Despite accusations of “review-bombing,” the new Amazon series “Lord of the Ring: The Rings of Power” just became the most-watched premiere ever on the platform with a record 25 million views in the first few days.
“Rings of Power,” based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic “The Lord of the Rings” novels, released two back-to-back premiere episodes Thursday in 250 countries and territories, per Fox News.
“It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment,” Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke said.
“I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy,” she continued. “And it is the tens of millions of fans watching – clearly as passionate about Middle-earth as we are – who are our true measure of success.”
Amazon was certainly banking on the project taking off. “Rings of Power” has made headlines for being the most expensive show of all time, with a $465 million bill for the first season alone. It’s expected that the show will top $1 billion in costs for all five projected seasons.
But the 25 million people watching “Rings of Power” are not necessarily thrilled with how it turned out. The show currently has an 84% critic rating and a 39% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans say the sets are gorgeous and were a great use of all that money. However, they claim creators spent too much effort on making the fantasy world look gorgeous and skimped on storylines and dialogue.
“Good cinematics, but poorly written script and subpar acting. With Amazon’s budget, why can’t the producers hire more established actors and screenwriters?” one person shared.
“Unwatchable,” another person agreed. “Excruciatingly bad dialogue.”
Some of those critics are willing to keep watching to see what happens, however, if only because they’re such diehard fans of Tolkien and the original “Lord of the Rings” story.
“I don’t hate it. I don’t love it. I am a lifelong Tolkien fan,” one Rotten Tomatoes reviewer said. “I think that the first two episodes are world-building. The scenes are beautiful! The acting is bland. The story telling is jumbled. If I didn’t know the background I’d be confused. Because I know the background I’m frustrated at how it’s being told. I will wait and reserve final judgement [sic] as the season unfolds.”