‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ review: Amazon’s series delivers spectacle but doesn’t have the dramatic power to rule them all

সেপ্টেম্বর 1, 2022
মন্তব্য নেই
Politics


Indeed, some of “The Rings of Power’s” shortcomings echo those of HBO’s lavish “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon,” which burns brighter by comparison. Based on the early episodes, the gap between the characters audiences got to know in Peter Jackson’s trilogy and their ancestral counterparts seems even more pronounced.

The series’ format – episodes will drop weekly after the two-part premiere – also tends to invite bad habits from even Jackson’s notoriously long films, with plodding interludes and a second episode that unfolds on multiple fronts. without feeling like a lot is going on, relatively speaking.

Fans of the ornate world of JRR Tolkien will no doubt be tempted to bask in the centuries-old approach to this tale, which picks up with an extended prologue concerning a vast and costly battle with the forces of Sauron, and his subsequent demise. While some hope for a lasting peace, elven warrior Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) remains vigilant, convinced that, as she puts it, “evil doesn’t sleep. It waits.”

Like “House of the Dragon”, “The Ring of Power” sought to bring more prominence to women and people of color, while capitalizing on the timeless qualities of Elves, among other things, to make connections despite the time lapse of gaping time between this the series and the movies.

Overall, the Elves take on an increased role, including the hardened soldier Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), who also becomes more prominent as the battle lines begin to draw.

Even so, the latitude afforded by an episodic approach and plans for multiple seasons doesn’t initially translate to more compelling characters, and after catching up with audiences on the story, the buildup to the meat of the story is done. slowly.

Gradually, “The Rings of Power” introduces an assortment of players representing the worlds of Men, Elves, ever-colored Dwarfs, and a Hobbit subset known as the Harfoots (a distinction that hopefully won’t will not be on the final). At times, as the series flies between them, it starts to look like “The Lord of the Cards”, splashing images of the different realms across the screen as it navigates from location to location.

These locations reflect the breadth of production at its highest, while the mythical beasts featured actually turn out to be a little more uneven.

So far, Amazon’s formidable loot — enough of an investment to become an inextricable part of the cover — has been put to use in relatively uninspired storytelling, deficient in narrative urgency. The expectations raised by the title thus become something of a double-edged sword, especially when so much has been done to promote the gargantuan effort it promised to be.

As for the epic battle ahead, “The Rings of Power” might still be up to the task. Yet despite those gorgeous, sweeping vistas of Middle-earth as the music escalates and the camera pans through them, after the initial intro, it’s hard to resist the temptation to say, “Wake me up when you get there. “.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power” premieres September 2 on Amazon Prime.

ট্যাগসমূহ:, , , ,