There aren't many films that move me - and this is one of them.

Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2002)

Leaving the theater I was so - shell-shocked, so spellbound that remarks about the portraying of characters or the resolution of key scenes of the book would seem a bit petty and childish.
I'm willing to give it a shot however, so here goes (minor spoilers included).
Concerning omissions: what I thought was rightly left out were the sequences with Tom Bombadil and the Barrowdowns. They would have contributed nothing to the main storyline, and would have pushed the duration well beyond the three-hour boundary - which is simply too long. What WASN'T omitted however, and in my mind could have been, was the Lothlorien scene. I'll probably skip that one when I get my hands on the DVD, much like the Ewoks in Star Wars.
The score was - I immediately noticed this when I rushed out to buy the soundtrack afterwards - very good. the only minor annoyance for me was the main theme, which vaguely reminded me of the poorer-quality movies in the genre. Very good I thought was the mood of the score; the dark and unsettling undertone that is one of the themes in the movie. And I must say that the Moria sequence brought a tear to my eye.
The camerawork and CGI more than make up for whatever small failing. If I have to attach a percentage to it, I would say that at least 75% of the imagery portrayed corresponds with what I made up reading the book. And from speaking with others I know I am not alone in that assumption.

It has been said that the story misses an 'arch villain' with clever dialogue, like Agent Smith in The Matrix (SPOILER: although he does make an appearance as a grumpy Elrond) or Darth Vader and The Emperor in the original Star Wars films. This is true I think, even if you take into account that the Ring itself is the real villain in this story. Sadly, rings don't have James Earl Jones' voice. Evil is a lot less convincing if it doesn't speak.
You should go see it however, even if you have read the book many times (like myself). Jackson in my view really has captured the essence Tolkien wanted to convey with his masterpiece, and added a puff of magic for himself.
Oh and please book me a flight to New Zealand. Now.
Rating: 9.5/10 (I'll keep the 10 for the sequels.)