Was it worth the wait?

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2003)

I must say, after TFOTR, I was truly excited to see the next installment. And, like many others before me here have said, it was a disapointment. Farimir made cruel. Treebeard made hasty. Saruman and Wormtongue's role made much less visable. No Huorns. No Grisnak. No thrown palintir. What's going on here?
Yes, it is Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, no longer Tolkien's. That fact has made me very sad. And where I saw the first film numerous times, this I've seen twice - can not recommend it to anyone - and can see it no more. It is a shame that a project so well started, could not be continued.
Perhaps Peter Jackson could not find enough in the 2nd book to hold his interest, so he made up his own story. It's not enough that the story truly belongs to Aragorn - but we have to be hit over the head, repeatedly, to let us know Aragorn is the hero. It's not enough for Frodo to struggle admirably. He has to be turned to "the dark side". It's not enough for Gollum to be villaneous. He has to be made the sympathetic character.
If this is how the third film is going to be treated, I think that seeing it one time may be more than too much!