The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres with two episodes on Sept. 2 on Prime Video. Review by Alex Stedman.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is telling its own story using the lore of Tolkien as a foundation, and the first two episodes make a solid case for why that story deserves to be told in such extravagance. While the first episode gets a little too caught up in exposition, the second is able to build on the characters and their relationships much more naturally, setting in motion a few intriguing subplots and a respectable amount of action. Through it all, it’s always well-acted by its ensemble cast and gorgeously shot and produced, with cinematography, effects, costumes, and original music that rival the biggest of big-budget movies.