“The Rings of Power” Goes Round in Circles – Libération

After a less masterful inaugural season than hoped, the series derived from “The Lord of the Rings” is releasing a second part, too soft and with breathless frames.

During its first two episodes, The Rings of Power seemed to be everything it aspired to be. A series capable of rivaling cinema, with a density of images, rich and deep frames. The great jewel in the crown of Prime, the series derived from the Lord of the rings was to become the streamer’s bridgehead, a coveted object to the point of motivating subscriptions, of making people talk about it, and even capable of humanizing one of the richest men in the world since behind the fact of Prince Bezos was hidden, we were told, the dream of a simple fan in love with Tolkien ready to give carte blanche to the two showrunners to create the best possible series. We would cry.

Except that after these first two chapters (the only ones initially shown to the press), the rest of the inaugural season was much less masterful than hoped. The cinematographic image sculpted by the Spaniard Juan Antonio Bayona gave way to something more banal and televisual once the filmmaker left. The whole thing was certainly enhanced by elaborate costumes and a shower of effects