Great Movie: But don't expect it to be like the book exactly

Rating: Null/10 (19 January 2002)

Too many people are concerned that it didn't follow the book and a lot of their favorite scenes were left out.
1.) Um...the movie was already 3 hours long!
2.) The DVD is reportedly going to have 30 to 40 additional minutes of footage cut from the theatrical release.
on to my review... SPOILERS...
Wonderful movie. Yes my favorite scenes were left out (Although a few of them are rumored to be coming on DVD). But for all of the complaints I have about the movie....
I love it more than any movie I've ever seen. If I see a movie in the theater more than once, you know I like it...especially at $8. a ticket. I've seen LOTR 5x!!
For those who say there wasn't any feeling...I don't see where they get that. When Gandalf Fell... You felt it, and saw it on the faces of all the characters. When Boromir died, it was FAR more touching and sad than in the book. The look on Sam's face at the end after being pulled in the boat when he tells Frodo that he will not break the promise he made was very moving. the fear Frodo had looked real. I think the feeling was very well illustrated. Even better than in the book.
To me, I love the book mind you, but I like the movie better because Tolkien was a real stickler for detail, but a lot of the emotion was lost in some places to me because he spent so much time on the detail of surroundings rather than the detail of the feelings. The movie paid less attention to detail since you could see it instead of having it described to you, so they were able to portray it via great acting.
All of the actors were fantastic. I was extremely worried about Elijah Wood, and Liv Tyler in all honesty. And my favorite character ever, Legolas...(I've liked him and Gimli since the cartoon before I was old enough to read, and more after I read the book), was being played by an actor I've never heard of, because he was an unknown! Just an extra with one small line in a movie I never saw. (I'm speaking of Orlando Bloom)
But all of my worries were dashed when I saw them all in character. Elijah was the best choice for Frodo. Liv did a great job as Arwen, and I feel people over-reacted to her replacing the character of "Glorfindel" because I feel it worked nicely. Orlando Bloom is a handsome and wonderful actor! The entire cast did far beyond what I expected from them, and I was very pleased. (And I'm very hard to please. If I go in thinking I'm going to find flaws with you, I will even if you do a great job.) but with this movie and these actors, it was impossible. Viggo (Aragorn) Billy and Dominic (Pippin and Merry) Sir Ian (Gandalf) the Seans (Boromir and Sam) The ENTIRE cast were just wonderful! Better than I expected!
I do not think this movie was over-hyped. it was just as good as they said it would be. And in fact I went in not expecting it, and was proved wrong. (Remember, any time you expect too much, you'll be let down...IE Titanic. I listened to the major hype and I hated that movie.) But to me this movie won't let you down. Unless you're just against sitting back and enjoying the movie. Its action packed and has feeling. And its not just for tolkien fans.
BTW. for those who thought the ending sucked...um....that is how the the first book ends. Yes first book. It surprises me to see how many people don't realize there are two more movies!!