had panned it right away.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

Fair enough.

Most people I know who even attempted to read The Silmarillion thought it dry and washed out on reading the whole thing.

So... it's not just you.

I first picked up a copy in college (still have it), and I've probably read it 4 or 5 times. As has been said, very different from the Hobbit or the trilogy, mainly because Christopher put it together using his father's notes. Dad would never have finished it even if he had lived longer.

As a reader who wanted more back story to the other works, this really was worth it to me. Where I got bogged down was in all those other books, unfinished tales. Just countless rewrites of the stories that didn't really give me the feeling that I was getting additional information.

 

[lilchi721]

 

[YankeeRebel]

I have read a lot about people pissing and moaning about brown skin Harfoots, and this is not as good as the original series. It may not be as good but of the two episodes I have watched I actually like it.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

I have read a lot about people pissing and moaning about brown skin Harfoots, and this is not as good as the original series. It may not be as good but of the two episodes I have watched I actually like it.

I enjoyed the first two, haven't seen the third one yet (tonight). I just ignore the skin color; black actors need work, too

 

[Cyder]

I watched some of the first episode and I hope it picks up, it was a tad boring. It also seems all the elves are pussies except the one main character. I'm going into this knowing the stories won't be as good as the actual Tolkien books, how could they be? I'm not sure why anyone would care about the skin color of any of the characters but I have a feeling that "backlash" is being exaggerated. It's also a way to deflect from people who don't like it, you just call them racist. I saw a lot of that with the Kenobi series. The story lines were terrible and lazy but the only complaints I saw from the press and people in the show was about "racist" remarks. No one in the entertainment press bothered to cover the show was just plain bad.

 

[DarthVedder]

3 hours into the show, and not a lot has happened. I know a show's pacing is different, but this is still a Fantasy series, not Better Call Saul. 3 hours is basically a Peter Jackson movie.

 

[YankeeRebel]

I enjoyed the first two, haven't seen the third one yet (tonight). I just ignore the skin color; black actors need work, too

You are correct.

 

[YankeeRebel]

I watched some of the first episode and I hope it picks up, it was a tad boring. It also seems all the elves are pussies except the one main character. I'm going into this knowing the stories won't be as good as the actual Tolkien books, how could they be? I'm not sure why anyone would care about the skin color of any of the characters but I have a feeling that "backlash" is being exaggerated. It's also a way to deflect from people who don't like it, you just call them racist. I saw a lot of that with the Kenobi series. The story lines were terrible and lazy but the only complaints I saw from the press and people in the show was about "racist" remarks. No one in the entertainment press bothered to cover the show was just plain bad.

3 hours into the show, and not a lot has happened. I know a show's pacing is different, but this is still a Fantasy series, not Better Call Saul. 3 hours is basically a Peter Jackson movie.

I agree it's a tad slow and I feel that is because they are creating the back story. I do feel it will pick up. If not I am calling the NAACP

 

[Niner Outlaw]

The Rings of Power is ok so far. It was slow, but it did pick up toward the end of the 2nd episode, so it gets more time from me. I get that some backstory is necessary, so i'll give it another couple of tries.

I didn't really have an issue with the black dwarves or harfoot--they seemed natural imo. OTOH, the black elf seemed a little out of place imo, but it wasn't a glaring thing for me.

I watched some of the first episode and I hope it picks up, it was a tad boring. It also seems all the elves are pussies except the one main character. I'm going into this knowing the stories won't be as good as the actual Tolkien books, how could they be? I'm not sure why anyone would care about the skin color of any of the characters but I have a feeling that "backlash" is being exaggerated. It's also a way to deflect from people who don't like it, you just call them racist. I saw a lot of that with the Kenobi series. The story lines were terrible and lazy but the only complaints I saw from the press and people in the show was about "racist" remarks. No one in the entertainment press bothered to cover the show was just plain bad.

I agree. My dislike for, and giving up on, Kenobi had nothing to do with the characters' races/sexes. I gave up on the show b/c of lazy writing and bad story lines. I'm not gonna watch it through just b/c it says Star Wars, Tolkein, or Marvel on the label.

 

[DarthVedder]

I watched some of the first episode and I hope it picks up, it was a tad boring. It also seems all the elves are pussies except the one main character. I'm going into this knowing the stories won't be as good as the actual Tolkien books, how could they be? I'm not sure why anyone would care about the skin color of any of the characters but I have a feeling that "backlash" is being exaggerated. It's also a way to deflect from people who don't like it, you just call them racist. I saw a lot of that with the Kenobi series. The story lines were terrible and lazy but the only complaints I saw from the press and people in the show was about "racist" remarks. No one in the entertainment press bothered to cover the show was just plain bad.

This. Many of the people watching (and wanting to like) The Rings of Power are also watching "House of the Dragon". Do they stop being racist / misogynist when watching that show, since it's getting solid reviews?

The problem is in the writing, not in the characters. If the writing is terrible, people get annoyed, lose suspension of disbelief and get super-critical. If the writing is good, who gaf if Corlys Velaryon is played by a black dude, who's doing a good job btw.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

I'm not gonna watch it through just b/c it says Star Wars, Tolkein, or Marvel on the label.

Agree on Star Wars and Marvel, I will quit a show/movie if it just flat out sucks. But with Tolkien, I'm a glutton for punishment. I sat through all three of those Hobbit movies.