The Rings of Power

[DrWho42]

i hadn't heard much about it, but i'm cautiously optimistic?

[bio_hazard]

This Vanity Fair article has me a little more optimistic. I'm not expecting anything close to the original PJ movies but I like they seem to be emphasizing practical effects and taking some care with the dialog.

[archolewa]

Honestly, Im really glad they decided to pick an era thats basically a giant gaping hole in Middle Earth lore. It gived them room to do their own thing. I would fly into a frothing rage if they say, gave Beren and Luthien the same treatment PJ gave the Hobbit.

[bio_hazard]

I wonder if we'll ever see Beren and Luthien.

Unrelated, apparently there's going to be something animated about the Rohirrim in a couple of years.

Set roughly two centuries before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” “The War of the Rohirrim” will explore the exploits of Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and the creation of Helm’s Deep, the stronghold featured in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”

Kenji Kamiyama (the TV series “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”) is directing with “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” producer Joseph Chou through his anime studio Sola Entertainment, which has been working on the film since it was announced in June 2021.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by bio_hazard

I wonder if we'll ever see Beren and Luthien.

Unrelated, apparently there's going to be something animated about the Rohirrim in a couple of years.

Interesting, I hadn't heard about that.

[fph]

Any opinions on the first two episodes? I like how the races were portrayed, but for now in my view it fails to paint a strong, interesting story. I hope there is more to the plot coming.

[Nick]

I'm not rushing to judgment, but it hasn't really grabbed me yet.

[debo]

Originally Posted by fph

Any opinions on the first two episodes? I like how the races were portrayed, but for now in my view it fails to paint a strong, interesting story. I hope there is more to the plot coming.

I found it pretty, but boring. They have 5 seasons in mind already so I guess they're keeping the pace slow. There's not really any single plotline that I'm particularly interested in yet.

My brain keeps crashing when they mention characters from the First Age that now have different / idealized stories compared to the Silmarillion, but as with you I'm glad they chose a period that isn't particularly well-trodden ground.

[debo]

Oh, and by the way, my money is on that melty broken evil sword being Anglachel 🙂

[bio_hazard]

I didn't have super high expectations going in and so far I'm pleasantly surprised and enjoying it after 2 ep.

It is starting slow and with a lot of threads all at once. I'd probably prefer it if they got us a little more centered in one or two stories, but since they payed all that money for Middle Earth rights they are for sure going to show us Hobbits (Harfoots), Dwarfs, Elves, Men, mystery man, all at once even if it hurts the narrative. I loved the dwarf civ but I wish they had kicked that to Ep 3 so we get more invested in some of the other stories. Galadriel's adventures at sea were cool looking I guess but really felt like <insert adventure here to get us to the next plot point>.

Liked the Harfoots, dwarves. Didn't hate the Southland love story because it's serving as a way to enter into the human/elf history in that area.

I really don't mind if it's not hyper-accurate to the source if it keeps the flavor and tells interesting stories. This isn't the history channel.

It's funnier than I expected and (not entirely) fart/burp jokes. It captures some of the balance of the first Peter Jackson trilogy.

It's mostly great looking.

Like: The (e2) intro with the sand patterns
Don't like: the map (goes too fast for me)

It's better than the last couple of Hobbit movies. It's not as good as the Peter Jackson LoTR or early seasons GoT but that's an almost impossible benchmark to hit as those were phenomenal adaptations of already excellent stories. I think it's maybe better than the WoT after 2 episodes but in the same ballpark.