|
The show is based on appendices in J.R.R.
Tolkien's original "The Lord of the Rings" novels and is set
thousands of years before the events of "The Hobbit" and "The
Lord of the Rings" novels and films.
Exploring Middle-earth's Second Age, the series from Amazon.com
Inc's Prime Video uncovers the story behind the forging of the
rings and tells of an alliance formed between elves and men to
fight an ancient evil.
"Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," which debuts on the
streaming service on Friday, scored an 84% positive rating on
the Rotten Tomatoes website among 136 reviews of early
installments.
Erik Kain from Forbes "came to this series a skeptic," but after
the first two episodes was a "believer."
"What showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne have created is
something simply staggering in scope and scale, in raw beauty
and magnificence," he said.
"It is nothing short of a masterpiece."
While many fellow critics shared that enthusiasm, a few
reviewers were not impressed.
Darren Franich from Entertainment Weekly thinks there are "ways
to do a prequel" - and says "Rings of Power" does them all
wrong.
The series "takes six or seven things everyone remembers from
the famous movie trilogy, adds a water tank, makes nobody fun,
teases mysteries that aren't mysteries, and sends the best
character on a pointless detour," Franich wrote.
By contrast, Elijah Montoya of Geeks of Color believes the
series will ignite love from "The Lord of the Rings" fandom. He
sees the prequel going "the distance" and allowing the franchise
to retake "its rightful place."
"A world based on J.R.R. Tolkien's creations will soon be the
most vibrant jewel in the pop culture crown again," Montoya
wrote.
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
