Read the book

Rating: Null/10 (15 January 2003)

A good movie but it changes the story from the book for no apparent reasons. Too many scenes were added or done differently from the book that made this movie disappointing. While I found it visually satisfying, I found myself getting more and more disenchanted due to the story changes, most of which added nothing to the story.
The love story between Arwen and Aragorn never happened. Saruman may have had Theoden's ear through Wormtongue but he never controlled him as the movie portrayed. Eomer was an integral part of the Battle of Helm's Deep and Edoras was never deserted for that battle. The Ents (and the Hurons) played a much better role in the book. I am sure I could continue with this list.
However, I did find the character of Gollum to be the BEST part of the movie. It was well generated and the conflicts that arose between Gollum and Smeagol were wonderful.
In the end though, if you want to truly appreciate Lord of the Rings in all of it's splendor, read the book. Once you are done re-read it again and see what you missed the first time. You won't be disappointed.