In truth, I am waiting to make a decision about the quality of this series. However, I am uprating the score to counteract the ridiculously low scores of some here who are critiquing the work because of their own prejudices. They reveal themselves as no nothings when they ignore spelling and grammar but praise Tolkien as a genius. You can be sure he would cringe to have this sort defending his canon.
As soon as you see the word 'woke,' skip the review.
I will note that the acting is fine despite the dings I have read here. These are almost all British actors who are always trained to a high level. Galadriel's actor has won an Olivier award for christsakes!
I am not a fan of the writing so far, but not because a woman seems to be the center of this narrative.
So I will reserve judgement for the time being. People should not be deterred from watching by language challenged reviewers who claim to be protectors of Tolkien.
Maybe, if some of these people would read a tiny fraction of the books Tolkien studied, they would be able to write something coherent.
Give it a chance. Jackson's epic will be hard to equal. One cannot buy quality with half a billion dollars. It takes more than a big budget. Do you hear me Bezos?