The worst change in FOTR

[Lelondul]

I have to agree with bropous too. The latest installments of Star Wars have become exercises in special effects, while TFotR movie only used them when absolutely neccessary to convey the grand scale of truly grand events.

One exception to your comments Borpous, the theaters' (in my two viewings) were dead silent, except for a couple of occasions of Merry and Pippin's slapstick lines and when Aragorn beheads Lurtz, in which claps and cheers resounded (also when the end credits roll). I've never seen audience reaction to a movie like this that I can remember. That reaction is what perhaps excited me the most, because like you, had I not read the books, I'd be heading straight for the local bookstore immediately afterwards to read the real thing ...