The Rings of Power and The Last Kingdom
Sep. 6th, 2022 02:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smokingbootApparently only racists and mysogynists are allowed to hate this, and all criticism is anti-woke or something.
I respect those who like it. I found it difficult going because
) Stage'Oirish' accents among the Harfoots. Going to do an accent, do the accent well; a Cork accent is not the same as a Dublin accent, and none of them are tubbeeshur tubbeeshur. The irony is that Lenny Henry, barely trying at all, rescued this tribe/family from terminal whimsy, and he didn't have an ounce of begorrah about him. The guy can act, that's all.
2) That bloody ice-troll. In The Fellowship of the Ring, the cave troll attack is a well depicted fight in a small seeming space, the complete mess of everyone dashing around almost tripping up under the thing. So, given a much taller and narrower space, plus the almost cat-like agility of elves, why are they all emulating Marvel corridor fights, where one henchman after another dashes up and gets twatted? Why aren't they doing a Legolas, swiftly climbing above it and peppering the thing with arrows? Answer; so Galadriel can get her freak on, pose, vanquish,pose once more.Jeez.
I guess my problem was that we saw this almost adjacent to The Last Kingdom, last episode first season, and the whole thing was just more chunky without being as clunky. The major fight was also subject to unlikely tactics, but somehow it felt believable because everyone was covered in muck and blood, or maybe because we are not tuning into the mystic wafts of Valinor. I have real problems not cracking up at the idea of Galadriel leaping out of the ship and starting to swim back to Middle-Earth. In my head, she keeps swimming for the rest of the season, occasionally cut back to between scenes.
But maybe the problem is that disenchantment follows any close-up of a mystery. The Galadriel of The Silmarilion cannot be the Galadriel of LoTR any more than Prince Hal can be Henry V. They are serving different functions in different stories, and the development from one kind of person into another can be fascinating, or it can bring too much attention to the Deus Ex Machina. Small wonder writers often just let it be and hope no-one notices.
Ah, but Alfred, Alfred! I can see why The Last Kingdom might lose a light when he's gone. He's the one I watch. Uttred is utterly gorgeous to look at, but as a person, he would irritate me. It's Alfred, with those heavy lidded eyes, that occasionally dispensible piety and necessary though delicately applied ruthlessness, who makes me believe. He'd run rings around Galadriel in any battle, because he thinks. I don't mind my heroes stupid if they make me laugh, but oh, how I love them smart!
I respect those who like it. I found it difficult going because
) Stage'Oirish' accents among the Harfoots. Going to do an accent, do the accent well; a Cork accent is not the same as a Dublin accent, and none of them are tubbeeshur tubbeeshur. The irony is that Lenny Henry, barely trying at all, rescued this tribe/family from terminal whimsy, and he didn't have an ounce of begorrah about him. The guy can act, that's all.
2) That bloody ice-troll. In The Fellowship of the Ring, the cave troll attack is a well depicted fight in a small seeming space, the complete mess of everyone dashing around almost tripping up under the thing. So, given a much taller and narrower space, plus the almost cat-like agility of elves, why are they all emulating Marvel corridor fights, where one henchman after another dashes up and gets twatted? Why aren't they doing a Legolas, swiftly climbing above it and peppering the thing with arrows? Answer; so Galadriel can get her freak on, pose, vanquish,pose once more.Jeez.
I guess my problem was that we saw this almost adjacent to The Last Kingdom, last episode first season, and the whole thing was just more chunky without being as clunky. The major fight was also subject to unlikely tactics, but somehow it felt believable because everyone was covered in muck and blood, or maybe because we are not tuning into the mystic wafts of Valinor. I have real problems not cracking up at the idea of Galadriel leaping out of the ship and starting to swim back to Middle-Earth. In my head, she keeps swimming for the rest of the season, occasionally cut back to between scenes.
But maybe the problem is that disenchantment follows any close-up of a mystery. The Galadriel of The Silmarilion cannot be the Galadriel of LoTR any more than Prince Hal can be Henry V. They are serving different functions in different stories, and the development from one kind of person into another can be fascinating, or it can bring too much attention to the Deus Ex Machina. Small wonder writers often just let it be and hope no-one notices.
Ah, but Alfred, Alfred! I can see why The Last Kingdom might lose a light when he's gone. He's the one I watch. Uttred is utterly gorgeous to look at, but as a person, he would irritate me. It's Alfred, with those heavy lidded eyes, that occasionally dispensible piety and necessary though delicately applied ruthlessness, who makes me believe. He'd run rings around Galadriel in any battle, because he thinks. I don't mind my heroes stupid if they make me laugh, but oh, how I love them smart!
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no subject
Date: 2022-09-07 11:58 am (UTC)In fact, the first season of The Last Kingdom is the best—I think because of that remarkable episode when they're all wandering around in the marsh.
I can't bring myself to watch either the Rings on Amazon or the Dragons on HBO.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-08 07:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-07 03:31 pm (UTC)I'm sorry that we can't seem to discuss Tolkein in this current clime without horrific charges being leveled, but I have opinions and am just ranting in the kitchen to my son rather than alienating the flist. I think Tolkein would have opinions, too.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-08 07:01 am (UTC)But yes, I've seen some excellent reviews of HoD, and suspect we'll be trying that next. In fairness to The Rings of Power the dubious reviews connected with it aren't all down to geeky spleen or the usual isms. People forget that The Silmarilion was not an easy read in and of itself, and translating it to the screen isn't easy.
As to discussing Tolkien, it's gone the way of every discussion, so often typified by bad temper, as though people are just too angry and frightened right now to be able to discuss anything. I don't know how this will change, but surely it must calm down at some point...