The residents of Current Earth known as Entertainment Journalists tell us the Prime Video fantasy adventure saga “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” is the most expensive television series of all time, with Amazon spending some $250 million just to acquire the rights from the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien and investing somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 billion in a projected five-season run. I mean geez, that’s like 0.5% of Jeff Bezos’ reported net worth!
Having borne witness to the first two episodes, I can confirm this is one of the most expansive, lush and well-photographed projects you’ll ever see — a gorgeous, sprawling and magical albeit somewhat overstuffed epic filled with fascinating characters populating a world that feels like a colorful waking dream (with a potential nightmare lurking around the corner). Created by JD Payne and Patrick McKay and set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Rings of Power” begins with a voice-over saying, “Nothing is evil in the beginning,” which pretty much tells us we shouldn’t get used to the idyllic tableau we’re seeing right now, because something wicked will be coming.
