Very good movie, but more like a movie based on cliff notes of the book

Rating: Null/10 (29 December 2002)

I was impressed with Fellowship and Two Towers in terms of cinematics, visuals, action scenes, and so on. However, in both films, key elements are left out. Two towers left out fewer though, and I liked the approach of skipping back and forth between Sam/Frodo and the rest of the group, whereas the book presents the rescuing of Merry/Pippin in the first half, and Sam and Frodo's quest in the second. That said however, there are SO many details left out from both films so far that it is like watching a movie based on the cliff notes of the book. If the viewer REALLY wants to know what is going on, he needs to read The Hobbit, and preferably also the Silmarillion, as both set the scene for the trilogy seen here. Nonetheless, a great movie on its own, worthy of an 8 or 9.