To expand on my point, I think that the look of this mini-series is in the film's favor. The cinematography is one of the things that works best here. Vittorio Storaro is the guy who cast his cinematic eye on such films as Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor , and LadyHawke . The camera is often moving in a dazzling way, and this is important in a story that must keep us awake for nearly five hours. The sets are fine.
Color is put to great use throughout.
All of these things work to keep things visually interesting. However, I must concede that the special effects are largely inadequate. The CGI and blue-screen effects are often extremely clunky. And television is always of lower quality when it comes to elements that require boatloads of cash. So I simply have to overlook this aspect of the production.