My twelve year old son, who loves Tolkien, said, “It’s like they took one line and made an anime movie about it.” Indeed, my boy. This grim, humorless trek through Middle-earth had a few fun moments, but not nearly enough of them to justify its two plus hour running time. Miranda Otto and Brian Cox are pretty good. This film’s entire raison d’etre appears to be that WB was about to lose the license to make more cash-generating adventures in Tolkien’s world. I give it a B-. For all its flaws, it’s still much better than the awful slop amazon keeps pushing at me. I hope Andy Serkis’ return in 2026 is more fun than this was.
Category: Tolkien
Rings and Other Things
In the past few years, whenever a sci fi, comic book, or fantasy media property comes out with something new, and someone has the incredible nerve to criticize it, whether it’s Martin Scorcese saying they’re not cinema, or some obscure blogger like me saying “hey I thought that was not good,” I’ve heard some version of “Be quiet and let people enjoy things” in defense of such media offerings. To which I say an emphatic, “fair enough!” since everyone is free to enjoy whatever they wish, no matter how vapid.
What’s unusual about some of the superfan accounts that social media algorithms have been pushing at me lately are the accusations of racism, ‘toxic fandom’ or other charges levied at people who have valid criticisms of these movies and shows. The last time I checked, film and media criticism have long provided a valuable service. Nothing is above criticism or interpretation, as any good writer knows.
You can criticize something you’ve grown up with and enjoyed for decades without being ‘toxic’ or racist about it. I understand there are some white nationalists around who hated the new star wars and rings of power simply because they hate the diverse casts. Any normal person disavows this stuff.
But when I see constant fawning praise for fairly lame, mediocre offerings from gigantic, multinational, multibillion-dollar entities, and constant defense of such middling fare, and cries of outrage aimed at anyone who dares to say they don’t like it, I don’t understand. Are we not allowed to say we think Rings of Power is lousy? Because, let me tell you my friends, it is a total slog, a huge disappointment, despite the great cast and expensive effects and everything else. I disliked it and gave up after 3 episodes. I don’t read Tolkien to watch a dwarf scream at Elrond for missing his wedding, an exchange which I found to be unintentionally hilarious. Nor do I read his works to see Steven Seagal type characters beating people senseless, breaking arms and legs and uttering lame, action movie kinds of one-liners in a brutal fistfight. No thanks, amazon. Have fun, those of you who enjoy such things. People can enjoy whatever they wish, it makes no difference to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I like plenty of junk. Bad TV and film have an illustrious history. One of my favorite things to watch is Rifftrax, a hilarious program that takes special delight in poking fun at bad movies and television. However, I don’t make lengthy videos breaking down each Rifftrax episode and telling people how great it is and insisting that people who don’t see the value in it are toxic, because that would be an incredible waste of my time. It’s enough that I enjoy it. But then, I’m not seeking to have millions of fans following me for new Rifftrax content. Nor do I wish to be a Rifftrax influencer or to monetize my enjoyment of Rifftrax. I just want to laugh and have a good time. But that’s just me, and to each their own.
Now, a group of fans riffing Rings of Power? That I would watch and enjoy, along with a big bowl of popcorn.
Adaptations
If you’d told me when I was twelve that we’d have endless new sci fi/superhero/fantasy movies and shows every single week, I would’ve been ecstatic. But alas, since I’m fifty and no longer twelve, I’m totally disinterested in most of it. Partly this is because I’m no longer a child, but it’s also because I enjoy new and different stories, and none of these gigantic intellectual properties do that. They just make the same exact stories over and over.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas created something special that felt fresh. Comic books did that also, and some still do. Tolkien created a genre that has been well mined for generations. Other writers have done and continue to do this, and some films do as well. But most of the large properties simply make the same thing with slightly different characters or timelines. It obviously sells and many people love it. It doesn’t interest me, though– new and interesting stories do. But these famous, valuable names are like real estate snatched up by greedy developers.
At times, older fans can get prickly about newer things. I’ve felt that way as well, mainly because the experience of reading an amazing novel can never be matched by any movie, no matter how well done. As George RR Martin recently commented, very rarely does a great book get a truly worthy interpretation, but when it happens it’s quite amazing. Dune managed it, in my opinion, and Jackson’s Lord of the Rings did, as well. But more often they just leave you cold.
Most of these newer films are not made for middle aged guys, so I just accept that it isn’t for me, and go back to the books. But I admit, and as Martin said, I find the arrogance of some of these adaptations hard to believe. Luckily I will always have my bookshelves.
New York Tolkien Conference
If you have an interest in Tolkien, or more generally in fantastic fiction, consider joining us at the New York Tolkien Conference at Baruch College this June! The details are at the conference site below. It’s always a grand time, with interesting speakers and friendly people. It’s also a chance to present your work, if you’re so inclined. If you have any questions, comment here on this post and I’ll respond, or send me a message. Hope to see some of you in June!
Hobbit Day!
For Hobbit Day, I had great fun chatting with Jackson Schelhaas about Tolkien themed games on his excellent Exploring Arda podcast. We chatted about tabletop games, rpgs, video games and plenty more–check it out, and happy Hobbit Day!
Tolkien, etc
Back in the mid 90s an amazing professor at my university offered a Tolkien/CS Lewis course. I signed up and went to the class and there was an enormous line to get in. Every seat was taken, and people were lining the classroom walls and standing in the hallway outside. The professor happily signed everyone up, and moved the course to a lecture hall to accommodate what became a huge class, which had originally been capped at 25 or so students. It was a memorable, amazing course, and she was such a wonderful, humane and supportive person. She even made time to have lunch with small groups of us after every class session, to get to know us better and see how we were doing. I wish every professor I had was like that. None of us had seen a Tolkien film, unless it was the old Rankin Bass or Bakshi movies, since this was before Jackson. We were all just avid Tolkien and fantasy readers, and I suspect most of us had been from an early age.
I kind of miss those pre Jackson days. I have nothing against Jackson’s films, or the new show, and if they brought you to read Tolkien, then I’m glad for you. I liked Jackson’s movies pretty well, and I’m not a Tolkien scold or purist. Those movies did some things well, and some I liked less well. I’m not so certain these movies created millions more readers, though. I’ve met plenty of folks who have told me they love the movies, but have never read and don’t want to read Tolkien. I think he does just fine in terms of readers without any adaptations, but to each his own.
Regarding rings of power, I’ve already written how it’s not to my taste. I’m not interested in debating why or being told I am wrong or telling anyone enjoying it not to enjoy it. As I say, to each their own. I watched the first two episodes and that was enough. I don’t have time for shows I’m not really enthusiastic about, so when I didn’t care for those episodes I had no problem missing the rest.
Ian Anderson is one of my favorite songwriters and in an interview I read once, he remarked how much he liked hearing covers of his songs. He said he found it flattering. But he added that some covers of his songs felt to him more like a cat marking its territory. I felt kind of like this when watching the Amazon show. I’m sure the show runners are nice guys and the cast are too, but I’ll stick to the books. Literary works don’t need to be trillion dollar affairs to be appreciated.
Christopher Tuthill 