Fantastic!

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2001)

I still feel limp. It's every bit as good as other reports indicate - nearly flawless, and the minor deviations from the story make sense in the context of the film. Even at three hours, it seems to rush you through a lot of the story - there's a lot packed into this one film. I don't see how it could be any better unless it were even longer. My only nit is the choice of actor for Elrond, and only because his distinctive voice is recognizably the same as Agent Smith in The Matrix - aside from that, the actors _were_ the characters, and if I've seen them in anything else I couldn't tell you what it was. Sets, scenery, costumes, effects all blend seamlessly - I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the screen in some parts, including little details such as the difference in stature of the characters, which is flawlessly maintained through the entire film.
Some SPOILERS ahead:

Others have reported deviations that don't even exist; their memory of the books is flawed. Examples - Gandalf _was_ snared by the Balrog's whip in the book. Galadriel _was_ tempted by the ring (though in the book it was unclear whether it was real temptation or a demonstration for Frodo - which could also be argued about what was shown in the flick). There is a fair amount of material presented that isn't in the main story from the books, but is included in the appendices and possibly other Tolkien works which expand upon the story of Middle-Earth (the relationship between Arwen and Aragorn is expanded upon in Appendix A).