Several years after Amazon bought the television rights to "The Lord of the Rings" from J.R.R. Tolkien estate, the gargantuan effort to boost Prime Video's profile with the same kind of phenomenon HBO found in "Game of Thrones" is upon us, and it's as grand, if not downright surreal, as the occasion requires. Sure, "Game of Thrones" could have solidified a television format for fantasy epics. But the novels of George R.R. Martin simply wouldn't exist without Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," and bringing these stories to episodic life requires not only all the considerable money that Amazon can provide, but a certain amount of guts on the part of the TV writers who put it to work. of it. now, some 85 years after "The Hobbit" changed the game.
From first-time showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," which opens on September 2 with two episodes, fits perfectly into Peter Jackson's pre-existing "LOTR" cinematic universe. and “Hobbit”. The movies as a series could feasibly be handled, while also expanding on the lore that fans have scrutinized for decades. The first episode even mirrors the opening scene of "The Fellowship of the Ring," in which Galadriel, the ethereal elf played by Cate Blanchett, intones a short story of why the Ring is so important. The series, however, takes us back to the beginning of time, as Galadriel, now a younger and fiery version played by Morfydd Clark ("Saint Maud"), details the origin of all things.
Creators: Patrick McKay, John D. Payne
Stars: Morfydd Clark, Lenny Henry, Markella Kavenagh
From this prelude onward, the narrative of "Rings of Power" takes a solemn and awe-inspiring approach that feels in line with the screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Jackson, even if the direction, by J.A. Bayona and Wayne Che Yip in the opening episodes, with Charlotte Brändström to follow in the next few, is more helpful than broad than specific. Production value-wise, it's not exactly surprising that the physical world building and gleaming armored suits rate so highly given the show's astronomical price tag, but it's still refreshing to escape to an alternate world that feels more tangibly real than the original. CGI creation. . When the action calls for a visual effect, say a huge, undulating sea monster crawling under a splintered raft, clearly no expense was spared to make it sound really, palpably sinister. (Although if you're wondering if "The Rings of Power" might be a friendlier option to watch with your kids than the blatantly violent "House of the Dragon," the answer is "Yes, as long as they can handle war and/or occasional scare from an orc).
After the opening depicts centuries of Galadriel's life and the catastrophic war of the First Age, the story reaches a pivotal moment where various plotlines and characters from all races may collide. Die-hard Tolkienists may bristle at the idea of the show condensing so much story, but layering the action in this way is undoubtedly effective when building a TV show. And frankly, considering the number of characters and the amount of Tolkienian material that "Rings of Power" has to convey, the season's eight-hour runtime (the equivalent of two Jackson Extended Editions) feels practically Spartan. .
The first two episodes are admirably concise and compelling in their introductions. As written by McKay, Payne, and Gennifer Hutchison ("Better Call Saul"), these opening chapters strike a solid balance between the wars, politics, and daily life that define the chosen era as they establish protagonists from every corner of the world. Middle Earth and beyond. There are elves: Galadriel, High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), and Elrond (Robert Aramayo, playing a much more affable version of the character than the mature, or at least more testy, iteration of Hugo Weaving in the movies). There's Nori, a restless Harfoot (that is, a breed of Hobbit) who dreams of intrigues beyond her camp. There's the dwarf prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete), as well as star-crossed would-be lovers Bronwyn (a stalwart human played by Nazanin Boniadi) and Arondir (a loyal elf played by Ismael Cruz Córdova). Eventually, even "Lord of the Rings" mythical figures Elendil (Lloyd Owens) and Isildur, the father and son whose deaths lead to the survival of The One Ring, will join the party from the city of Númenor, whose greatness is gone. “The Hobbit” unfolds.