Jackson's LOTR and Hobbit films are among my favorite films. I think they are very grand and transports the viewer into a feigned history. I have tried to avoid all information about this show before watching it. I knew that it was set in the 2nd age and that Jackson wasn't really involved. I was surprised how well visually the show and the Jackson film's fit together. The show has its own vibe and design sense but it clearly built on the bones of the Jackson films. It does feel like these locations and sets will devolve into the locales we see in the LOTR/Hobbit series. So while this episode isn't as grand as the films it does do the one thing that hoped it would. It brings middle-earth back to life.
I like the cast they got. Elrond, Galadriel. And Nori are appealing characters and the new actors are all good fits. Importantly the cast has chemistry with each other. And they are buying into the world enough to sell the fantasy.
But I have two big issues with the writing. The series is presuming that you have read up on Tolkien-there is a *ton* of lore that is unexplained in this episode. I've read basically everything Tolkien wrote-not just the LOTR-and I had to look some stuff up to piece the storyline together. I think causal fans will find parts of the episode impenetrable. The exposition of the first episode makes it a little dramatically flat.
My second writing issue is the series has been-seemingly-influenced by Game of Thrones to make it grittier. There is a more realpolitik vibe to the proceedings than Jackson's films. And the language of the dialog doesn't have the grace of the Jackson films at least attempted. The series appears unwilling to use elvish all that much. There's a bluntness to the dialog that I find off-putting in context. Likewise the characters, esp. Elves, have been rendered more petty and common than high fantasy requires.
I like the cast they got. Elrond, Galadriel. And Nori are appealing characters and the new actors are all good fits. Importantly the cast has chemistry with each other. And they are buying into the world enough to sell the fantasy.
But I have two big issues with the writing. The series is presuming that you have read up on Tolkien-there is a *ton* of lore that is unexplained in this episode. I've read basically everything Tolkien wrote-not just the LOTR-and I had to look some stuff up to piece the storyline together. I think causal fans will find parts of the episode impenetrable. The exposition of the first episode makes it a little dramatically flat.
My second writing issue is the series has been-seemingly-influenced by Game of Thrones to make it grittier. There is a more realpolitik vibe to the proceedings than Jackson's films. And the language of the dialog doesn't have the grace of the Jackson films at least attempted. The series appears unwilling to use elvish all that much. There's a bluntness to the dialog that I find off-putting in context. Likewise the characters, esp. Elves, have been rendered more petty and common than high fantasy requires.