this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2024
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The Rings Of Power continues to substitute good storytelling with an endless, inane parade of callbacks to Lord of the Rings.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I'm getting tired of this hate wagon bullshit and now mainstream media is doing it. Anger memes or outrage sells and spreads, so it's profitable.

The show isn't amazing and you can criticize it but it's quite enjoyable. A lot of people enjoy it. It's not slop. It takes some liberties and things but overall the storytelling is pretty solid. Creature design is amazing. They tell the origin story of the hobbits, the istar and sauron. The legends are slightly different but that is why they are legends.

I very much look forward to season 2. I do not look forward to the inevitable review bombing and hate posting. If you don't like it, don't watch it, and yeah if it gets cancelled due to lack of interest that's fair too. The problem is that both reactionaries and profit-seekers are weaponizing online outrage and clickbait and manipulating ratings and online perception.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I mean for a fan with big expectations its certainly disapointing, but like I can't think of anything that has not been that way since, well, lord of the rings. Barring that its ok which again is sorta par for the course for media currently. Its not horrible but not great and its hard to point to things one may like about it outside of the general feel of fantasy. Like a high point to me is the dwarves but its not that great. But I could certainly complain a lot on it endlessly. Seemingly adding to galadriels abilities as best at bow along with sword and magic and fisticufs did not help this episode. I am watching mostly because its fee for me and im trying to figure out who the evil wizard is being that they seem to make him look like sauruman but boy will it be an F up if that is who he is but he can't be melkor or morgoth.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

When I went back to and watched LOTR recently, a number of special effects were incredibly disappointing. They definitely rushed some of those scenes.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

are you sure you are just not seeing an effect of the times? return of the king was filmed 20 years ago. Do you remember what graphics where like back then? SGI was still a thing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

The film certainly had some absolutely amazing special effects. I was impressed with how real Gollum looked and interacted with people. But take the scene of Frodo running into Mt Doom. That was terrible. It was a series of films, but slightly marred by either innatention or time constraints.

[–] Noel_Skum 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think the real problem here is being missed… probably deliberately so. Surely if you inherit someone else’s ip you have to play to their rules and law? If you don’t want to then you need to make an original ip that lets you do what you want. The lack of understanding, the entitlement and the disrespect it takes to tear-up existing law because you know better than the original author is insane. I’m gonna remake Sesame Street. I’m gonna place it on a farm and make that big yellow fucker into a small blue pony and have all the other characters hunt humans. B… b… b… but that don’t sound like Sesame Street anymore say all the (insert meaningless generic insult here)’s. The quality, or otherwise, of the finished product won’t matter if it has one foot in tradition and one foot in new made-up contradictory law. It will be a bastardisation whatever.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I totally get what you mean and feel similarly angry about the star wars sequels, but not about the rings of power. Only thing that annoys me is the insertion of varying phenotypes, but no reason to get angry, it's fantasy. Other than that there are many things to like and a few to dislike.

I also don't get how everyone claims how they find this or that part of the story so boring, the production design is amazing enough to gloss over parts that you don't find that interesting.

They also tell the story pretty straightforward without big twists. And they let the viewer experience how Sauron deceived the elves and others, and experience how confused the stranger feels about his purpose. Except for the "no horses" in Episode 4 the storytelling is pretty good.

If you do not talk yourself into a rage and discuss it in a positive sub like r/LOTR_on_Prime you can totally enjoy it.

[–] Noel_Skum 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I’m no fan of Tolkien / LotR’s but the revisionism of Orcs in the new series to be essentially humans that look a bit different is such a colossal change that it undermines everything in that world. Imagine if the tinfoil dude in Starwars (CPO?) unzipped his costume in episode XII and he turned out to be a human. Would that make a mockery of the franchise - or at least make it look stupid? Spock & Kirk in Star Trek are now the opposite of what they were. The film called Snow White might not even tell the Snow White story. Velma from Scooby Doo has become a deplorable bitch. If you don’t have the talent to write something original stick to the rules and lore of the people who did. Having said that, enjoy the rest of the series.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah ok the "orc nuclear family" is a bit questionable. I would prefer if there are no orc women and that they just spring from the ground ;)

But it does make them "less irredeemable" and is consistent with Tolkien's writing. Also "Orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar."

[–] Noel_Skum 1 points 2 months ago

Yeah, I’ve been told Tolkien is on record begrudgingly admitting that there probably were orc women (females?)… somewhere. My nerd friends (No offence, nerds) are ok with that it’s more the un-orc-like personality. Like having an irrational Vulcan. If it isn’t the (new) main story it looks lazy and amateur - to me. The other thing they complain about is that Gwadriol (sp?) - main woman - is written like a superhero and they reckon that’s massively out of keeping too.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 months ago

Yeah but also I suspect it's become like a sport or outrage hobby and grifters feed into it for clicks. Like building negative hype.