Amazon’s The Rings of Power is a betrayal of Tolkien’s vision

I had been so looking forward to seeing The Rings of Power. For all the wrong reasons, of course. In the months leading up to its release on Amazon, it had been hailed – largely on the basis of rumours and trailers – as an epic disaster, perhaps the most cherishably dreadful travesty in the history of screen fantasy.

Sadly, in this, as in so many other areas, The Rings of Power is a massive disappointment. For example, if you were hoping to see the world’s least funny comedian Lenny Henry die a death as the Tolkien realm’s first ever black hobbit, you’re going to feel cheated: his acting is perfectly OK and anyway you’re so distracted by his Irish accent you don’t really notice the gratuitous diversity casting.

Also, if you were hoping to see bald gazillionaire Jeff Bezos hoisted by his woke petard on a personal vanity project doomed to failure, I don’t think that’s going to happen either.