Appreciate the work for what it is, not what you want (spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2003)

In my opinion, this movie was one of the best ones out right now. I enjoyed it as much as the Fellowship of the Ring, and though it did stray for the plot of the book in some areas (I'll let those curious of that to read other comments) I still feel that all in all the main story gets told.
You must understand that the middle 2 books (Yes, I am calling the "trilogy" 6 books, as it was written) are mostly of 2 battles (Helm's Deep and Isengard) and Frodo and Sam and their dealings with Gollum.
While this does make for great action and adventure on the part of Aragorn & Company, it really wasnt much to go on in terms of resolution, something most people need in a movie, even if you know the story. I do think they could have lessened the love story a little, but I can understand why he put it in, so that the love is more developed and those who havent ever read Tolkien can appreciate the love of Arwen and Aragorn.
I thought that Gollum's part was done beautifully, and the story between himself and between Frodo and Sam interesting and complex. To make Frodo more interesting (From here on out he becomes more or less a zombie), they included the scene with the Nazgul, which I felt could also have been done without, but once again, I can understand why it was put in.
As for the last 5 chapters, I have heard rumors that he is saving that (Shelbob and the like) for the final movie, also probably to help the storyline of Frodo and Sam to be more interesting and involved rather than them just trudgeing along every time they appear in the next film.
You must understand that while Peter Jackson did stray from the story-line, it was done with good intentions and in will make for a more interesting movie in the end. You must balance those who love the series and those who dont even know that it was a book before these movies first came out. In the end, the merging of the two has created a magnificent blend of story-telling that has stayed more true to its origins than almost ALL other story based movies.