TheQuartering [8/31/2022]
Let’s hope the whole enterprise gets better as the story reaches the middle acts and makes its turn towards the finish. Because I have to say, “Rings of Power” does not overwhelm, dazzle or sprint out of the gate.
ut is it enough to answer that nagging question that hangs over every sequel, prequel or franchise reboot? “Why was this made, again?”
It’s familiar enough for even a casual fan to follow, a tale with beautiful elves and pan-ethnic humans and Irish-accented Harfoots (Harfeet?) of the Hobbit persuasion. And the dwarves are Scots, because of course they are.
It’s a good-looking series, if not a particularly cinematic take on the epic fairytale. That unmistakable generic “green screen” (fake backdrops) lighting bathes most characters in most interiors. The musical score rises to “adequate.” The forced-perspective that makes hobbits look hobbit-sized is underwhelming. And the exteriors — New Zealand or not — are fairly humdrum — mountains and digital cities seen from afar, impressive-enough tank-work for a storm at sea bit.
The dialogue has its pithy moments, and overall, I’d say the writing is canonical enough for the Tolkien crowd. Lots of solid dwarvish wisdom.
“Thair can be noooo troost between hammer and rock,” the wonderful Peter Mullan, as the dwarf king, intones. “Eventually, one of the other must surely break.”