An OK remake of the book

Rating: 8/10 (29 August 2012)

This is the part of the trilogy that is most faithful to the books. I've seen the extended version with comments from Fran Welch and Peter Jackson, and most alterations make sense (unlike the other movies).
As much as I love Tolkien's books, I can't give this adaptation full score. Where is Tom Bombadil, for example? And the ghouls at Barrow Downs? Without the background, why would the audience care about the pony Bill? The cave troll looks cheesy and doesn't look like a Tolkien troll at all. And the spiderman orcs crawling the walls in Moria - where did they come from? Definitely not from the book!
There are only two reasons why I give this movie an 8. First, I love the books, and second, this movie is the most faithful in the trilogy.