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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Generic as they come.
Generic as they come.
Went into this with an open mind, as a Tolkien fan, thirsty for something new from the beautiful world of the professor. What I got instead was a generic fantasy show, like many others before it that are now forgotten and mocked.
Let me begin by admitting that there are some positives amidst the mess. At the end of the day it is a "billion" dollar production, so the visuals of the show ere beautiful and the sets are well crafted. Without a doubt much work went into it from dedicated and skilled people of all professions.
However, many scenes draw you in only for a few moments, and then they reveal the flatness behind their shiny tapestry. One example is in Lindon, at the seat of the High Elves, in the scene where Gil -galad honours Galadriel and the other soldiers. The trees, the waterfall and the whole scenery seems too artificial, almost like a 3d scene in Blender, rendered to be used as a background in a postcard. The grittiness, the roughness and real look of Peter Jackson's movies is redecorated with a cleaner, but less believable texture painting both the world and the actor's costumes.
Beyond the bland visuals, the worse thing about "The Rings of Power" is its writing and the abysmal dialogue.
Let me give some examples I manage to catch during my "examination" of the material:
Finrod and young Galadriel:
"But sometimes the lights shine just as brightly reflected in the water as they do in the sky."
"It's hard to say which way is up and which way is down."
Elrond and Galadriel:
"You really have become a politician."
"You make it sound so grim."
"I am not some courtier to be placated by idle flattery."
Later in the same scene, Elrond says:
"But rather is you who defied the High King, by refusing to heed any limit placed upon you. In an act of magnanimity, he has chosen to honour your accomplishments..."
This is what happens when you try to imitate J. R. R Tolkien, but you cannot. This is a fan fiction, creative 8th grade writing class level of skill displayed by the professionals. Sad. Trying to use big, complicated words that accomplish nothing.
Besides the writing, the acting was also a bit stiff in some cases, but that was not the actors fault at all. The poor people had so little to work with, so they did the best they can. I think the show floated better when there were simple scenes without convoluted dialogue, or when the actors were left to display their talent without forcing them into unnatural situations.
There is so much more to discuss, praise and criticize, but there are many more interesting reviews for you to read, both positive and critical of the production.
At the end of the day, it is just a TV show and we will always have the books. The originals works will be ours to read, enjoy and imagine as long as we live.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Star trek (in name only)
Any lifelong fan of this franchise can see through the crap with this one. Sorry to say, but this is not Star Trek, period. This is nothing but a fancy run-of-the-mill, visual eye-candy show specifically designed to milk your hard earned money.
That's it, isn't it for CBS? They don't care about the vision and the legacy of Mr. Roddenberry, the standards and the parameters set by the previous beloved, iconic shows. They just wanted the movie crowd from the stupid "abramsverse" to come on board and click subscribe on their absurd "all access" service.
This is not a show made for us lifelong Star Trek fans. It is nothing but a "GoTesque" spin of a space action series. While Star Trek was a space opera, Discovery is a half-witted attempt to copy what other shows are about, while trying to profit on their popularity. I can clearly see now greedy people in suits sat one day in one of those fancy board rooms and said: How about we make Game of Thrones in space, with the J.J Abrams lens flares and the violence of The Walking Dead? Wouldn't that be wonderful?
You can see that in the first 30 minutes of the show when Burnham urges the captain to attack the Klingons. Can you imagine any of the previous Starship Captains using violence as the first resort? As you can see the Star Trek history, legacy and everything we love is shattered in the first half hour of the show along with the prime directive.
Don't get me started on the "dark" visuals of the whole show? How is that in line with the hope for all humanity and the bright future of our civilization as the backbone of Mr. Roddenberry's vision? The atmosphere is so dark and the camera angles are so weird that even after two episodes we don't know how the bridge actually looks like on the new (old) ships.
Then, the writing comes along. It is so dull, uninspiring and bad that it can surely fit a high school sci-fi story of the month contest. Everything has to be explained to the viewer with lines like "you've served under me for seven years," or "they said "hello" in a language the Klingons understood". So the idea is to treat us – the viewers like brainless, popcorn eating zombies who can't figure things out for themselves. What a disgrace and insult to our intelligence because Star Trek used to be a show for people who sought meaning in things. For people who wanted to reevaluate their moral compasses, their views and to be challenged with new ideas and concepts. Perceptions brilliantly presented to us through meaningful writing and awesome characters inhabited by actors who knew what the show was about.
To sum it up:
This show has nothing, ZERO of the vibe, the standards and the parameters set by Mr. Roddenbery back in 1966. They (the execs and the suits) never cared about the message and the idea as the core of the Star Trek vision, nor did they care for the lifelong appreciation and the support of the franchise by us – the fans.
The soul of Star Trek is now lost in the depths of messy mixture of greed, conformity and lack of vision and I don't know if it ever will be "discovered" again (although I still hope).
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Gene Roddenberry rolling over in his grave.
Where do I begin? As a lifelong Star Trek fan I had an uneasy feeling while watching this movie. I could not shake the sense that I was just looking at another mediocre summer popcorn flick; an experience that would evaporate from my brain just hours after I leave the theater.
I remember sitting in the cinema with my head low embarrassed by the movie, although I wanted it to prove me wrong ever since I saw the "Beastie Boys" trailer back in 2015. Instead, it dragged along with that "proven" Hollywood formula of what a summer hit should look like. Constricted by its own creative limitations I was looking at a product that was not a science fiction in its core, but a creation that had only one intention since its birth: to milk as much money as possible.
Star Trek Beyond was so devoid of the primordial concepts set up by Mr. Gene Roddenberry that it contributed to the confused identity of the picture. The plot of the movie is so "light" in its essence that it lacks the moral dilemmas, the exploration (inner and outer) and the development usually present in the Star Trek universe. There was neither message nor any character evolution and we did not learn more about anything really. Instead of Kirk, Spock and Scotty you could stick just any name over the protagonists and nobody would have noticed. The story was atrocious and full with plot holes patched up by unnecessary although flashy looking CGI.
Star Trek Beyond also has one of the weakest villains in its history. It was definitely not the actors fault and such a shame to waste the opportunity of having a strong artist like Idris Elba. It was the fault of the writer and the director who missed the opportunity to take Star Trek back on its track. Instead they created a cute flick full with needless CGI scenes, explosions and dialogue written for "dumb" audiences. Everything had to be explained to the viewers, nothing was left to the imagination. There was nothing to debate with your friends after the movie or something to stir your imagination or to push you to prod its meaning. Nothing like that at all, everything was given on a run-of-the-mill plate for the audience to consume in a shortest possible time frame.
The movie had its moments, so not everything was complete rubbish. I liked the character of Jaylah and some of the humor, but that was it. Some of the scenes were of course visually impressive though sometimes things would fly around too much and contaminate the image. Of course this movie was done by people, who know their job, but I am not pondering the execution and the skill of the artists, I am merely concerned about the soul of this thing we love so much.
This thing we used to know of as Star Trek.