‘The Rings of Power’: Is it All Flash and No Substance?

Amazon’s “The Rings of Power” is thrilling fans with its stunning visuals.

If for some strange reason you didn’t know, Amazon has aired the first two episodes of its fantasy series “The Rings of Power”. The prequel to “Lord of the Rings” looks absolutely stunning, but how does the writing hold up?

The prequel to the movie trilogy follows some key characters during the Second Age, thousands of years before Frodo sets out to destroy the one ring. The cast includes Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, and Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, to name a few. After the war against the evil Morgoth is declared over, Galadriel struggles with her path of vengeance against Sauron, who she’s not convinced is dead.

First, let’s take a look at the budget. Amazon spent a whopping $715 million on the show alone, and that’s not counting the probably stupid amount of money they had to pay to get the rights for it. Clearly, most of the money went towards the CGI, and that definitely seems to have paid off. There’s gonna be so many wallpapers from screenshots taken from the premier. Was it money well spent, though? Is the story on par with the show’s beauty?

Galadriel wants vengeance against Sauron for her brother’s death.

So far, yes. Hardcore fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writing will probably find stuff to complain about, but for the casual fantasy enthusiast, it’s a very enjoyable watch. The first episode (minor spoilers) leaves off on a cliffhanger, forcing you to watch the second to get a satisfying conclusion for the week, but at least it’s a two episode premiere so there’s not too much waiting if you can’t wait to find out what happens. The characters are written well and the witty humor from the movies translates onto the series.

There’s one scene involving an ice troll that people seem to be complaining about, saying the CGI is bad and the fight scene was stupid, but honestly its being blown out of proportion. It was a fine encounter. The troll looks good and its probably just hardcore fans complaining. Hopefully the casual fans won’t join them as the episodes go on.