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Post by britesparc on Mar 27, 2024 17:42:24 GMT
It was so weird for me, because there was a lot about it I liked but I was also constantly confused. I've read the appendices, and the Silmarillion, and a lot of supplementary stuff, but not all of it; so there were things where I was always thinking "I'm sure they've totally changed this". And it kinda bothered me, like an itch in my head, throughout the whole series. But I don't know if that's a flaw necessarily, changing the lore; although I guess if the "new" stuff wasn't compelling then maybe it is?
My three main issues with it were: despite being very expensive, everything felt very boxed-in, like they only had one "dwarf" set, one "elf" set, etc, so the show was quite claustrophobic; all the different storylines were very loose and didn't really converge either thematically or story-wise; and, like TONS of streaming shows, it spent three episodes standing in place only to rush through a season's worth of intrigue and development in one hour.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Mar 27, 2024 18:13:49 GMT
The whole thing was just utter fucking shit. I can’t think of one good thing about it.
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Post by Syrette on Mar 27, 2024 18:14:28 GMT
The whole thing was just utter fucking shit. I can’t think of one good thing about it. How much of it did you see? |
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Mar 27, 2024 18:15:29 GMT
They went down the Star Wars route of making something with massively expansive and epic potential feel fucking tiny, hinging on coincidence and a handful of characters over an impossibly small time frame. Just absolutely fuck off with it.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Mar 27, 2024 18:16:04 GMT
The whole thing was just utter fucking shit. I can’t think of one good thing about it. How much of it did you see? I forced myself to watch all of it. Convincing myself it was worth watching. It wasn’t. |
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Post by Syrette on Mar 27, 2024 18:16:43 GMT
How much of it did you see? I forced myself to watch all of it. Convincing myself it was worth watching. It wasn’t. Fair enough. |
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Mar 27, 2024 18:22:30 GMT
Thing is, I don’t want to be that guy that leaves a jobby in anyone’s salad. I think I’m probably irrationally angry because I was looking forward to it for so long. The disappointment from my son when we watched it together was palpable as well which didn’t help. I like to look for redeeming qualities in everything and this has some, certainly. Sadly and crucially, for me, it failed in the most critical obvious area. The writing. Wrap it up as beautifully as you like, but if it doesn’t work on that level. It doesn’t work.
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richardiox
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Post by richardiox on Mar 27, 2024 18:25:45 GMT
The whole thing was just utter fucking shit. I can’t think of one good thing about it. That's certainly a reductive take. I absolutely loved it (big LOTR fan, granted) as did the Mrs who isn't at all into fantasy - other than the fantasy of having a different husband, of course. |
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Mar 27, 2024 18:29:16 GMT
It was too reductive, I know. Nothing wrong with liking it, of course. And I’m glad you both did.
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Post by Samildanach on Mar 27, 2024 18:30:28 GMT
I liked it a lot....and I really like all the slightly more obscure First Age Tolkien stuff, so I am not an ignorant pleb just liking the visuals.
But I think we have had this discussion before and I don't want to rehash it. Just wanted to balance the scales against the sudden tide of hate.
Edit. Richardiox got in before me. I'm glad there are others here who liked it.
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Post by Vandelay on Mar 27, 2024 19:01:58 GMT
I just found it incredibly boring. There were a few moments that were ok, but mostly felt like a chore to watch.
Having said that, I found the first film a bore when I originally saw it and it was only when I saw the trilogy in the cinema over three weeks for its 20th anniversary that I was won over by the series. Maybe if I gave the TV series a second go I would like it more.
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Mar 27, 2024 19:29:23 GMT
Honestly, I watched all of it and I can’t really think of one definitively ‘good’ thing, either. There was some stuff that was alright but that’s not really a giddy height of achievement.
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Post by britesparc on Mar 27, 2024 21:44:22 GMT
The whole thing was just utter fucking shit. I can’t think of one good thing about it. That's certainly a reductive take. I absolutely loved it (big LOTR fan, granted) as did the Mrs who isn't at all into fantasy - other than the fantasy of having a different husband, of course. I think I would have enjoyed it LOADS more if I wasn't a big LOTR fan. As it was, the moment-to-moment qualities and the things that really shone - I loved all the Harfoot stuff for the most part - just bumped up against the fannish part of my brain that inwardly screamed, this isn't how it happened. Plus, like I said, I found it often a bit dull and small. But I don't want to give the impression that I thought it was shit or I hated it - I think on the whole it was okay, but I definitely would have liked it more if I hadn't been mentally writing what I wanted the series to be for years beforehand. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2024 22:03:55 GMT
I’m not a book wanker. I read and enjoyed The Hobbit and struggled through Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien’s goofy songs, his obsession with overdescribing everything Tom fuckin’ Bombadill made me quit it halfway. Haven’t read a word of the Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales.
That is all to say, I like the world and stories more than his actual writing. I’m a film fan. And I loved this show, when I finally sat down and experienced it. I became a teen again, skipping class to see the movies on the first day.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Mar 28, 2024 2:21:31 GMT
I imagine it was pitched mainly at those who'd seen the movies, rather than those who'd read the entire history of middle earth, etc..
As such, it probably landed ok, as it nailed the look etc.. and the deviations from Tolkien's lore wouldn't have been noticed.
I've read The Silmarillion, but I've forgotten most of it, so I didn't notice too many jarring changes.
But his backstory books, despite being pretty hard to read, do have some really great lore, world-building and epic stories, so it seems a shame to jettison too much of it.
My main issue with it was just that the pacing was off and the jumping around between stories was annoying, so I could never really get into it properly or invest in any of the characters that much.
It wasn't as bad as the Hobbit movies though.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Mar 28, 2024 8:31:54 GMT
I liked the elf and the dwarf in it. But honestly I struggle to remember anything else about the first season now, and I definitely watched the whole thing!
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Post by harrypalmer on Mar 28, 2024 8:37:08 GMT
It was disappointing. Largely because it failed to make any sense and all the characters were shit. The fights were abysmal too. It looked nice enough.
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Post by britesparc on Mar 28, 2024 10:51:18 GMT
I think they should have began the series with Sauron already established as a force in Mordor, and the first season was about the Numenorians mustering their armies, sailing to Middle-Earth, and going to war with him (which they sort of did a little bit but not really and it kinda made the Numenorians seem a bit shit). And then the second season would have been (spoiler tagging because they probably will sort of maybe do some of this) Sauron a prisoner in Numenor but then using his sexy magic wiles to bewitch the Numenorians and prompting them to basically ruin themselves until god decides to sink their civilisation. And amidst this, of course, he inspires the elves to create the rings but - get this - they were all of them deceived. |
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Lukus
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Post by Lukus on Mar 28, 2024 11:03:56 GMT
I think a big problem it has and will continue to have is, rightly or wrongly, it's always going to be compared to Game of Thrones in terms of battle scenes, scale, characters, etc. And on all those things, despite its ridiculous budget, it just wasn't as well crafted. I know you can argue GoT took a season to get going, but it was still a hell of a lot more interesting than this in its first season, which is kind of criminal given the potential and the vast amount of lore and world building they have as reference.
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Mar 28, 2024 11:23:41 GMT
Its also going to be compared to one of the most beloved trilogies in film history and one of its biggest problems is that it looks like shit compared to a 20 odd year old movie with a smaller budget. It was on a hiding to nothing from the start and the only reason you undertake something like this is for money which the audience can smell a mile away.
Jackson clearly loved the source material and you could see it in every frame. This is an amazon product for our consumptions and as such its just impossible to give a shit about it.
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Post by britesparc on Mar 28, 2024 11:36:16 GMT
In the Rings of Power's defence, I'm pretty sure the reason they made it is because Jeff Bezos is a huge LOTR fan. He spunked a billion dollars on it because he wanted to. It's the only thing I can remember in recent years where he was actually present in the marketing and announcements and stuff - posing with pictures of the logo, even - other than his silly rockets.
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Lukus
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Post by Lukus on Mar 28, 2024 12:15:33 GMT
Vanity projects always go well
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Post by britesparc on Mar 28, 2024 12:25:23 GMT
Indeed.
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Post by drhickman1983 on Mar 28, 2024 12:29:58 GMT
I also enjoyed it. Maybe I have shit taste but honestly I enjoyed the first series start to finish.
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Post by cristar on Mar 28, 2024 16:47:56 GMT
I just about managed to watch 4 episodes. Was hard to finish them tbh, found it extremely boring. Couldn't watch any more.
Never read any of the books, so probably not the target audience for it.
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Post by Trowel 🏴 on May 14, 2024 15:39:56 GMT
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Post by Bill in the rain on May 14, 2024 15:50:52 GMT
I still feel like it has potential, if they'd just settle down and tell the story rather than jumping around all over the place.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on May 14, 2024 15:57:20 GMT
It really would be a lot easier if they could just say "hey this guy is Gandalf" in S2.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on May 14, 2024 16:06:48 GMT
Guess they will be once again dropping them episodes weekly?
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Post by ignatiusjreilly on May 14, 2024 16:08:21 GMT
That was pretty
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