Plot: This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
Review: Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings mythology had to wait nearly a century for the definitive screen adaptation of the fantasy epic. Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning triumph still remains one of, if not the greatest fantasy story ever put on screen. With astounding performances from the ensemble cast and ground-breaking special effects, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is without equal. Even Peter Jackson’s own The Hobbit doesn’t measure up to his original trilogy as it expands on a brief story to a degree that felt indulgent. Now, Amazon’s massively budgeted new series takes on the challenge of not only equalling Jackson’s six movies but managing to court die-hard fans of the source material while converting newcomers to the detailed and rich mythos of Middle-Earth. Thankfully, The Rings of Power is not only a stunning achievement on the small screen but superior to Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy.
After purchasing the television rights to The Lord of the Rings in 2017, many wondered what Amazon’s $250 million investment would look like. With a five-season commitment and a budget totaling a billion dollars, Tolkien’s estate dictated the new series could not be a sequel to The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. With enough money pledged to the project to make it the most expensive television series of all time, Prime Video’s The Rings of Power takes the story of Middle-Earth back to the Second Age, a period never before seen on screen. With so much detailed material in the volumes of history Tolkien assembled over the years, The Rings of Power takes viewers back in time to showcase characters hinted at in stories and passing references in the feature films while echoing the production design of Jackson’s big screen saga. From Howard Shore’s familiar-sounding theme for the series to the youthful iterations of characters portrayed by Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, The Rings of Power fits beautifully alongside the beloved movies while deepening the richness of Middle-Earth with all new locations, characters, and stories.
Having seen the first two episodes of The Rings of Power, I can say without a doubt that it is one of the most stunning television series I have ever seen. Filmed on location in New Zealand, like Peter Jackson’s films, The Rings of Power evokes the lush natural beauty of mountains, fields, and forests that gave the movies a tangible feel while also using a ton of special effects that look absolutely real. From practical make-up effects on orcs and other monsters to computer-generated creatures, buildings, and backgrounds, at no point did I watch these episodes and feel anything but awe at the scale this creative team was able to generate. Even watching The Hobbit, the special effects sometimes took me out of the story. I never had that feeling during The Rings of Power. It also helps that Bear McCreary’s score eloquently echoes Howard Shore’s mesmerizing film music while forging its own soundscape.
The Rings of Power also boasts a great cast. While it does not have any actors who have the name recognition that the films carried, these performances more than speak for themselves. In the first two episodes, we are introduced to Morfydd Clark’s take on Galadriel and Robert Aramayo’s Elrond. Both Elves were key characters in The Lord of the Rings but more as stoic leaders than direct participants in the story itself. Here, both are vital to the ongoing war against Sauron, a threat that is far different than the spectral eye seen in the movies. Both actors lend significantly different angles to these characters that deepen Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving’s performances while giving us new insight into how they contributed to this massive story. There is also a retinue of new characters from all walks including Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir, an Elf who shares some characteristic similarities with Orlando Bloom’s Legolas, the legendary Isildur (Maxim Baldry), a human warrior, Nazanin Boniadi as the human healer Bronwyn, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, the Elf who forged the titular rings, Benjamin Walker as Elf High King Gil-galad, and Peter Mullan and Owain Arthur as dwarf royals Durin III and Durin IV.
The cast of The Rings of Power is significantly more diverse than in the movies with actors of various ethnicities and nationalities contributing to the ensemble. The racial make-up of the cast keeps the story feeling much more rounded, especially since we get to see so many more regions and cultures from Middle-Earth than ever before. One such group is the Harfoots, the ancestors of Hobbits. Sharing many similarities to the various Baggins, Brandybucks, and Gamgees we know and love, the Harfoots are a lovable group of diminutive characters. At the center, we spend a lot of time with Harfoots Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), two troublesome and adventurous young Harfoots who stumble upon a mysterious man played by Daniel Weyman. This stranger, who falls from the sky in a flaming meteor, is one of the more intriguing characters who could very well be a key character from The Lord of the Rings.
The first two episodes do not even introduce half of the characters shown in the trailers for The Rings of Power and that alone means there is a lot in store. The first season of the series is only eight episodes and there is a lot of story here in just two hours of screen time. Without revealing any of the plot, I can tell you that J.A. Bayona has managed to do Peter Jackson proud. The Rings of Power contains a couple of brief action sequences in the opening chapters but spends a great deal of time orienting us to the time period and setting of Middle-Earth’s Second Age. That means there is a lot of talking and a lot of similar-sounding names that you will need to keep track of, but none of it feels like it is riding on the coattails of The Lord of the Rings. The rings themselves are not mentioned once but the trajectory of where this series is going is very clear. I never once was bored during these two hours. If anything, I was more excited to take this journey and then revisit each of the feature films again. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have taken the dense historical records left by Tolkien and turned them into marquee television.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an absolute masterpiece of television that has upped the ante for what we can expect from a streaming series. After seeing this series, I don’t think we can ever again call TV the “small screen”. The Rings of Power is an achievement in every sense of the word with the best special effects, production design, and music of any series to date. As a fan of The Lord of the Rings, I am very happy and cannot wait to see where this story will go next.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on September 1st on Prime Video.