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Post by Scott on Oct 6, 2022 20:58:44 GMT -5
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Post by geneweigel on Oct 6, 2022 21:57:49 GMT -5
Wow that is just terrible. Reminds me of Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010) where it just caved into "kewl" trends instead of delivering the content when they really could have. The dwarf aesthetic keeps dropping and dropping with every outing since THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (2012) but I think this outing is a major drop in elf feel. I am not feeling "elf" here.
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Post by Scott on Oct 7, 2022 10:36:27 GMT -5
Yes, I really wanted to like it, but it's that bad.
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Post by geneweigel on Oct 7, 2022 11:02:34 GMT -5
Someone mentioned to me that there are paid reviews, "likes" and commenters on an industrial scale for everything and I had no idea.
The biggest harm that they are pulling here is the "scouring of Galadriel" as a character.
I was kind of pissed off with Jackson's interpretations of LOTR but this is just too much for me to process. For example, most of the Jackson elves being standard "elven effeminate" instead of unearthly and now as one commenter put it we have "Doogie Elrond" (Old show Doogie Howser M.D. {1989-1993} about a child doctor) where they are leaning juvenile instead of effeminate.
I'm afraid to press the "watch" button to tell them its okay to make more of this. The Galadriel as a "Force Awakens" brain dead super chick is pure vomit that I don't want to have to "clean up" to make an observation.
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Post by Scott on Oct 7, 2022 11:33:12 GMT -5
A lot of what is said applies to the Wheel of Time series also, which is why I ended up giving up on that one after a few episodes.
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Post by geneweigel on Oct 7, 2022 14:56:43 GMT -5
Yeah, I think all franchises will be fucked going forward. I saw 3 trailers in a row the last time that I went to the theater and it seems they were written by a schizophrenic hobo asking for change on a subway car while talking about their world view.
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Post by maximus on Oct 9, 2022 13:45:07 GMT -5
A lot of what is said applies to the Wheel of Time series also, which is why I ended up giving up on that one after a few episodes. Agreed 100%. Unfortunately for me, I actually watched the whole WoT season. Not sure why, but it was like watching a train wreck you couldn't take your eyes off of. Not making the same mistake with this one. Guyladriel is just too much...
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Post by GRWelsh on Dec 26, 2022 22:27:44 GMT -5
Some random thoughts I had recently on Tolkien adaptations...
I've been playing the video game LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE since 2009 and it made me think about how one can expand upon the Middle Earth legendarium in a logical way that doesn't contradict existing lore... So, it can be done. An adaptation doesn't have to contradict book lore and can even incorporate the Jackson movies and other visual art for the 'look' without contradicting anything. In that sense, the video game has been very gratifying and made me even more critical of THE RINGS OF POWER TV show.
Other video games like MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR and SHADOW OF WAR depart from the lore but have very compelling stories and characters and thus in my opinion are far superior to the Amazon TV show. This also proves that I can accept a lore-breaking story if it is done well and internally consistent. I grumble but admit they are good. I would have liked a dramatization of these games far more than what we got on the TV show. The cutscenes from these games are so far above the TV show that it's ridiculous considering the money and budget comparisons.
Recently, I was rereading some Tolkien books and noticed the five Istari named in the lore are described as chiefs and so there may be others... Also, it is often assumed they all came together to Middle Earth at the same time, yet that isn't necessarily the case. There could have been Istari who came earlier or later to Middle Earth. Saruman is described as coming first, so it is possible he came prior to Gandalf and/or the Blue Wizards. Also, he is described as eldest... Aren't all of the Maiar the same 'age' in the lore since they all came into existence as the Ainur prior to the creation of Arda? Or perhaps this refers to when they entered into Arda itself, i.e. with Curumo [Saruman] entering Arda before Olórin [Gandalf] the others? In any case, it seems there is room based on the wording for there to be Istari coming to Middle Earth at different time periods, including even during the Second Age. I believe there were later writings that had the Blue Wizards and Glorfindel coming to Middle Earth in the Second Age. It might be best if 'the Stranger' in THE RINGS OF POWER is revealed to be a new and original character, and not one of the five 'chief' Istari named in the lore...
-- THE SILMARILLION, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" p. 372.
-- UNFINISHED TALES, "The Istari" p. 406.
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Post by geneweigel on Jan 16, 2024 11:19:15 GMT -5
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Post by GRWelsh on Jan 16, 2024 11:33:03 GMT -5
It's so non-Tolkien that as a Tolkien fan it isn't worth discussing anymore.
As a generic fantasy, it has some nice sets but terrible writing so even on that level it isn't worth watching.
Maybe all of the talented fantasy fans are only doing video games, since many of those have been fantastic... Movies and TV shows suck now.
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Post by Scott on Jan 16, 2024 12:25:28 GMT -5
I was in the did not finish demographic. I couldn’t get through more than a couple of episodes. But I did try. I gave up on it being a good Tolkien adaptation after 15 minutes, but plowed ahead hoping the story would get better. But it got worse.
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Post by geneweigel on Jan 16, 2024 15:04:38 GMT -5
My wife wanted to click on it out of sheer boredom then I reminded her of THE HOBBIT "trilogy". She dropped that remote so fast...
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Post by GRWelsh on Jan 16, 2024 17:26:06 GMT -5
In retrospect, I can't understand why they paid so much for the Tolkien IP if they had the attitude of "we just want to do our own thing." Save your money, and do your own thing. Don't waste the time of us true Tolkien fans by releasing a map and letting us speculate for three years... I think it comes down to a disconnect of Bezos being able to throw away the money on the basis of nothing more than "I casually like Tolkien" and giving the project to people who superficially convinced him they are Tolkien fans but have no idea what they're doing.
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