tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post388156845064350006..comments2024-03-22T19:07:21.790+00:00Comments on The Wertzone: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Season 1Adam Whiteheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-79349767617060882322023-12-11T04:26:08.495+00:002023-12-11T04:26:08.495+00:00I pretty much hated this show. If it had been a g...I pretty much hated this show. If it had been a generic fantasy show, it would have been fine. But so much of what happens severely contradicts the source material that it comes across as the writers really disliking Tolkien for some reason. The elves do not feel like elves, for the most part (the elf that they completely made up excepted). Galadriel is thousands of years old, and yet comes across as a petulant teenager. The idea that dwarves would decide to leave a crap ton of mithril just sitting there is beyond absurd. Also, when did elves become mithril vampires anyway? So much that doesn't make remotes sense if you are a fan of the books.Yeebohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08028940396189544294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-10763020172585369802022-10-27T14:46:56.464+00:002022-10-27T14:46:56.464+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.mathiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04936865674329335292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-57932231023303326972022-10-23T23:47:09.192+00:002022-10-23T23:47:09.192+00:00Yeah, I think this review is far more benevolent t...Yeah, I think this review is far more benevolent that this show deserves. The score is magnificent and the CI vistas superb, and Mawle is a great actor. But that's as far as I'll concede. Everything else in the show is below par, ranging from mediocrity to awfulness.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-57378713692015439002022-10-23T20:15:20.160+00:002022-10-23T20:15:20.160+00:00Come on, publish it, I even would have added that ...Come on, publish it, I even would have added that I was imprecise about the sections of the intro you mentioned, although it still is overhyped in reviews.mathiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04936865674329335292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-19210698248598149952022-10-20T17:35:58.879+00:002022-10-20T17:35:58.879+00:00It can't be worse than WoT... can it?It can't be worse than WoT... can it? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-39766633688001831392022-10-18T19:55:24.770+00:002022-10-18T19:55:24.770+00:00Agree with Mr. Fixit on this one. I really wanted ...Agree with Mr. Fixit on this one. I really wanted to enjoy this, and I am fine with changing up the timeline to make it more compressed, but the story just makes no sense. Numenor is supposed to be this massive power and they send 3 ships? The battle is all over this one small village? What is the point of the harfoot story line? I was disappointed as Amazon has now butchered two of my favorite fantasy series between this and WOT.Justin Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03212985782714332135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-32688439366903119192022-10-17T14:50:12.666+00:002022-10-17T14:50:12.666+00:00"The problem is that the show doesn't hav..."The problem is that the show doesn't have enough time to explore all of these elements in depth."<br />If there is one thing they like to do with their time it is to squander it, with a pointless game of teases and misdirections about Sauron (which they didn't even properly establish internally but just assume one would engage in), petty squabbles of baffling significance (Durin and his father), and terrible uninvolving storylines (young Theo, that embarrassing old bastard, at least 50% of Harfoots time), and just endless deliberate convenient, mediocre series clichés etc. Time wasted in favour of this instead of bothering to adapt the promised story (all touches on that are perfunctory, unconvincing, deliberately pushed back).<br />(And they seem to take inspiration from all the worst Hobbits trilogy and LotR movies filler and stretching scenes, of all things possible, instead of more original Tolkien.)<br /><br />Quick list of things unbearable:<br />-The humans in Middle-Earth and their characters<br />-The Numenoreans<br />->Both seem pathetic, uninteresting, without any sense of historicity. Nobody would bother to tell stories about these types (e.g. Icelanders or Tolkien). They could be from instagram and somewhere online.<br />-The Harfoots<br />-Even the Elves come across as pathetic, uninteresting and incompetent (granted - Elrond is.. nice, but even he is close to struggling without Durin and proper script in the end)<br />-Galadriel (yes, I have to say, with or without the "controversy" she just ended up being all kinds of awful, one-note, grating, high-strung, unimpressive, and with some very contradictory lines)<br />-And nearly all of their characters and story ideas<br />-The major fact that they decided to leave the whole first Season largely without any real, relevant plot<br /><br />Even though in part it can be mildly interesting to analyse what analyis was underlying their decision making in turn.<br /><br />The Orc prosthetics are ultimately overrated, I would say. There is a distinct lack of creativity and as with everything else (e.g. "men"/humans/villagers) an odd lack of resources. One seems to have seen everything after a few main ones (e.g. 'the trailer one').<br /><br />"and some of the shots and depictions of events better-explored in The Silmarillion, like the epic battles of the War of the Jewels and the two Trees of Light standing over Valinor, are fantastic"<br />Seriously? Nah. It's more the idea that's fantastic, but the actual material is few seconds long and merely symbolic and extremely vague. That shot of the trees dying looked like some odd abstract animation, and of course no action was shown. It appears there was a rights issue which made all the prologue no comparison to what one would expect (e.g. in hype declarations) or what Peter Jackson would have done.<br /><br />Your mileage may vary.mathiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04936865674329335292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-16970427428911641552022-10-17T01:53:52.577+00:002022-10-17T01:53:52.577+00:00I think 3/5 is pretty fair. The beginning episodes...I think 3/5 is pretty fair. The beginning episodes I thought were decently poor (for the budget anyway). I did however find myself getting attached to the characters and caring about what would happen. At that point I was giving the series about 4/5 if they stuck the landing...<br /><br />They did not. The sauron reveal doesn't fit what the character did earlier at all and it certainly violates the continuity of the movies. Maybe if you don't care about lore it doesn't bother you, but they still managed to somehow make Galadriel the reason that Sauron goes to take over the world? Then the elven rings of power getting forged in less than 10 minutes? What? So 2/5 for the final episode, if not 1/5.Mark Hauschildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09295277994124785105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-3222822305457109292022-10-15T23:09:08.636+00:002022-10-15T23:09:08.636+00:00Excellent review Adam. Excellent review Adam. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-1999884423904305522022-10-15T18:39:57.471+00:002022-10-15T18:39:57.471+00:00I disagree, take expectations off. I am enjoying i...I disagree, take expectations off. I am enjoying it tremendously Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-49594175864194237502022-10-15T11:24:55.151+00:002022-10-15T11:24:55.151+00:00I enjoyed the season a lot more than you, Wert, bu...I enjoyed the season a lot more than you, Wert, but your criticism are certainly valid. Myself, I've never enjoyed Tolkien's actual writing and so it's likely that many of the discrepancies just washed over me and I was able to enjoy the show on its own merits. I found the sense of being wrapped up in a fantasy world to be all encompassing here, and the characters were all compelling with the spectacular cast. I'm very eager to see more.LeftHanded Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09356100685489177887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-67404347570098650682022-10-15T04:07:08.376+00:002022-10-15T04:07:08.376+00:00Spot on with your review.Spot on with your review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-74402838014786056622022-10-14T14:25:43.669+00:002022-10-14T14:25:43.669+00:00Always a pleasure to read your reviews, Wert, but ...Always a pleasure to read your reviews, Wert, but I think you've been far too charitable this time around. I am by no means a purist, or some Tolkien uberfan. Hey, I liked GoT Season 8! :) But this is an abominable season of television. Plot, characters, even much of special effects and the general cinematography... it's dreadful. This in my humble view is among the worst fantasy shows in recent memory. If Amazon hadn't spent a billion dollars on this, and if it weren't for the IP (lo and behold! it's Tolkien!), this show would be cancelled right now. <br /><br />A disaster.Mr Fixithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15243895028266136669noreply@blogger.com