Jonathan Lindstrom

Far better than I expected! Great themes, beautiful cinematography, and solid acting. I was tempted not to review it until the season was complete as a story, or give it a lower rating because there's so much exposition and introductions up front, but they managed to do it all in an engaging way, and with the number of complaints swirling around, I thought it was fair to give my perspective for now. I've read LOTR multiple times and the movies are some of my favorites ever (but The Hobbit series was a step down in CGI and storytelling). I'm reading the Silmarillion right now, so I'm not a Tolkien "purist" who has read all his other works, but I think the showrunners are being fair to the material they are allowed to work with. Clearly there are going to be significant character arcs for the people we know (Galadriel, Elrond, and maybe Gandalf). The complaints I have read so far seem unwarranted. Also, compared to some other fantasy series out there right now, including Amazon's WOT, this is actually appropriate to watch with the family (probably 10+ for violence). It's such a joy to be able to share in a viewing experience like this with the family since so few shows are willing to forgo over the top violence, language, and other inappropriate material. I did not think Amazon would do this with the license they have taken on other shows, but they have surprised me and hopefully will stay true to this standard.