Amazon Prime’s new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a prequel to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings books and Jackson’s trilogy. When the idea of the series was pitched there was a bidding war between Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime finally won the bidding war at $250 Million. That’s just the sale price. The budget of the show’s first season is $1 Billion. That makes it the most expensive TV production of all time. You have competition Game of Thrones. Since, Amazon had the rights to the material, the show entered development and they made one choice that changed everything. They decided not to adapt the books exactly as they’re, the story of the show starts 200 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings.
The show had dropped two teasers that merely hinted us at the adventure we were about to witness but as San Diego Comic Con returned this year, Amazon Prime had revealed the official full length trailer of the show. The trailer was very well received with unexpected appearances from Sauron and Balrog. I just want to point out this very quickly, this year we are getting two prequels to two of the biggest fantasy IPs of the 21st Century- Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. Both the prequels are debuting only weeks apart from each other. This week we got House of the Dragon’s Pilot and we were mesmerized to say the least. However, today we have the first reactions for Rings of Power and to out disappointment they’re a mixed bag.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – All Scale, No Story?
The prequel that we’re getting will be debut next week with the first two episodes of the season. Amazon Prime has astronomical hopes from this show. After all the kind of money they’ve invested justifies their hopes. As we all know the pilot of any show is one of the most important steps. We have our first batch of reviews and reactions from the people who have seen the pilot and the subsequent episode. Their reactions suggest the show is a visual treat but the plot progression is not exciting at all. However, they’re hopeful that the show will pick up some pace and become more interesting eventually. Here is the first batch of reviews:
The Rings of Power (first 2 eps) is better than the marketing materials would have you believe but has work to do making the plot exciting. It feels massive and sets up the factions well but pacing is off. The Dwarves are already cooler than in The Hobbit! #TheRingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/crqr3wLCSh
— Rob Keyes (@rob_keyes) August 24, 2022
Okay so the first two episodes of #LordoftheRings #RingsofPower are a spectacular sight to behold. The scale, scope, ambition and grandiosity is unrivaled on TV. It also has the laborious task of introducing SO much necessary world building that it takes a bit to set flight.
— Brandon Katz (@Great_Katzby) August 24, 2022
Have seen the first 2 episodes of the @primevideo's #LordOfTheRings series. Prepare to be blown away by the scale and scope of #TheRingsofPower. I don’t know how they managed to pull this off, but they made a ‘Lord of the Rings’ show that feels like ‘Lord of the Rings.’ ½ pic.twitter.com/OTZjH41WTS
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) August 24, 2022
I've seen the first 2 episodes of #LordOfTheRings #TheRingsOfPower. It is stunningly gorgeous to look at, and the score is beautiful. It also takes a while to get going, and there's a LOT going on. But for fans of the movies, it'll take you right back at points once it's rolling.
— Alex Zalben (@azalben) August 24, 2022
Social media embargo is up for #LordofTheRings #TheRingsofPower #LOTR, so: I’ve seen the first 2 episodes. I had been skeptical…but I was very pleasantly surprised. It is actually good! Very good! Visuals & tone are just right. IMO, a great addition to the Tolkien world
— Lauren Sarner (@LaurenSarner) August 24, 2022
Two episodes of #TheRingsOfPower in and … so far, so good! The production value is pretty remarkable. One breathtaking visual after the next, and the level of detail in the costume and production design is something else. As for the story/characters … pic.twitter.com/n2HeKHdKPM
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) August 24, 2022
I've seen the first 2 eps of #TheRingsOfPower. Yes, it's as visually stunning as the trailer promises.
It also sets the stage well for the clearly epic tale heading our way. I liked some characters/storylines more than others, but I'm hooked & ready for more#TheLordOfTheRings
— Vanessa Armstrong (@vfarmstrong.com on Bl***ky) (@vfarmstrong) August 24, 2022
Here’s something you probably didn’t expect to hear. I thought #TheRingsOfPower was pretty great. Interesting new characters. Unusual locations. The looming threat of Sauron and some spectacular visual imagery. I devoured the episodes, and am excited to watch more. pic.twitter.com/uCTsjnLZpZ
— Sean O'Connell (@Sean_OConnell) August 24, 2022
RINGS OF POWER: I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen thus far — it’s often hard to tell where the VFXs end and the sets begin, Morfydd Clark is a damn star and the world is so well rendered — but it feels like the whole thing is a tightrope act that could still go either way.
— William Goodman (@goodmanw) August 24, 2022
Having seen the first two episodes of #RingsOfPower, I have to admit I was surprised how much I liked it. The lush and expansive series very much breathes new life into the franchise. And it’s a show that I think people will enjoy once they allow themselves to be sucked into it.
— Stacy Lambe (@sllambe) August 24, 2022
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has an astronomical cast including Morfydd Clark, Benjamin Walker, Charles Edwards, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Nazanin Boniadi, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Tyroe Muhafidin, Maxim Baldry, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Leon Wadham, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will start streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 2nd September 2022. Each episode
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