'Lord of the Rings ...' review: Great looking, but indistinctive

    Because "Rings of Power'' is based on the novel's appendices, themselves a densely packed collection of facts, the producers have been forced to create many stories of their own. Those now form the spine of a series that is Tolkien-adjacent if not quite Tolkien-proper, or put less kindly (and just as accurately), "Rings of Power '' is glorified fan fiction.

To be sure, it's great-looking fan fiction and great sounding. But what's noticeably missing  is the original author's voice, along with some (or any) compelling reason to pull us back into Middle-earth once again.Amazon obviously wants us back in, but would Tolkien? You can guess the answer.

Jackson put his finger on the challenge of adapting Tolkien not long after the premiere of "The Fellowship of the Ring" in 2001. "We had no interest in putting our message into this movie," he said in a TV interview, "but thought we should honor [Tolkien] by putting his messages into it." Like Tolkien, he didn't approach "LOTR" as some sort of epic fantasy, but as real history with real people — or what Tolkien, a devout Roman Catholic, had called his "sub-creation" to God's creation. That gave him free reign to explore a whole range of themes, all central to the 20th century, especially the wars, technology and totalitarianism that  profoundly shaped it.

Does this ambitious new "LOTR"-in-name-only have anything to say about our century? (Or us.) Hardly, or at least not yet. 

Perhaps that's too much to ask of any new series, but certainly more than "Rings of Power'' has asked of itself. Instead, with the slim source material in hand, this borrows an original idea here, a name there, then braids them back into the world that Jackson so vividly brought to life. Indeed, the "LOTR" movie trilogy looms large here — so large that "Rings" scarcely bothers to create its own style or mood.    The dwarves, those original cut-ups of Middle-earth, are still funny and hobbits (or "harfoots'") still warmhearted gentlefolk. The Orcs? As usual, they're cannon fodder with Cockney accents

The Elves, in fact, have embraced their own updated fashion statement — as opposed to shoulder-length hair, most have perfect hair that's dramatically swept back, like David Bowie, in his post-glam rock phase. They look fabulous, too.

Meanwhile, evil is still out there and the fate of Middle-earth still hangs in the balance, with only one hero to the rescue. Some themes are eternal, or so eternal that they also form the basis for every Marvel or DC Comics movie ever made (and a few thousand TV series, come to think of it). "Rings of Power'' — well-produced, well-acted, and yes, even well-conceived — fits in easily with this crowd. A shame it didn't try to stand apart.