Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has come under brutal criticism from one of the most revered actors from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bernard Hill, who famously portrayed King Théoden in the Peter Jackson adaptations. The Amazon series had been consistently one of the most-watched shows of 2022 and proved a worthy rival to the rising ratings and popularity of the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon. But the ambitious prequel series did little to pique the curiosity or interest of the Titanic actor who has now bashed the project for its cash-grab mentality.

Bernard Hill Unimpressed By LotR Prequel Rings of Power

In a recent interview, the actor who had played an important part in the fruition of the Peter Jackson trilogy, The Lord of the Rings adapted from the vast canon of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, called out Amazon’s highly talked about and fan-favorite prequel series, The Rings of Power. Bernard Hill’s critical input is that the series posits a two-pronged problem: the prequel is a cash-grab opportunity and the show in itself was not necessary in the first place. When asked whether he had watched The Rings of Power, Hill claimed,

“No, not interested. It’s a money-making venture and I’m not interested in watching that or being in it. Good luck to them and all that stuff but it’s not like the real thing.”

Bernard Hill in The Return of the King
 

According to the actor, the cinematic series should have “completely” ended with The Return of the King. But the franchise’s endeavor to extend Tolkien’s cinematic narrative with The Hobbit was somewhat of an unnecessary yet surprisingly good addition.
“I think they were pushing it when they made ‘The Hobbit.’ ‘The Hobbit’s’ a tiny book. They did it well – they did it really, really well. They expanded it [but] I think you can only stretch a piece of elastic so far. I think they managed it in ‘The Hobbit’ because there were some really good things in ‘The Hobbit’ without a doubt.”
But beyond the Martin Freeman film, Amazon’s deep dive into the rich and cavernous past leading up to the events of the original trilogy was not something that warranted a series that was worth almost $60 million dollars per episode.

Rings of Power Garners Critical Praise For Ambitious Vision

As soon as the debut season of The Rings of Power premiered on Amazon Prime, the massive fandom that had been left unfed for the majority of the past decade became reinvigorated with a new purpose. Tolkien’s mythology, although a classic work of fiction, hasn’t had such an onslaught of positive attention in the years since the cinematic universe’s dormancy. Rings of Power then promised a widely expansive vision that dealt with the aspects of the events that were left out of the original films in lieu of the climactic three-part journey across Middle-earth.
The Rings of Power promises a continuation of the Middle-earth narrative
 

Critic and audience reception to the series began with a lukewarm response which soon built up in tempo and tenor. With an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the series delivered a visionary delight tracing the heroic battles and legacy-defining history of the Second Age of Middle-earth. With positive critical responses on all frontier, the showrunners then quickly moved on to the production of a Season 2 which, according to Patrick McKay’s early-October interview with The Hollywood Reporter, will be in the works for at least “another couple of years.”

The first season of The Rings of Power is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Source: Metro UK