‘The Lord of the Rings’ delivers spectacle but lacks the dramatic power to rule them all

Certainly, a few of “The Rings of Energy’s” shortcomings echo these of HBO’s lavish “Recreation of Thrones” prequel “Home of the Dragon,” which burns brighter by comparability. Primarily based on the preliminary episodes, the hole between the characters audiences received to know in Peter Jackson’s trilogy and their ancestral counterparts feels much more pronounced.

Lovers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ornate world will little question be tempted to luxuriate within the centuries-spanning strategy to this story, which picks up with an prolonged prologue concerning an unlimited and expensive battle with the forces of Sauron, and his subsequent disappearance. Whereas some hope for lingering peace, the revenge-minded Elvish warrior Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) stays vigilant, satisfied that, as she places it, “Evil doesn’t sleep. It waits.”

Total, the Elves occupy an enhanced function, together with the hardened soldier Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), who additionally turns into extra outstanding as battle strains start to get drawn.

Even so, the latitude supplied by an episodic strategy, and plans for a number of seasons, does not initially translate into extra compelling characters, and after catching audiences up on the historical past, the buildup towards the meat of the story grinds slowly.

Step by step, “The Rings of Energy” introduces an assortment of gamers representing the worlds of Males, Elves, always-colorful Dwarves and a Hobbit subset referred to as Harfoots (a distinction that, hopefully, will not be on the ultimate). At occasions, because the sequence flits amongst them, it begins to really feel like “The Lord of the Maps,” splashing pictures of the varied kingdoms throughout the display screen because it navigates from one locale to the subsequent.

These areas replicate the scope of the manufacturing at its grandest, whereas the legendary beasts offered truly show a bit extra uneven.

To date, Amazon’s formidable loot — sufficient of an funding to develop into an inextricable a part of the protection — has been dropped at bear within the service of comparatively uninspired storytelling, poor in narrative urgency. The expectations raised by the title thus develop into one thing of a double-edged sword, significantly when a lot has been manufactured from selling what a gargantuan effort this promised to be.

As for the epic battle that awaits, “The Rings of Energy” may nonetheless rise to the event. But regardless of these stunning, sweeping vistas of Center-earth because the music swells and the digital camera pans throughout them, after the preliminary introduction it is laborious to withstand the temptation to say, “Wake me once you get there.”

“The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Energy” premieres Sept. 2 on Amazon Prime.