The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power sets out its sprawling epic fantasy credentials right from the off: even its title seems like it could be split into multiple instalments. Laden with a name as unwieldy as an orc’s battleaxe, the Prime Video series also arrives under a staggering weight of expectation. In 2017, when Amazon paid author JRR Tolkien’s estate $250m (£211m) not for the rights to remake Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit but merely to set a story within the author’s fantastical world of Middle-earth, financial observers described the deal as “insane”. Jeff Bezos’ omnipotent empire has reportedly spent a further $462m on this first season, which averages out at nearly $60m an episode. By comparison HBO’s Game of Thrones, the blockbuster fantasy hit whose runaway success Amazon evidently hope to emulate, cost a relatively reasonable $15m per episode. For what Amazon’s paying, you at least hope they’ve been able to breed real dragons. Can any television series ever hope to live up to that sort of Caligulan price tag?
There are moments when The Rings of Power comes close. If you’re into breathtaking panoramas of fantasy cities soaring across your screen then, oh boy, have I got a show for you. The first two episodes have been directed by JA Bayona, who made his film debut in 2007 with gothic horror The Orphanage before moving on to blockbuster fare like 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. You’d have to imagine he encouraged Amazon’s decision to host a night of theatrical screenings the same day the episodes appear on streaming. The cinematography is so sprawling and cinematic there’s something bound to be lost on the millions who’ll inevitably end up watching on their phones.
