Trazyn the Infinite
Member
Shouldn't project so much, kiddo.
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Shouldn't project so much, kiddo.
Fake
Member
Mask off. We got paid and now its over we get to tell you what we really think of the show.
Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker
The world’s most expensive show – which looked like an episode of Hollyoaks, only with woeful acting – was so inept that every episode left you sniggeringwww.theguardian.com
IGN next?
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Lord Panda
The Sea is Always Right
Trazyn the Infinite
Member
It is ok to have zero standards and no understanding of the source material.
ClosBSAS
Member
lol as if house of dragons is havin a standard..or game of thrones...pppppppleaseee
Trazyn the Infinite
Member
GoT was raked over the coals for the last few seasons for good reason. HotD is actually well written, well directed, and sticks closely to the source material with some additions to fit an adaptation.
You can't say the same for RoP.
Also note, I was mostly being exaggerative/facetious for effect on the previous post. If you honestly enjoy the show - I am very glad. But there are a lot of reasons why people despise it and they are absolutely valid.
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Nostalgic Nightmare
Member
I actually prefer the cutscenes in the Shadow of Mordor games over this. Seriously, watch them stitched together on YT and that shit came out in 2014. They should have just hired the team behind those games to make a cgi series and it wouldn’t have been any worse than S1 and cost 80% less.
LordOfChaos
Member
While parts of the Tolken lore interested me, the writing and direction just never seemed to land any hooks. There were many scenes of just nothing happening. Such as where Elrond challenges a mountain dwarf to a rock-splitting competition. As viewers (even ones unfamiliar with LOTR), we know the outcome of this contest. The only thing they need to show us are these two characters after the competition, breaking down their relationships as begrudging friends. Instead, we spend more than a minute-and-a-half watching a rock splitting montage. Completely pointless from a storyboarding and writing perspective, especially considering that the outcome doesn't circumvent our expectations.
Or the third episode has another pointless 90-second scene of Galadriel riding a horse and smiling in slow-motion. I'm not joking, the entire scene looks like one of those HDR demo shots you'd see on a TV at Best Buy.
Story beats make no sense and jump all over the place. Shot completely through the chest with an arrow? Spry as a spring chicken the next day, because we burned the outsides of the wound despite the internal bleeding and infection isn't a thing that exists. Oh wait it does for a scrape in the next scene.
And just really weird directive choices, why pan to the horizon, spell out the Southlands, and then rename it to Mordor, instead of just having the character say Mordor? It's always like every punch it wound up ended up missing.
But it sucked entirely not for the reasons some people are complaining about (the people who seem to think people of color simply existing on screen is too "woke"). Actually those characters were some of the good ones, it was Galadriel that me and the three women in my watch party all groaned at every scene of, I think she had like 0.5 emotions in the entire series and didn't come off as a 5000 year old being but a petulant little girl who just thought everyone should just follow her even though she sucked at everything and got half her squad killed. Barely emoted at all except for one scene near the end.
Even to the very final scene it's the same thing with the direction and punches. Elrond finds the scroll showing raggedy guy isn't who he said (Galadriel decided not to tell them before continuing with the rings?), runs upstairs, and oh, rings, lets look at the rings, but now we're looking at each other, and back to the rings, the music did no heavy lifting here or in most of the scenes either, just seemed to fizzle out.
I think they had best really think how to do it better before season 2. That was a lot of money to spend on....That.
Or the third episode has another pointless 90-second scene of Galadriel riding a horse and smiling in slow-motion. I'm not joking, the entire scene looks like one of those HDR demo shots you'd see on a TV at Best Buy.
Story beats make no sense and jump all over the place. Shot completely through the chest with an arrow? Spry as a spring chicken the next day, because we burned the outsides of the wound despite the internal bleeding and infection isn't a thing that exists. Oh wait it does for a scrape in the next scene.
And just really weird directive choices, why pan to the horizon, spell out the Southlands, and then rename it to Mordor, instead of just having the character say Mordor? It's always like every punch it wound up ended up missing.
But it sucked entirely not for the reasons some people are complaining about (the people who seem to think people of color simply existing on screen is too "woke"). Actually those characters were some of the good ones, it was Galadriel that me and the three women in my watch party all groaned at every scene of, I think she had like 0.5 emotions in the entire series and didn't come off as a 5000 year old being but a petulant little girl who just thought everyone should just follow her even though she sucked at everything and got half her squad killed. Barely emoted at all except for one scene near the end.
Even to the very final scene it's the same thing with the direction and punches. Elrond finds the scroll showing raggedy guy isn't who he said (Galadriel decided not to tell them before continuing with the rings?), runs upstairs, and oh, rings, lets look at the rings, but now we're looking at each other, and back to the rings, the music did no heavy lifting here or in most of the scenes either, just seemed to fizzle out.
I think they had best really think how to do it better before season 2. That was a lot of money to spend on....That.
BadBurger
Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
IGN next?
Expect more of this as the massive advertising deals expire. The coming months are going to be long and brutal for these show runners.
Crossposting:
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/elde...f-imagery-from-tolkiens-silmarillion.1643407/
RoP should be realizing this stuff on a similar level given the resources and source material it has.
Maybe next time…
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/elde...f-imagery-from-tolkiens-silmarillion.1643407/
RoP should be realizing this stuff on a similar level given the resources and source material it has.
Maybe next time…
Isn't Jeff Bezos supposed to be some huge Tolkien fan?
I wonder how he's feeling right now.
Of I was the richest man on the planet, I'm not sure I'd care as much about the numbers as I'd care about how much I enjoyed the show I paid for.
So did he enjoy it? Or is he fuming, like us?
I wonder how he's feeling right now.
Of I was the richest man on the planet, I'm not sure I'd care as much about the numbers as I'd care about how much I enjoyed the show I paid for.
So did he enjoy it? Or is he fuming, like us?
PhaseJump
Banned
Who knows how he feels about it?
After 20 minutes of this series, I think Bezos probably entered a psychosis. A PTSD trance of that time when he had to stand in front of melodramatic William Shatner.
Trazyn the Infinite
Member
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PhaseJump
Banned
Ah yes, seeing the beauty and majesty of space travel is just "melodramatic".
I would agree with this sentiment, if it wasn't Shatner I was joking about.
Hardensoul
Member
Yea, we know you were full of shit with that 10/10 rating couple episodes ago!!
Hardensoul
Member
Here was their next Star Trek movie pitch! 
Trazyn the Infinite
Member
Laptop1991
Member
I haven't watched the last 3 episodes, i just can't bring myself to watch that story anymore, it's all over the place and told really badly, then it's call the fan's evil and the next day promise to stick to the lore in the 2nd series they've already broken in the first, what's going on!.
Trogdor1123
Member
Wife and I finished it last night. We thought it was ok.
We are not Tolkien scholars by any means but these were our thoughts (jumbled as they are):
- incredible production values
- lots of loose ends, I assume intentionally
- some of the characters are actually interesting, but the writing kind of gets in the way a few times
- the storyline in general seems good, even though it strays from the established lore
- the last episode was the worst
- The rings part makes no sense and goes against what happened in the movies. This part did bug me as that part was narrated by Galadriel! She would have known. So, that made no sense to me
- the actors are decent in most of the roles
All in all, I will watch the second season too as I enjoyed this one, even with its flaws.
We are not Tolkien scholars by any means but these were our thoughts (jumbled as they are):
- incredible production values
- lots of loose ends, I assume intentionally
- some of the characters are actually interesting, but the writing kind of gets in the way a few times
- the storyline in general seems good, even though it strays from the established lore
- the last episode was the worst
- The rings part makes no sense and goes against what happened in the movies. This part did bug me as that part was narrated by Galadriel! She would have known. So, that made no sense to me
- the actors are decent in most of the roles
All in all, I will watch the second season too as I enjoyed this one, even with its flaws.
I admit I dozed off a bit in the last 2 eps but did they ever show mithril 'healing' anything other than that 1 leaf? Like did they stroll through Eregion or Lindon or wherethefuckbythesea and have a bubble of health amidst corruption?
'Cause otherwise I'm not sure what they really expect these rings to do. I heard Celebrimbors "a circle amplifies the power" nonsense explanation but is that little bit of mithril a finite resource for them like a battery, an infinite perpetual solution, or what? Do they have ANY FUCKING CLUE what they are doing, what 'powers' these rings are supposed to have, or that there could be any risk of subversion or how that could possibly happen?
'Cause otherwise I'm not sure what they really expect these rings to do. I heard Celebrimbors "a circle amplifies the power" nonsense explanation but is that little bit of mithril a finite resource for them like a battery, an infinite perpetual solution, or what? Do they have ANY FUCKING CLUE what they are doing, what 'powers' these rings are supposed to have, or that there could be any risk of subversion or how that could possibly happen?
GymWolf
Member
Lol i stopped reading at this partMask off. We got paid and now its over we get to tell you what we really think of the show.
Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker
The world’s most expensive show – which looked like an episode of Hollyoaks, only with woeful acting – was so inept that every episode left you sniggering
At its best – largely thanks to the thrilling, urgent Morfydd Clark
Hardensoul
Member
I’ve not been to IGN since Switch launch.. they’ve become just as bad as Kotaku/Polygon to me.Lol i stopped reading at this part
At its best – largely thanks to the thrilling, urgent Morfydd Clark
I’ll just thank everyone that post links to remind me why I stayed away!
Fbh
Member
I’ve not been to IGN since Switch launch.. they’ve become just as bad as Kotaku/Polygon to me.
I’ll just thank everyone that post links to remind me why I stayed away!
That article is from The Guardian though.
IGN liked the show, they gave S1 a 8/10 and said it "largely succeeds by staying faithful to J. R. R. Tolkien’s themes and tone" and that the plot "comes together brilliantly"
Hardensoul
Member
Pyramid Song
Member
Fellas, I'm in love
Oberstein
Member
Shows like The Rings of Power and She-Hulk have been runaway successes – why can’t keyboard warriors admit it?
Happily, these shows have proven to be huge hits – extremely popular with audiences and critics alike, despite the trolling.
https://www.newstatesman.com/quickfire/2022/10/rings-of-power-she-hulk-controversy
The Rings of Power’s run Amazon executives were claiming that viewing figures were “cresting towards 100 million”.
Meanwhile, fellow streamer Nerdrotic (577,000 subscribers) was busy having his two cents’ worth on The Rings of Power. “This is a repurposed, giant global disaster,” he says of one of the most successful television shows of all time.
Ulysses 31
Member
Take that YT critics!Shows like The Rings of Power and She-Hulk have been runaway successes – why can’t keyboard warriors admit it?
Happily, these shows have proven to be huge hits – extremely popular with audiences and critics alike, despite the trolling.
https://www.newstatesman.com/quickfire/2022/10/rings-of-power-she-hulk-controversy
The Rings of Power’s run Amazon executives were claiming that viewing figures were “cresting towards 100 million”.
Meanwhile, fellow streamer Nerdrotic (577,000 subscribers) was busy having his two cents’ worth on The Rings of Power. “This is a repurposed, giant global disaster,” he says of one of the most successful television shows of all time.
Glad Rings of Power is staying the course for season 2!
MSN
www.msn.com
Shows like The Rings of Power and She-Hulk have been runaway successes – why can’t keyboard warriors admit it?
Happily, these shows have proven to be huge hits – extremely popular with audiences and critics alike, despite the trolling.
https://www.newstatesman.com/quickfire/2022/10/rings-of-power-she-hulk-controversy
The Rings of Power’s run Amazon executives were claiming that viewing figures were “cresting towards 100 million”.
Meanwhile, fellow streamer Nerdrotic (577,000 subscribers) was busy having his two cents’ worth on The Rings of Power. “This is a repurposed, giant global disaster,” he says of one of the most successful television shows of all time.
It's a shit show with negative buzz from all angles. I have yet to talk to anyone who thought it was good.
What are they supposed to admit?
How do you intend to have a sensible conversation when you call people trolls for not liking a piece of entertainment?
Von Hugh
Member
Only watched the first episode now, but I just can't shake off the feeling that the show looks and carries like a soap opera.
And the story and dialogue is like an AI trying to replicate the "original" movies into something new. The lines are either very over the top or then carry no weight or relevance or context at all.
And the story and dialogue is like an AI trying to replicate the "original" movies into something new. The lines are either very over the top or then carry no weight or relevance or context at all.
There are people a few posts up that liked. My wife liked it I thought it was ok. Lots of normal non Tolkien readers enjoyed it. It’s not high art but it isn’t terrible. I’d take it over 3/4ths of what’s on Netflix. Plenty of people enjoy it or the numbers would be far worse. If this was on a more popular platform like Netflix the numbers would be even larger. It is what it is.
Lol i stopped reading at this part
At its best – largely thanks to the thrilling, urgent Morfydd Clark
I meant talked to in person. Not a single one. I don't use online interaction as any sort of indication for anything really. Third party numbers suggest people watch it, as expected, but nowhere near as much as Amazon claim with their cleverly worded line of 25 million people "sampling" their show, whatever that means.
And it is terrible. It has do many objectively poor things that you really do have to put up shutters to ignore it.
Off the top of my head there are the inane words of wisdom like why rocks sink, there's what the fuck was sauron's plan with being on a raft so he could meet someone who jumped off a ship and get rescued by a boat and try to be a smith only so he could be dragged back to middle earth to fight a war so he could get injured and ride for six days to get the medicine he needed to survive and tell the world's greatest smith how to do his job before revealing he's secretly evil, and then disappear and not have galadriel tell anyone who he is (!).
And of course the great big horse army that somehow managed to fit on three tiny ships. And my god with the mystery boxes.
This is the main issue. Mystery boxes. Mystery boxes are what shitty writers use to create drama and excitement becayse they're incapable of doing it any other way.
And how many are there here? Oh boy... Let's see, what's in the box? Where's sauron? Who's the stranger? Who's adar? What's the deal with halbrand? What's that broken sword? Who are the mean looking ladies in white? Why are the hobbits sociopaths? There's more, that3just off the top of my head.
It's exhaustingly bad.
Ulysses 31
Member
I don't think Sauron was planning a come back till Galadriel started pushing him to be king again. He seemed to want to settle down. It's Galadriel who's the one with the WTF plan jumping off that ship like that.
GymWolf
Member
The only actress that can act urgence and thrill with a "i'm gonna shit myself" face.
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No matter which way they intend it, it's some convoluted dumb shit.
He needs elven medicine and is bedridden. She let's ride for aix days!
But then why was he wearing the neckbag/emblem of a king dead for ONE THOUSAND YEARS? It certainly SEEMS like he intended to impersonate this office as a catfish maneuver should he meet someone with enough influence to be lulled into "reinstating" his kingdom to him. Surely he knew of the dam/Mount Doom project, or at least could deduce it since HE BUILT THE DAM in the first place (or oversaw it's construction or at least rode past it a few hundred times) and the aqueduct channels should have been pretty easy to see from waaaaaay up on the mountain side as they rode over them from the river. Did he want it to happen? If he was trying to stop it he did a crap job since he presumably knew where the sword hilt had to go and didn't do anything about it. Plus he saved Adars life (twice) for no conceivable reason other than they were in cahoots the entire time.
This show is all about forward momentum. If you stop and look back, even for a second, it all falls apart because there is no plan to it, every decision is an "in the moment" choice to keep viewers for just one more episode.
Oberstein
Member
Go ask them, I didn't write the article.
What I see is the extreme animosity of a part of the public against the series, OK, there are flaws, but it's not absolute shit, let's not exaggerate... You blindly follow the guys who make money on YT, thanks to you.
We'll see if they improve in season 2. After all, it's only a starting season. Anyway, the backslash will do them good: they'll be forced, whatever they say, not to repeat the same mistakes.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Millions of people stop and stare at a trainwreck all the time. Probably the same people who keep McDonalds alive.Shows like The Rings of Power and She-Hulk have been runaway successes – why can’t keyboard warriors admit it?
Happily, these shows have proven to be huge hits – extremely popular with audiences and critics alike, despite the trolling.
https://www.newstatesman.com/quickfire/2022/10/rings-of-power-she-hulk-controversy
The Rings of Power’s run Amazon executives were claiming that viewing figures were “cresting towards 100 million”.
Meanwhile, fellow streamer Nerdrotic (577,000 subscribers) was busy having his two cents’ worth on The Rings of Power. “This is a repurposed, giant global disaster,” he says of one of the most successful television shows of all time.
Oh fuck off with that bs.
I make up my own mind and the shit I've mentioned are things I've noticed myself.
If you can't see beyond your ridiculous "wah wah youtube" nonsense then that just says a lot about you.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Are you a wish.com Mana by chance?
Alex11
Member
YES! Finally, it bugged the hell out of me this pouch of his.
I read in that article posted some pages back, they said he has given up, he's as low as it gets, so there was no plan for him to go back to Middle-Earth, he even said it to Galadriel. So he's carrying it for what? Sentimental value?
Also, did he carry that pouch for 1 000 years or what? Seems highly unlikely one morning between killing orcs and strolling outside his fortress for a walk he stumbled into it.
TaylorSwiftFan
Member
Except that’s not what the creators are aiming for - they’re not aiming for entertainment. They thought they were making high art with deep, profound dialogue and modernising Tolkien. The dumbasses…
DeceptiveAlarm
Gold Member
When you take one of the greatest worlds ever created and give it to a huge company with endless pockets and this is what you get? What else can you call it but absolute shit.
TaylorSwiftFan
Member
They will double down on this crap. We all know they will. There is no need to wait and see. Just like we knew that the first season was going to be bad. You have to be blind to not see it coming from a mile away.
Mossybrew
Banned
Yeah, I found it reasonably entertaining. Some things I liked, some things I didn't care for, nothing worth getting all worked up about though. It was worth watching overall, and I'll tune in for the next season.
Raven117
Member
Of course they are aiming for entertainment. They are on Amazon Prime. But yeah, it’s not super high art or anything. It’s just entertaining…. Some of the time.
Yup. That’s my thought.