Boo! I will be watching it tonight. Really looking forward to it.
Yep. Watched part one last night, but gave up halfway through. It looks expensive, but the acting is poor, the dialogue is hokey, the plotting is tepid, and the music is cheesy. Some of it (the leprechaun-like Harfoots especially) looked more Monty Python than Peter Jackson. I was very disappointed, but will watch the rest of the episode later before deciding on whether to stick with this. The chances are slim…
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I’m waiting for the scene where they are all on the beach sitting in a circle passing the conch around.
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All these prequels, House Of Dragon, Rings Of Power, Magical Beasts. The Hobbit , we watch them because we enjoyed the originals , but the last Magical Beasts and the start of House Of Dragon , and The Hobbit were all dire.
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Gosh, I’m surprised, I thought it was truly stunning (Episode 1).
The sublime visual effects and particularly the cinematography simply blew me away - I’m not talking about ‘wham/bam’ action sfx but simply beautiful imagery. Is this because I’m watching a huge image via a lowly 1080p projector? I’m sorry but from the first minute the video quality roped me in.
I’d also say I’d feared a box ticking diversity outing but I think the casting nailed it all pretty perfectly.
Yes, a few of the elvish characters didn’t seem quite right, not sure if it was the makeup/prosthetics but so far excellent TV from Amazon.
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The family are hooked on ‘All that Glitters’ from Birmingham Jewellery School so watched that. We will watch Episode 1 tomorrow.
I agree thought it was fantastic can’t wait for episodes 3 & 4.
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Just watched it and found myself chuntering that the liberties it took with the story were far too loose…
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number 1 daughter and I watched it last night. I enjoyed it, it looks lush, the live-action anyway as beautifully shot and lit. I thought the battle scenes digital effects are pretty middling though. My daughter said it looked like video game cut scenes. Dialogue is pretty poor but that’s Tolkien it always is… So far from me, it’s a qualified yes, looking forward to seeing some more. Don’t mind the slow start given the planned seasons in the arc they have plenty of time to introduce and develop the characters. I do love how it is now fully established canon that all Dwarves are and always have been Scottish…
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How did you watch it in NZ?
Personally I always watch these things in isolation even when I’ve read the book because it’s so easy to bring pre conceived ideas with you. If the story grabs me like episodes one and two of this did then I view it as separate from any previous versions/medium.
I’ll say it again thought the first two episodes where fantastic and can’t wait for the next two.
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Half way through the first episode. Bit boring isn’t it?
Yes, unfortunately I agree… I didn’t actually make it to the end of the first episode… desperately in need of a more focussed screen play and pruning.
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its on Prime…
I’d imagine at least 50% of the audience if not a chunk more didn’t read the books and certainly didn’t study Tolkien’s maps and appendices so perhaps a few broader brush strokes where needed to explain things and set things up it is after all a Television series aimed at the popcorn eating masses so perhaps it might take an episode or two or even three to get going.
For me Tolkien’s books where always about the Characters this is especially true when you are dealing with visually depicted Elves, Dwarves and Wizards rather than those living inside inside our imaginations and I think so far the series gets this right considering again that it’s a Tv series.
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Very well said, Bob …
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It’ll be interesting to see how popular this actually is with the popcorn eating masses… I might be wrong but the pace is off… it is for me at least.
For me the Tolkein books (although I only read a subset compared to my brothers) were about magical worlds and the characters and creatures that inhabited it along with their political structures… true D&D style… other than some rather rudimentary panning around a Tolkien book styled map and rudimentary character introductions/portrayals. I didn’t get much of this impression other than with Galadriel … who I thought was done well … I also thought the cinematography felt tired and uninspiring … let’s have a fresher interpretation we have seen it all before…. perhaps I was expecting too much…
I will try and persevere if we finally get some rain this weekend… but I am not that enthused…
I forced myself to watch the second half of episode one and, for my money, it was even worse than the first half. Truly dire. So bad (acting, dialogue, plotting, music) that it actually made me angry. But I hope those of you who enjoyed it will continue to do so.
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I never watch anything and think the dialogue is off or the cinematography is good the story either grabs me or it doesn’t and after the first two episodes I’m really, really looking forward to the next.
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A few glasses of red may have coloured my perception - probably best to continue with that to avoid disappointment.
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