"Hopefully it will get better," is the phrase many people writing reviews come up with after seeing the first two episodes - and I will add my voice to that chorus.
When the (then new) writers for Game Of Thrones followed the storyline laid out Martin's books, it was great. When they ran out of source material and wrote their own version of GOT, it was awful.
Now we have Rings Of Power from the duo that brought us 1980's Flash Gordon (fun as a cult movie, but I don't think anyone watches it thinking, that's some great writing). According to IMDb they (Patrick McKay and John Payne) haven't done much else (compare their credits to Peter Jackson's).
I'm mystified why Amazon Prime trusts them with a budget in the hundreds of millions - especially after seeing the first two episodes. While I'm not surprised, I am curious why Payne and McKay choose to stray away from the source material. At least they're doing it early and not after 7 years of investing in the characters like Game Of Thrones.
The acting and directing are okay, but for this budget they should be great. The same can be said of the musical score (why didn't they use Howard Shore)? The writing is subpar and dull, which is the most disappointing aspect since Tolkien's books are so epic.
The one positive note is the amazing look of the film (it was the reason I kept watching). I prefer shows that get me so invested in the characters I want to know what happens to them, and writing that I'm still thinking about a few days later. This series has neither of those, it just looks pretty.
So here I sit with the same thought I had watching the Game Of Thrones 8th season... hopefully it will get better.
When the (then new) writers for Game Of Thrones followed the storyline laid out Martin's books, it was great. When they ran out of source material and wrote their own version of GOT, it was awful.
Now we have Rings Of Power from the duo that brought us 1980's Flash Gordon (fun as a cult movie, but I don't think anyone watches it thinking, that's some great writing). According to IMDb they (Patrick McKay and John Payne) haven't done much else (compare their credits to Peter Jackson's).
I'm mystified why Amazon Prime trusts them with a budget in the hundreds of millions - especially after seeing the first two episodes. While I'm not surprised, I am curious why Payne and McKay choose to stray away from the source material. At least they're doing it early and not after 7 years of investing in the characters like Game Of Thrones.
The acting and directing are okay, but for this budget they should be great. The same can be said of the musical score (why didn't they use Howard Shore)? The writing is subpar and dull, which is the most disappointing aspect since Tolkien's books are so epic.
The one positive note is the amazing look of the film (it was the reason I kept watching). I prefer shows that get me so invested in the characters I want to know what happens to them, and writing that I'm still thinking about a few days later. This series has neither of those, it just looks pretty.
So here I sit with the same thought I had watching the Game Of Thrones 8th season... hopefully it will get better.