Rings of Power is in an unenviable position. Of all the massive nerd franchises, Lord of the Rings is one of the hardest to deal with. The lovable animated movies and excellent live-action adaptations created almost impossibly high expectations. The Hobbit trilogy did little to lower the bar, though all three films resolutely slid underneath it. Rings of Power isn't as bloated as The Hobbit movies or as magical as The Lord of the Rings. It is, however, a serviceable fantasy series with a seemingly impossible mountain to climb.