Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Many are familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece-of-a-book-series that took twelve years to write, fifteen languages and dialects to create, and five years to publish, Lord Of the Rings (and don’t forget The Hobbit!). 

Many are also familiar with the epic six-part movie series based on J.R.R.’s legendary books. The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy started in 2001 and was overseen by Warner Bros. It included LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring, LOTR: The Two Towers, and LOTR: The Return of the King. 

After rave reviews, Warner Bros. decided to capitalize on the films’ successes and split Tolkien’s The Hobbit into three parts. Finally, after almost a decade of waiting, fans were able to catch a glimpse into the events before Lord of the Rings, with the prequel trilogy released in 2012. These movies included: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

I can honestly say that I absolutely loved these six movies. After being verbally attacked by Elliott Kelly (an expert on all things LOTR) for watching The Fellowship of the Ring first instead of The Hobbit (the prequel), I changed courses and watched the Hobbit movies before watching the rest of the LOTR movies. This made a ton more sense (duh!) and I recommend this to anyone who is interested in binging six three-hour movies and wanting to comprehend any of it (Thank you, Elliott!). 

These six movies were amazingly thought out, too. The main characters of Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Samwise, Aragorn, Legolas, and of course, Smeagol, are unique and unforgettable. The movies were emotional, had great special effects (how the heck do they make hobbits so much smaller than everyone else?!), and included some of the largest battle scenes I have ever witnessed. Plus, right now they’re free to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Speaking of Amazon Prime, on September 2, 2022 (the forty-ninth anniversary of Tolkien’s death), Amazon Prime Video released yet another prequel story to the LOTR universe, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, The Silmarillion.

 Amazon released the series in more than 240 countries and territories and smashed records in the process. With more than 25 million viewers on its first day, The Rings of Power quickly became the biggest series premiere in Prime Video history. It also broke records in terms of production cost, as each episode cost over $60 million dollars to produce, totalling almost $1 billion overall.

Ironically, the original Lord of the Rings series was the most expensive of its time, as it cost $281 million for all three movies. 

 Instead of using the tested-and-true three movie format, Amazon opted to make Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power a series, a common practice in this day and age of the “streaming wars.” The Rings of Power takes place thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and is set in the perspective of the elves in Middle Earth. It brings in new characters and old characters alike, all to tell the story of how exactly Middle Earth became the battlefield showcased in the original six movies. It’s high-quality (it better be for the cost!), breathtakingly beautiful, and expertly pieced together. 

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.