Lord of the Rings TV Series Purchased by Amazon

[Rennadrel]

Every trailer just keeps looking worse and worse as far as the style goes. That opening cinematic didn't take long to get memed on though. Good thing I started The Expanse yesterday, that show is actually great and if it is true that Amazon canned it for this pile of crap, that's a damn shame because it's actually been really good and I'm not even done season 1.

[Ausr]

Is that really legit ? Not a meme or something like that ?

It's legit. It's already become a meme.

[DarkAmbient]

That's not the intro. It's some promo shit they did.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

[eschatological]

WARNING, THREAD UPDATE: With the premiere of this show tonight, we're going to end lots of this discussion which has taken over this thread. It's tiring and goes in circles, and, in many cases, entirely in bad faith.

Do not post bad faith YT trash in this thread, whether it's from a YouTube channel with literally 4 subscribers (see above), or the Babylon Bee, a parody site engaged in culture war bullshit. This show is coming out tonight, and the time for these inane discussions of what a faithful adaptation is are done.

Going forward, the discussion should be centered around what is actual shown in the aired media, which, again, is premiering tonight. And no, the existence of a black elf in a Tolkein adaptation is not permission to continue these previous discussions.

Further continuation of these topics will be considered off-topic, derailing, and will be infracted.

[rogueMatthias]

Seen the first two episodes at the premiere already.

The arguments about the casting will be moot when everyone sees how bland it is.

A lot of the script and acting is just pretty bad.

The second episode improves quite a bit though. They really should be showing the first two episodes, as the first might put a lot of people off returning on its own.

[qwerty123456]

Not gunna lie for the first 30 seconds I thought this was legit. I just thought that they were pulling a Disney with that shitty cgi squirrel hoping so they could sell a cutesy toy.

[RachelMadcow]

Snipped .

[Triceron]

The second episode improves quite a bit though. They really should be showing the first two episodes, as the first might put a lot of people off returning on its own.

Is that not the plan with the full release tonight? Is it not 2 episodes?

[druchii5]

Still halfway into the first episode, and it's really not terrible. Only thing I'm bothered by so far--why is it that like 90% of the Elves are sporting trendy Millennial haircuts? It just feel so damn off and distracting. I feel like long, silky hair has always added to the ethereal characteristics of Tolkien Elves. Really wish they just went a more traditional direction for it.

[PACOX]

Leagues ahead of WoT.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Only watched the first episode but so far Its pretty good with the only real negative being the funky Fight with the Snow troll.

Really wish it showed more of the war with Morgoth though the eagle bit was a awesome opening for it.

[Triceron]

Quarter-way through the first episode.

It's actually not bad so far. The landscapes are breathtaking, and really get me back into the LOTR mood. Well worth the money they've spent on this, and I'd rewatch this just for the setpieces.

Acting isn't too bad. Dialogue works for me so far. Just have to turn my brain off and enjoy the ride.

The short haired Elves are a bit disconcerting, but I think it'll grow on me in time. No qualms on the costuming so far otherwise.

I like what I'm seeing far more than what I've seen in the trailers.

[Biomega]

First episode done, and it's... not looking good.

Funnily enough, the snow troll fight many people have problems with I found quite well executed - it establishes the character as an expert fighter, it sets the scene for her matter-of-fact attitude and show how driven she is, and it doesn't drag on or uses egregious choreography (save the sword launch at the start which I do agree is a bit borderline).

My main problem so far is with two things.

1. Dialogue. Tolkien-level writing this is not, that's for sure; granted, it is a show, not a book, but still. A lot of the conversations feel wooden and ill-paced, and the diction is a little off - half is colloquialisms half makes an attempt at sophisticated prose, but the depth never goes beyond the shallow and feels stilted and artificial. It's especially bad for the humans and harfoots, where half the time it's the most stereotypical country drawl, only to switch over into theater-like stage delivery at a moment's notice. It feels out of place and poorly fit together.

2. Emotion. It's all over the place, and way too overdrawn. Galadriel especially never quite finds a line; she's supposed to be driven, instilled with a centuries-long never-forgive-never-forget kind of determination. Yet somehow she looks like she's ready to burst into tears or shouting half the time; the problem is how mismatched these things often are with what's going on. There's a constant disconnect between the acting and the narrative for her, which creates a feeling of unease that makes you feel uncomfortable watching her for all the wrong reasons. Similarly with Arondir, whose facial expression of perpetual annoyance just doesn't quite have a place with what he's doing. It's like the script goes in one direction, but the actors go in another - very disconcerting.
Additionally, the emphasis on emotionally evocative visuals borders on the pathetic (as in its literary sense). The journey to Valinor that has them all standing like statues and then burst into choral song? Dear gods. That's the kind of scene a high-school student director might come up with for a play. It feels completely over the top and out of place, in fact that entire sequence feels like a 1980s aesthetic nightmare where someone discovered the gold color filter and went nuts. I could go on, there's more offenders.

The visuals as a whole are okay so far - but only okay, really. The landscapes are fine, and there's some nice details (love the Silvan elves' breast plates, for example), but a lot of it feels way too inorganic and artificial for a AAA-budget series from 2022. The harfoot village props, Gil-galad's court, they all look way too much like theater stages and not enough like a living, breathing world. It's not, like, terrible, but it doesn't wow me, either.

The actors I found okay so far. The cocky village youth (didn't catch the character's name, if it was mentioned) stuck out a bit, but the rest were mostly fine. I cannot unsee Elrond's chin every time he's in the frame, but that's unfair of me - the actor does a fine job. Then again it's episode 1 only and not enough has happened yet, so we'll have to see. The short hair on a lot of the elves doesn't really bother me. I always found the whole Legolas-style stereotype with flowing manes a rather stale cliché to begin with, so it's nice to see them give things some variety.

I'll watch episode 2 tomorrow and see how I like the dwarves, which some people have said were a lot more interesting than the elves. Time will tell. But this does not so far smell to me like a new hit series. The writing just isn't there, and it's VERY painful to someone versed in the lore to see them gloss over so many important story bits of the larger mythology because of copyright reasons (like the entire thing with the silmaril and the rebellion of the Noldor). An unfortunate necessity of the arrangement, but a bitter taste nonetheless. I want to see where things are going, but I do not expect to be blown away by the story.

[s_bushido]

Oops. I guess all the petty whining was meaningless, and it's actually a pretty good show so far.

It's a small thing, but I like intro being sound waves forming patterns in sand, given the creation myth of this world.

Highlight for me for those episodes was Elrond and the Dwarves.

[Askyl]

Oops. I guess all the petty whining was meaningless, and it's actually a pretty good show so far.

It's a small thing, but I like intro being sound waves forming patterns in sand, given the creation myth of this world.

Highlight for me for those episodes was Elrond and the Dwarves.

Petty hating for no reason was.... For no reason? Who knew

[jonnysensible]

pretty good wish they would drop the season and not do this bullshit weekly thing. What am i watching cable tv?

[tikcol]

Whoaa this is looking terrible.

The mystique instilled in the books and to some extent the trilogy is all but lost. I hope the people responsible for the background CGI were generously compensated because looking at it objectively it's the only reason this fantasy trash show was so expensive.

The dialogue is so cheesy it borderlines being uncomfortable to listen to. Guyladriel as a character is just plainly annoying, to be honest it's both the writing and the personal interpretation of the character by the actress.

What's even worse about all this is that even if you forget this is supposed to be inspired by Tolkien, it would still be generic trash. Which doesn't make it any favors. I could only bear to finish it because I convinced myself midway through that I wasn't watching anything connected to Tolkien, which worked to some extent but it still made it seem terribly dull and uninspired.

6.5/10

[Makabreska]

Whoaa this is looking terrible.

The mystique instilled in the books and to some extent the trilogy is all but lost. I hope the people responsible for the background CGI were generously compensated because looking at it objectively it's the only reason this fantasy trash show was so expensive.

The dialogue is so cheesy it borderlines being uncomfortable to listen to. Guyladriel as a character is just plainly annoying, to be honest it's both the writing and the personal interpretation of the character by the actress.

What's even worse about all this is that even if you forget this is supposed to be inspired by Tolkien, it would still be generic trash. Which doesn't make it any favors. I could only bear to finish it because I convinced myself midway through that I wasn't watching anything connected to Tolkien, which worked to some extent but it still made it seem terribly dull and uninspired.

6.5/10

Hmmmm, so you call it trash, yet score it above average?

[Flurryfang]

I have this odd feeling about the show, that it should be "too big to fail".... Its really a challenge in some ways, and it makes it hard to like it, because...its kinda expected that you will, since it is so expensive to make and has some of the best source material on the market.

That all put together makes expectations really high. This is not a show, that can just be okay, it has to be great or it is a failure upon itself. If i am not getting my socks knocked off by the show, then the question is where all the money went?

When it then comes to the show, the show is sadly...just alright. Its just like a show i watched resently, the Wheel of Time, as it is a show that really leaves little impact. It's fantasy, it has a beautiful production, but at the same time, it feels rushed, the plot is odd and trying to reinvent the wheel and all in all just feels quite bland in television stage with many fantasy shows.

Its proberly a show, that will find some success when it comes to viewership, but its also a show i don't see going past 3-4 seasons, atleast not with the same bombastic fanfare as this first season will hit. Because unless they find a sudden second wind at some point with a new direction, i don't see the show having much interesting to say or tell, that will set it apart from its competitors. It's a modern show for modern viewers and thats quite a shame.

5/10.