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Review Roundup For LOTR: The Rings Of Power -- Here's What The Critics Think

Amazon's long-awaited and very expensive TV series releases this week.

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Amazon Studios' fantasy show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is finally premiering this week, after a lengthy shoot and hundreds of millions of dollars spent on its production. But what do critics think of Amazon's big-budget TV series?

Reviews have begun to stream in, at least for the first two episodes, and the general consensus is mostly positive. Here at GameSpot, we said in our Rings of Power review that "the elements of something genuinely special are all here..."

GameSpot sister site CNET, meanwhile, said The Rings of Power "makes a steady return to Middle-earth, offering all the things that endeared the originals to so many of us those many years ago: the breathtaking vistas, the latex prosthetics and even the occasional bouts of ponderous dialogue delivered to some point on the horizon."

The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film franchises. Some characters from those films appear in The Rings of Power, including Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo). Another famous Middle-earth character, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) appears in The Rings of Power.

The show, which is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, tells the story of the forging of the Rings of Power by Sauron, including the all-powerful One Ring.

You can see more review scores and excerpts below. For more on the critical reaction The Rings of Power, head to GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

Payne and McKay have five seasons of The Rings of Power mapped out, including the final shot. Season 1 was filmed in New Zealand, but production is shifting to the UK for Season 2.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

  • Created By: J.D Payne, Patrick McKay
  • Starring: Robert Aramayo, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Morfydd CLark, Charles Edwards, Markella Kavenagh, Lenny Henry, Peter Mullan
  • Release Date: September 1 on Prime Video

GameSpot -- 8/10

"Thankfully, if there's one thing that we can count on in terms of the rest of the season, it's that the look is going to remain strong. Rings of Power hasn't shied away from using practical effects and practical sets to mirror the established aesthetics of the earlier movies. It looks consistently great, with decadent props and costumes to bulk out even the newly introduced corners of Middle-earth. And itsoundsgreat, too, with a theme song composed by Peter Jackson collaborator Howard Shore and a soundtrack composed by Bear McCreary. The elements of something genuinely special are all here, all that's left is to hope they congeal into something worthy of the legacy they're playing with by the end of the season." -- Mason Downey [Full review]

CNET -- No Score

"To borrow a quote from Galadriel in The Fellowship of the Ring, The Rings of Power seems to understand that its quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Judging from screeners of the first two episodes provided by Prime Video, The Rings of Power makes a steady return to Middle-earth, offering all the things that endeared the originals to so many of us those many years ago: the breathtaking vistas, the latex prosthetics and even the occasional bouts of ponderous dialogue delivered to some point on the horizon." -- Erin Carson [Full review]

Entertainment Weekly -- C-

"... This series is a special catastrophe of ruined potential, sacrificing a glorious universe's limitless possibilities at the altar of tried-and-true blockbuster desperation." -- Darren Franich [Full review]

TV Line -- A-

The characters’ motivations might seem basic at first, but they develop and deepen over time; the second episode is even better than the first, artfully expanding on relationships introduced in the pilot. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (Star Trek: Beyond) do have a lot of story threads to juggle, but they all work so far, with the early episodes planting seeds that will pay off later, like a powerful sword fragment and a mystical stranger born from a fiery comet. (Breaking Badvet Gennifer Hutchison is also a writer and executive producer here, which is an encouraging sign.) But beyond all that,Rings of Powerjust feels epic. It manages to tap into an elemental power that transcends plot and character and whisks us away to a world filled with wonder." -- Dave Nemetz [Full review]

Collider -- A-

"Ultimately, though,The Rings of Power does a good job of keeping you apprised of the rising evil to come and feels as if it is moving toward assembling a potential Fellowship all its own, with Galadriel at the lead. Although the titular rings are not playing a role so early on in the show, there is more than enough to keep audiences entertained--mysterious figures, political plots, dire survival situations, and more. The series marries what we've learned to love about contemporary fantasy, like Game of Thrones with its multiple main characters, with the depth and detail of Tolkien's universe. While there's still a whole season to watch,The Rings of Power is off to a successful start in delivering on its promise of quality and firing on all cylinders." -- Therese Lacson [Full review]

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