Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[Sneakguest]

10 hours ago, th0r1n said:

I’m planning on purchasing the Rivendell set when it becomes available for VIP’s on March 5th. Does anyone know what time of day it’s likely to be available online? Just after midnight? Or some time later in the day? What’s the norm with early access?

Some people would argue that RoP *is* worthless content. That’s neither ‘silly’ nor ‘childish’. It’s simply a difference of opinion. 

Surely they would, its a difference of opinion for sure, but not simply. I would with certentiy claim one of those two reasons why most (not all) people give it the low grade the gave, either, 1) the person still lacks a huge variation of relavism though, have not seen much, dont know much, dont have much to relate to on the low quality end at least. or 2) Do it in pure protest out of dissatisfaction of the result, which is not a new behaviour from some diehard fanboys/fangirls. cheers 

[sebastian666]

 

1 hour ago, hikouki said:

Are there scenes from RoP worth turning into sets? I just finished binge-watching the whole of series one. It is not that bad. However, if you got used to watching the original trilogy, this one could be a bit slow at times.

I personally think Rings of Power is beautiful, and the production quality for a TV show is bar none. Are there parts of the show that are a bit cringe and that feel not totally authentic to Tolkien? Absolutely. But I think the same could be said of Peter Jackson’s LoTR trilogy to be fair. Compared to Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, I think Rings of Power is far superior. 

In terms of sets that I could see LEGO producing from Rings of Power, here are some that I would love to see:

- the Battle of Unnumbered Tears w/ Finrod and the elves and eagles vs. Morgoth’s orcs and fell beasts

- Commander Galadriel and her elven soldiers battling the Snow Troll

- the Armenelos Palace in Numenor with the White Tree Nimloth

- a Numenorian ship

- Arondir and the enslaved elves vs. the orcs and their Warg

- the Harfoot caravan and the Stranger vs. the Wargs

- the elven city of Eregion and the forging of the first three rings of power

- the battle for the Southlands with the Numenorian cavalry and Galadriel on horseback fighting the orcs

- the Balrog vs. the elven warrior over the Silmaril / Mithril tree

[hikouki]

2 minutes ago, sebastian666 said:

 

...

- a Numenorian ship

...

- the elven city of Eregion and the forging of the first three rings of power

...

I think Celbrimbor's forging of the ring might be the only iconic scene there.

But it would also be great having that Numenorian ship - might even appeal to Pirates fans!

[MKJoshA]

7 hours ago, th0r1n said:

Excellent. Thanks for confirming. I'm in the UK so hopefully midnight GMT. I'm currently in the process of dismantling my Hogwarts Castle so I can free up some space. I'll need to purchase a display case for the Rivendell set too. Which will not doubt cost me at least a couple of hundred quid. Please god this is the only LOTR set on this scale for the foreseeable future. Because this one is breaking the bank.

I've been a Tolkien fan for 30yrs+. I can objectively state that I think the show is abysmal. There are no aspects that render it remotely redeemable. This is a personal opinion.

I acknowledge and respect that others may disagree.

 

7 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Not even Durin and Elrond? Even people that hate this show's guts usually at least like that part

This isn't the SW forum so I feel a little freedom to stray off topic

I've been a fan of Tolkien for only 25+ years. But I've read everything he wrote about Middle Earth including all 12 volumes of the Lost Tales. And I appreciated RoP. It strayed away from what I perceive as Tolkien's vision in some ways and in others seemed to hit the mark right on. It wasn't as good as Jackson's OT. But it wasn't the worst either. Durin being the best example as something perfectly Tolkien. Every sequence with the dwarves is just gold!

[Balrogofmorgoth]

1 hour ago, MKJoshA said:

 

This isn't the SW forum so I feel a little freedom to stray off topic

I've been a fan of Tolkien for only 25+ years. But I've read everything he wrote about Middle Earth including all 12 volumes of the Lost Tales. And I appreciated RoP. It strayed away from what I perceive as Tolkien's vision in some ways and in others seemed to hit the mark right on. It wasn't as good as Jackson's OT. But it wasn't the worst either. Durin being the best example as something perfectly Tolkien. Every sequence with the dwarves is just gold!

Same, about 25 years of Tolkien reading here. I’ve read everything, most of it multiple times, some a ridiculous amount of times. I’m certainly no stranger to the deep lore, to put it lightly. And I had a blast with the show, even if I hated some things. Do I wish they stuck more closely to the writings? Of course. But so I wish the showrunners had a bit of a different approach? Yes. But they also had so many incredible things in there that blew me away. They didn’t have to have to have the Bough of Return on the prow of the Númenorean ships, but they did. Things like that really impressed me, even if the actual story was mostly original for the first season. Not to mention the music and the visuals. And I’ll say it, there was plenty of moments with bad writing but there were also a lot with excellent writing. Same with acting. Overall I thought it was beautiful, even though there was a lot I would have done differently.

And to bring it back to lego, I would prefer Peter Jackson film sets, but I think Rings of Power earned some recognition in lego as well.

[Meaf]

Just wanted to add something I haven't seen mentioned yet in regards to potential RoP sets being discussed. When the Voltron set released, I distinctly remember being excited by the press release mentioning Legendary Defender, the reboot that was running when that set released. Despite being name dropped in the description, we never saw anything related to it get made (and to be clear, the set we got is based specifically on the original show). 

Obviously this isn't exactly the same since Voltron was an Ideas set and LotR isn't, and the thing I'm talking about was a few years ago now, but there is at least some precedent for Lego referring to other ongoing series that they don't plan on releasing sets for.

[MAB]

18 hours ago, th0r1n said:

I've been a Tolkien fan for 30yrs+. I can objectively state that I think the show is abysmal. There are no aspects that render it remotely redeemable. This is a personal opinion.

I acknowledge and respect that others may disagree.

You can objectively state what your feelings are, but that doesn't mean the show is objectively abysmal. It is personal opinion, so those feelings are completely subjective rather than objective. It is an objective observation of subjective feelings.

When future seasons come out, it would be funny if amazon could ban any accounts that left 1 star for Season 1 from viewing it, with the explanation that they are protecting those (non-)viewers from themselves. I really don't understand why people watch it all if they think it is so terrible to give one star.

 

I'd still like to see sets from RoP. But unfortunately I don't think it would be smaller playsets even if they did RoP given the demographic of the audience and LEGO's direction of going bigger and bigger for 18+.

Edited February 20, 2023 by MAB

[Altair1]

Rings of Power looks great visually, that's for sure. But what disappointed me the most was the casting... To me most of the ROP actors lack talent, charisma and/or empathy. Come on, this is a billion dollar show, and they could not find a single actor at the level of Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett or Elijah Wood ?? (to mention just the best from the LOTR trilogy - but they were all great, really)

Edited February 20, 2023 by Altair1

[Big_Daddy]

I found RoP positively ridiculous, luckily it isn't part of Tolkien's canon so I won't whine about it like I still do with Star Wars and the Expanded Universe.

The show could make for some neat sets though, just as long as you forget about the source material. Which, luckily, isn't too difficult at all.

[Agent Kallus]

Nice to see some positive takes on RoP, I thought I was in the minority here on the forums for enjoying it.

[LegoAUT]

4 hours ago, Altair1 said:

Rings of Power looks great visually, that's for sure. But what disappointed me the most was the casting... To me most of the ROP actors lack talent, charisma and/or empathy. Come on, this is a billion dollar show, and they could not find a single actor at the level of Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett or Elijah Wood ?? (to mention just the best from the LOTR trilogy - but they were all great, really)

To me RoP is a 6,5 out of 10; in the end, I found it quite enjoyable and was able to disregard most of the megablocks, but I must agree, the cast is to a larger extent very bad. Galadriel being clearly the worst, but followed closely by Bronwyn and Theo. Isildur was also pretty bad and so were Gil Galad and Celebrimbor (even though the actor delivered a good performance in The Crown). I enjoyed Elrond, Elendil and Durin and somehow liked Gandalf haha

[Agent Kallus]

26 minutes ago, LegoAUT said:

To me RoP is a 6,5 out of 10; in the end, I found it quite enjoyable and was able to disregard most of the megablocks, but I must agree, the cast is to a larger extent very bad. Galadriel being clearly the worst, but followed closely by Bronwyn and Theo. Isildur was also pretty bad and so were Gil Galad and Celebrimbor (even though the actor delivered a good performance in The Crown). I enjoyed Elrond, Elendil and Durin and somehow liked Gandalf haha

I thought that it was Rómestámo (or the other blue one) was it confirmed to be Gandalf?

[QuiggoldsPegLeg]

15 minutes ago, Agent Kallus said:

I thought that it was Rómestámo (or the other blue one) was it confirmed to be Gandalf?

Him quoting Gandalf at the end of the show implies that it’s Gandalf. 

[MAB]

16 minutes ago, Agent Kallus said:

I thought that it was Rómestámo (or the other blue one) was it confirmed to be Gandalf?

No, not absolutely.

45 minutes ago, LegoAUT said:

...but I must agree, the cast is to a larger extent very bad. Galadriel being clearly the worst, ...

I didn't like her at first mainly down to the character rather than the acting but when you accept she has lost pretty much all her family, I quite enjoyed Galadriel in the second half.

 

[LegoAUT]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

I didn't like her at first mainly down to the character rather than the acting but when you accept she has lost pretty much all her family, I quite enjoyed Galadriel in the second half.

I think the acting was so very poor.. and the whole character acted more liked a little brat than the Galadriel of the books/ OT. Her behaviour in Numenor was just ridiculous and her whole being does not invoke a bit of sympathy in me.. I think they could have hardly found a less fitting actress for this role.. ofc it‘s not her fault alone but also the one of the writers, but still.

1 hour ago, MAB said:

No, not absolutely.

True, but the quote made it very obvious imo.

[MAB]

1 hour ago, LegoAUT said:

I think the acting was so very poor.. and the whole character acted more liked a little brat than the Galadriel of the books/ OT. Her behaviour in Numenor was just ridiculous and her whole being does not invoke a bit of sympathy in me.. I think they could have hardly found a less fitting actress for this role.. ofc it‘s not her fault alone but also the one of the writers, but still.

That is all down to the writing and direction rather than the actress though. If that is what the director wanted then any other actress would have given a similar performance. 

And there were still numerous good scenes she was in that would make great sets. She was probably closest to the action hero / Legolas appearing in most action based scenes.

1 hour ago, LegoAUT said:

True, but the quote made it very obvious imo.

But we don't know if it is there as a link between the different stories for those that watch closely and listen carefully, or if they want to trick  viewers to think it is him only to reveal later that it is not. For example, someone else (the real Gandalf) might show up later and they want to hide his identity, so they make people think the Stranger from S1 is Gandalf. We already know they like to mislead with identities and it is a simple trick to make something so obvious without saying it, then flip it around to trick viewers later. When something is that obvious, is it too obvious?

 

 

[sahidko]

Well they made it (and admitted it in the interviews as well that is was intentional) obvious who Sauron is. Doubt this will by any different. They want to play it "safe" and have as many characters from the LOTR/Hobbit trilogy as they can even if they don't make any sense in the same timeline.

[LegoAUT]

34 minutes ago, MAB said:

That is all down to the writing and direction rather than the actress though. If that is what the director wanted then any other actress would have given a similar performance. 

Agreed, however, the acting of Galadriel in almost all scenes was bad in my view, she just was not able to show any facial expressions whatsoever, compared to e.g. Elrond, Arondir or Durin. So yes, the writing has flaws, but to the same extent the acting was rather bad. 

[Sneakguest]

5 hours ago, LegoAUT said:

To me RoP is a 6,5 out of 10; in the end, I found it quite enjoyable and was able to disregard most of the megablocks, but I must agree, the cast is to a larger extent very bad. Galadriel being clearly the worst, but followed closely by Bronwyn and Theo. Isildur was also pretty bad and so were Gil Galad and Celebrimbor (even though the actor delivered a good performance in The Crown). I enjoyed Elrond, Elendil and Durin and somehow liked Gandalf haha

Thats a ,more realistic grading. I think it deserves much higher, but if someone really didnt appreciate large parts of the story and portrayal of characters, then of course you can come to that conclussion, but grade it like 3.5. Then the person is just lacking knowledge and experience. If a perosn said wagyu beef is the worst thing xhe never eaten, then my conclussion would simply bee that this person has no exposure what so ever.  Because gods, objectively there are so many more thing that taste shit.... like shit for example, lol

[zoth33]

3 hours ago, Sneakguest said:

Thats a ,more realistic grading. I think it deserves much higher, but if someone really didnt appreciate large parts of the story and portrayal of characters, then of course you can come to that conclussion, but grade it like 3.5. Then the person is just lacking knowledge and experience. If a perosn said wagyu beef is the worst thing xhe never eaten, then my conclussion would simply bee that this person has no exposure what so ever.  Because gods, objectively there are so many more thing that taste shit.... like shit for example, lol

I'm sorry but that's a terrible comparison.  Peoples palettes are different and maybe beef isn't there idea of good food no matter if it's wagyu or not.  I for one am not a big fan of lobster does that make me lacking knowledge no it doesn't it means I don't care for lobster.  There is a discussion section I set up in multimedia for Rings of Power show.  I'd rather discuss the topic there as this is for set discussions.  

[Eurolock]

I enjoyed aspects of RoP (Elrond and Durin, the Dwarves in general, the orc costumes, Adar, the visuals in general….even the Harfoots) and I was willing to look past moments of questionable acting and the strangely uneven pacing…but, for me, the whole endeavor was ultimately torpedoed by some, frankly, ridiculous plot elements.  I was, quite literally cringing at times. 
 

Sauron’s ‘black blade’ being a key to unlock the opening mechanism for a dam made absolutely so narrative sense (to me) whatsoever. Why would someone design a dam to be opened by a magical blade?  Still, the clumsy black blade dam key McGuffin seemed masterful when compared to the Sauron ‘twist’ at the end.  Much of what happened in earlier episodes, makes no sense once the twist is revealed…and, of course, the whole plot suddenly hangs on 2 central characters meeting by complete chance under circumstances that compel them to work together.  Really, that guy is Sauron? Come on…

[QuiggoldsPegLeg]

I feel like we’re getting way off topic here.

If it’s gonna be like this, I might just leave the forum and wait until 10 months from now when we’re closer to when Barad-Dûr might release. Since we’re almost certainly not getting anymore LOTR sets this year. 

[MAB]

25 minutes ago, QuiggoldsPegLeg said:

If it’s gonna be like this, I might just leave the forum and wait until 10 months from now when we’re closer to when Barad-Dûr might release. Since we’re almost certainly not getting anymore LOTR sets this year. 

Probably not. It looks like just the one ICONS set and the three Brickheadz for now.

[Rick]

 

14 hours ago, Sneakguest said:

Thats a ,more realistic grading. I think it deserves much higher, but if someone really didnt appreciate large parts of the story and portrayal of characters, then of course you can come to that conclussion, but grade it like 3.5. Then the person is just lacking knowledge and experience. If a perosn said wagyu beef is the worst thing xhe never eaten, then my conclussion would simply bee that this person has no exposure what so ever.  Because gods, objectively there are so many more thing that taste shit.... like shit for example, lol

Can we please keep this discussion on topic? Thank you.

[Lordhelmet]

53 minutes ago, Rick said:

 

Can we please keep this discussion on topic? Thank you.

Seconded, it feels like every ten pages ROP comes up again.  
 

the new minifigs have grown on me. I was initially going to order new faces (the old ones) but have decided to keep these ones the more I have looked at them, I don’t love that they reuse the faces but the look of these ones has really grown on me.  I think my only change for me is going to be Legolas hair to the old one and sams hair color.

 

In honor of the Disney CMF leaks, what LOTR minifigs would be our top 12 for a CMF LOTR series.

1. Eoyen  2. Sauron  3. Faramir 4. Witch king 5. Tree Guard (Gondor)  6. White hand Uruk  7. Gothmog  8. Gondor pippin  9. Rohan merry  10.  Gondor knight 11.  Lothlorien elf (with helmet and shield as side items)  12. Rosy (or a different hobbit)