My Buddy, Mr J. Christopher Wilson is reviewing some movies and series. He has agreed for us to post his reviews here.
Sometimes geek fandom goes awry. In fact, it’s happening more and more. People are not allowed to like what they like or enjoy their slice of geekdom. It’s has become, in a very weird turn of events, toxic in many ways. Nerdom used to be very welcoming.
I believe that’s happening here with THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RINGS OF POWER by Amazon. I watched the first two episodes today and didn’t feel the way a very loud group of fans is reporting online. In fact, I suspect that group of nay-sayers, may be a very vocal but very small group of people. Critics liked it with ~80% rating. Something is wrong and doesn’t add up.
Slow? Yes, a bit I guess, but not enough for me to care. There is a lot to set up here and it’s obvious that the creators are building up big things for us with multiple storylines and characters that will eventually converge. I don’t see the problem with that. That will, by necessity, slow the story a bit at first. I almost quit A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE book one when I first read it. It took me 100 pages before I was sold. Then, I was hooked. Years later, it became so popular they made the HBO show GAME OF THRONES. That is likely the case here. Give it time. Give it space to breathe and be.
So no. A slow pace in the beginning doesn’t bother me. I appreciate an author who takes time and creates authentic characters I can care about or hate. I can, and do, see beyond the beginning and I’m excited to see how this story unfolds.
Do not listen to the hate reviews. I think they are misguided, myopic, and possibly toxic. I suspect they could even be motivated by extremist politics.
These two episodes work and the experience was immersive. It left me with questions—lots of questions—that I am hopeful will drive us into the deep world of Tolkien. I liked it a lot, and I suspect I may love the show by the end.
Grade A-Available on Amazon Prime
