A period drama chronicling the early years of one of Britain’s most celebrated authors has been hailed by cinema-goers as “beautiful”, and it airs on Channel 4 tonight. Tolkien, which premiered in 2019, is a biographical drama examining the formative years of J.R.R. Tolkien (portrayed by Nicholas Hoult), charting his orphaned childhood, the discovery of friendship amongst fellow misfits at school, and his passionate yet complicated relationship with Edith Bratt (portrayed by Emily In Paris star Lily Collins).

The production illustrates how these connections and his harrowing experiences in the First World War trenches shaped his iconic fantasy universes, prior to penning his celebrated works, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. On review platform Rotten Tomatoes, the production holds an average rating of 51%, with some viewers declaring it “highly recommended” whilst others found it challenging to engage with. One five-star review stated: “This movie was extremely enjoyable! I’ve been a huge Lord of the Rings fan since I was a wee little lad and this movie fully transported me into the story.

“I loved the chemistry between Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins, they were terrific in their roles. I really enjoyed the WW1 trench scenes with Tolkien visualising the Nazgûl cutting down soldiers. It was an all around great movie, well written, well acted, great cinematography and I would highly recommend it.”

Another shared: “Truly a marvel of J.R.R. Tolkien’s life and how he ended up making his legendarium and became the most well known fantasy writer of the 20th century. Without his writings we would never have fantasy. Tolkien may you always be remembered in this life and the next.”

A third said: “This one flew under my radar until just recently. I love Tolkien’s stories so I was a bit shocked I hadn’t heard about this movie when it came out. I read some of his life story online and thought I knew the whole thing, but I don’t think I truly understood it.

“The movie made me feel happy and sad at the same time. The acting was well done, the music was a great match for the cinematography, and the storytelling by the director was well executed. When I saw the box office numbers I was shocked at how low it was. In my opinion, the movie does what a movie should do. It made me invest in the outcome and feel something more than a brief reprieve from boredom. I do recommend the movie to those that are fans of his works.”

A fourth posted: “Tolkien himself is well portrayed in the film. The cast is also well chosen. The escape into the mythological fantasy world and the creation of his works are comprehensible and you have the feeling of being able to immerse yourself in his world of thought.”

However, it continued: “Filled with good ideas, I unfortunately find that the film contains too much Hollywood drama. Yes, the sad moments and war scenes are justified. However, the love story unfortunately seems overly dramatic, although in my opinion it has little to do with the actual plot and story.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by others, with one viewer commenting: “This is very much an average biopic. It has the look and feel of a TV film and the visual effects were alright but nothing special. It’s an interesting enough story but it felt a little bland and not entirely memorable.

“I admire the creative mind that was J.R.R. Tolkein and this film does certainly give an insightful into his life and what may have inspired his writing but, overall, I don’t feel I can entirely rate it as a film. I did think that the ending had a bit of impact and I thought Nicholas Hoult did well in his portrayal of the author, but it’s not a film that will stay with me or that I’d want to watch again, hence my rating.”

A further viewer remarked: “It feels like this movie had potential, as it boasted some good performances and visual creativity, but honestly, I struggle to think of a movie in recent years that was blander and more boring than this. I really wish I didn’t feel this way, as a massive Lord of the Rings fan, but I just couldn’t enjoy this movie.

“It was too much of a boring slog to get through, given that Tolkien seemed to have such an interesting life. It feels like this movie could’ve been really interesting, but it was just too slow and lacking in dramatic tension to hold my interest.”

Tolkien airs on Thursday 26 February on Channel 4 at 1am.

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