OK, I've gotta ask...

[LionelHutz]

Personally, I liked the movie except for a few points.

What happened to the young lad that showed the hobbit around the city? (Sorry, but I'm kinda in brain freeze at this point.)

What happened to the whole Houses of the Healing bit?

The return home to Hobbiton was honestly one of the best parts of ROTK. Why wasn't it in the movie?

Where are the rest of the Dunadan? Didn't they meet up with Aragorn (rather than Elrond) before he took his long walk?

What happened to Aragorn's speech to those who couldn't march on Mordor? That was almost my favorite part of the book.

You might say these bits take to long, but if you cut out a lot of the crap Peter Jackson added, there would be plenty of time. Bye buy all the Arwen love story crap.

[sethan]

There was way too much hugging and crying in general. Every other minute there was an emotional drama going on.

[Arioch_Arioch]

Well about RotK I would say that at least any change wasn't as bad as having elves at helm's deep, but the point about Denethor is very true. However, given that it's a movie I can't imagine how else so much could have been dealt with in so little time. I too would happily sit through a multi day screening of my idea of the perfect LotR movie....but no one nowhere is ever going to be able to finance that. It's sort of comforting really, that the book and much of what makes it great could never be put into a more flexible medium than the one it's in....

[Tachyon]

The movie is good, but the super-elf crap totally ruins the atmosphere.

[Robert1134]

(sgulp...dare I say?...) If Tolkien never existed, or If he took the job at the factory instead... well, then this would be one of the greatest fantasy films created...maybe even of all time...

...buy, yeah, his changes *ruin* the story horribly...

...especially the expanded role of Arwen...

[Arioch_Arioch]

Well I'm glad someone else felt the same way about the super elf stuff at the battle. When I saw that, I had to supress the urge to run away screaming. It reminded me of the pod races of the Star Wars atrocity. I had visions of the marketing board of the film studios going on about how this would be a great tie-in to the video game ads and whatnot.....and as for Arwen, her role wasn't expanded really, it's just that all the rest of the movie was very much contracted. I've no trouble with the changes that had to be made for the sake of making a book into a movie (and the movie is still excellent btw), but I do take exception to making up crap that is antithetical to the themes and facts of the book, like having elves at Helm's Deep.....that's still going to bug me years from now....

[Tachyon]

What I really hate about the whole movie trilogy is what they did to Faramir. They made him power-hungry, like his brother, which TOTALLY MISSES THE POINT OF HIS ORIGINAL CHARACTER! In making Faramir and Boromir so different, Tolkien showed that people can transcend their thought background. The movies' depiction of Faramir is like saying, "A greedhead's brother is also a greedhead." It entirely eliminates something far from insignificant.

['nuncle Tim]

Great movie, loved it -- except for what they did to Denethor and Faramir. My favorite part of the books was Gandalf's clash with Denethor, and the "I too am a steward" line.

The scouring of the shire was left out because PJ didn't care for that chapter. The houses of healing are supposed to be in the director's cut of TT?

[Xandor Tik'Roth]

Well put Makkoan...

Yes, I think that they left out some great parts in the movies, such as my favorite part in the book where Gandalf goes head to head with Saruman. But, really, did you really want to sit through a six hour movie each time to fully encompass everything that the Fellowship of the Ring did? Besides, PJ didn't have the kind of money to put on that kind of production, much less expect people to sit through a six-hour-long movie.

Believe me, I understand perfectly what all of you have been saying, and there are parts in the movie that could use some improvement. But, all things considered, I think that Peter Jackson and his crew did a superb job manufacturing a visual rendering of one of the greatest stories of all time.

[Tachyon]

Perhaps if they shrunk Arwen's bloated-up role a little and got rid of those Legolas scenes, they could have reduced each movie by half an hour...

I must admit, though, th movie did have some merit. Like the scene with Aragorn fighting the king of the Oath-Breakers. The fight was stupid, the CGIs for the undead guys were awful, but the look on Legolas's face when his arrow went right through the undead king was hilarious... Looked like something straight out of the Saturday morning cartoons.

And I shouldn't have to talk about Merry's face when Eowyn offered him a ride... I don't think I'll ever think of Hobbits the same

[cajela]

I *adored* the movies. I am so happy that they were made.

And I am a Tolkein geek enough to know exactly where and what changes were made. For instance, umm, I know Gandalf's name in his youth, and who Ar-Pharazon is and who Glorfindel killed in his first incarnation, and I even know who Trotter is...

What Ben-san said and what Peter Jackson said are both worth bearing in mind. No-one can possibly make the ideal movie - Tolkein's world is far too rich and detailed. But the depth of craftsmanship from Weta does more than I had dreamed was possible in a movie. It is worth seeing for that alone.

And a final note - aren't you purists being a bit silly when here we are playing characters who start in Bree and go visit an active Gondolin while Numenor is sunken ruins?? Not to mention throw boomerangs and wield katanas...

[Faeryan]

Normally I love fantasy films, even that crappy D&D movie few years back was good. I liked Tolkien's books so I thought LoTR movie would be great. I watched the first part and it was okay. First half of the second part also watched and then fell asleep. It was soooooo boring. I thought the third part should be better than that but I was more bored than ever watching that movie.
That pretty much sums up my opinion about this movie series.

[Wolfe]

Haven't seen the third one yet. In no major rush to. But then, I wouldn't class myself as a Tolkien enthusiast. Like the books, but they could stand to have a little less poetry and scenery, and a little more character development. Like the movies, or at least the two I've seen, but... yeah, pretty much what everyone else has said.

Having wandered through Toys R Us on a PC shopping spree the other day through, I'm not enough of a fan to buy the stuff they had stacked in a 20' by 30' ft display. Honestly, they have merchandising spinoffs that would make Matt Groening blush.

[Tachyon]

Orc plush toy, anyone?

[Groothewanderer]

Loved all three movies. I thought FOTR was the best one though I wish he would have added in the Bombadil/barrow bit. I watched the director's cut and it wasn't in there either. Oh well.

I thought ROTK was the most fun to watch. The epic battles were very well done. I thought the dead army was fantastic.

If I was the director/producer, I would have trashed the Arwen love story (I see a pattern hear, did anyone like this???). I would have made Legolas a little less a super acrobat in the battle at pelenor. That was a little over done. And I would have expanded a little on Moria since it was one of my favorite parts in the book. But I wasn't the director/producer.

Overall, though, I think PJ did a great job interpretting the books especially after watching those crappy cartoon versions. What I say to the detractors is if you don't like it, go out there and make a better one yourself. It bugs me to hear people say of someone like PJ, who followed his passion and spent years of his life trying to fulfill a dream, get trashed for making an awesome set of three films. It wasn't meant to be an exact copy of the book. Hate to be cliche but "Get over yourselves." The only person who has any right to complain that he didn't follow the books exactly is Mr. Tolkien himself, and my guess is that he would be very pleased with this 'interpretation'.

It really bugs me when people trash something like this without even having seen it.

To those people who just plain didn't like the film, thought it was boring, or had an otherwise low opinion of the movie, you have every right to your opinion. I'm sorry you didn't like it and thanks for the honesty.