Whiners without cheese.

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2002)

Understand that Jackson is making a movie, not a cartoon that just reads the script of the book. You can't include anything and everything you want from the book. In fact, you even need to change somethings to keep it interesting.
Faramir being tempted by the ring makes the story more cohesive and emphasizes Aragon's character more. If you don't remember, the ring tempts all living things. Every single man who has seen the ring thus far in the movies has been tempted and tried to get it, with the exception of Aragon. Unfortunately, audiences do not eat up sappy stuff like men are divided into sweet and sour. People want a dues ex machina to come out of the sky at the very end and smite all the problems away. If Faramir's temptation is shown then it serves only to add glory to Aragon.
The elves at Helms-Deep link the story back to the elves. Jackson is making sure the characters are not forgotten and that their nobleness is well known. It ties up loose ends with some major characters by compressing them into a single scene. Remember at the end of Fellowship, there wasn't just a single battle at the end, there were many. But it sums it up in a single more dramatic encounter which adds to the flavor of cinema.
Some stuff was moved to The Return of the King, and understandably so. Anyone complaining that Shelob wasn't in the movie are simply acknowledging Jackson's magnificent use of a cliff hanger.
Stop judging the movie as a book because it isn't. Take a step back and realize just how close it is to the books instead of scrounging for the small breaks of plot. Use your trivia for impressing your friends, not trying to tame a movie of this caliber. Putting a book to script is like translating a Greek passage to French when you're native language is English. You have to understand that both people who have read the book and those who haven't will be seeing the movie and it has to appeal to them both. It's not like Jackson changed all the names to Scott, Bob and Joe, even though it would have been much easier to follow for someone who was unfamiliar with the books.
Plus, I'm sure the extended edition will be more geared for you just as it was this year with many more details and insights.