Not exactly like the books, but still great

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2002)

OK, I've read quite a few reviews now and felt I had to add my comments after watching this movie.
First of all, there is no way that every detail in the books can be put in these movies. The film was very expensive to make at three hours, can you imagine how long this film would be if Jackson had included every single thing in the book? These films are an adaptation of Tolkein's work, not a verbatim translation. Simply put, the limits placed by budget and time forbid almost any book, let alone something this massive, to be put into film scene by scene.
Now I did have some problems with the film, most of which were satisfied by understanding the premise of the project. The fact that the three stories jumped around a lot was a bit distracting, but probably better than having the three told one at a time.
Faramir being tempted by the ring; so what? I was a bit ticked when they passed on the entire scholar/underappreciated son routine, but in the end he did release Frodo to accomplish his mission. Again, it would have been great to spend more time with him, but you can't put everything in and still make the movie.
The jokes between Legolas and Gimli were a bit out of character perhaps, but then again if everyone was grim and serious all the time, there would be no emotional swing to the scenes. Besides, the "kill-count" in the book was kind of a joking dialogue; why not emphasize that aspect of their friendship?
Gollum, one word: WOW!
I've read some complaints about the lack of a beginning and end to this movie. Considering that the books were not even supposed to be separate, I think this adds to the uniqueness of the project as a whole.
I didn't really care for the Arwen scenes or Aragorn being rescued by his horse, or of the obligatory surfing scene (although his mounting of the horse was very cool), and I would have liked to see more of the dialogue between Pippin & Merry and more of Gandalf in general, I can wait with the feeling that anything pivotal to the telling of the story will be included in the final chapter, and if I want every nook and cranny of what Tolkein envisioned...I can pick up the books.
Until then, I'll just appreciate what Jackson and the entire troupe accomplished, not gripe about what they did not. Bravo!