I have seen it, and it is... (no spoilers)

[sracer]

...SPECTACULAR!!!!

The film is nearly 3 hours and it just flew by. The casting, acting, sets, special effects... An epic that Cecil B. DeMille would've been proud of.

I found the deviations from the book not enough to be annoying, but just enough to keep me on edge...not fully knowing what if anything else would be changed.

The important scenes are extremely well done and there is a depth to the characters that gives them their due respect.

Awesome!

[ladyisme]

I too have just come from the movie and I find I must agree that it is indeed a grand acheivment. May the second part of LOTR (the movies) rise to the high standards set on this day!

"The road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began."

[Darth Tater]

Wow. I'm just not at the place psychologically to post my comments on it yet, so let me just say wow.

[HOBBIT]

time flies by unless you need to go to the bathroom

[Quickbeam]

I just saw the movie and it was amazing. They did an incredibly good job making it. I think it is good enough to hold up by itself without the book and still be awesome. I thought the changed parts would bug me, but now that i saw it i see why they were changed for the movie and it is all for the better. (except when it skipped right over tom bombadil i did miss him...) Otherwise, it was a great movie. I'll probably see it many more times in the theatre!

[samwise of the shire]

The only problem I had with the movie was when Galadriel went through that...I dunno...thing at the mirror. All in all I thought it was a WONDERFULLY done movie. The casting was beautifully done, I think that the Fellowship was just marvelous....Especially Legolas and Aragorn, but I also liked the decisions they made for the Hobbits. I LOVED the scenery and all the special effects.
For those of you who have doubts of seeing that film I honestly suggest you see it. All of the parts we had doubts about before it came out(Ie: Arwen carrying Frodo across the river and the wizards duel)blended PERFECTLY with the plot and only one scene in there is totally.....how to say this politely...Dumb. SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!It is WELL worth the money.
Sam
Ps. I agree with you Quickbeam on the seeing it a whole bunch. I cant go TOO long without seeing Merry and Pippin's comical faces.

[mirrille]

You too? The Galadriel thing was the only part that really made me cringe, but the rest of it was good enough to let me pass that over. Ian McKellan (sp?) makes a perfect Gandalf and I really like the way the hobbits were played. My brother approves of Legolas on the grounds that he is 'fleetfooted' enough to reasonably play an elf. I'm so happy.

[Bacchus]

well, if we're going to nitpick, I have two complaints. By far the most greivious in my opinion was the introduction of Frodo to Arwen. That scene seemed like a teenager's Liv Tyler wet dream to me. Also overdone, IMO, were the Ring effects on the bearer and those nearby.

Oh, well, it's not like the movie could be perfect, could it? I enjoyed it very much.

[Bombadil's PR Guy]

I took the family to see it last night. My 10 yr old son and 13 yr old daughter both loved it, as did my wife and I. My daughter's got her hair done up like Legolas, whom she thought was " very cute." She had to ask me during the fighting whether he was going to die, being all worried.
Really, an landmark movie destined to be a classic, I was drained after the experience. The simplification of plot (a quick four days in Moria for instance), was perfectly understandable. Not that I would dwell too long on any comparisons with "Harry Potter" (apples to oranges comparison), but the director did better job in presenting a far more complicated storyline in a more understandable way for those who may not have read the book. The "Dune" movie is another that comes to mind as not having accomplished this, so that those who'd not read the book had great difficulty figuring out the plot.
The visuals were so amazing. That bridge scene, the jumping across the chasm with stone falling into the void...friggin WoW!! I thought that "thing" with Galdriel at the mirror was pretty cool myself, as well as the change that came over Gandolf and later, over Bilbo.
Good point that was made elsewhere of how those who've not read the books will be more likely to read books 2 and 3 to find out what happens before the followup movies finally make it to the theatres.

[Selwythe]

I thought this thread was non-spoiler?

I had to say Arwen and Galadriel made me cringe.

The cheers were deafening as Aragorn cut off the head of Lurtz (oops?). I never saw that in a cinema before.

Coming from a country where virtually no one heard of LoTR the book, only LoTR the movie, me and my friend were spoiling the stories for the people beside us. And at the end where Frodo and Sam trooped towards Mordor, me and my friend gathered up our bags to leave. The credits began rolling and we were at the exit and nobody stood to leave. Everybody was staring at the screen and going "HUH?!" They thought there was more :P

And the number of people...I went to a cinema, full house, I went to another, got a rather late show.

[Haldir]

I too saw the movie last night and...wow! There wasn't much I didn't like. I do wish they could have done a better job relating the length andf hardships of the journey to Rivendale and to Lothlorien. You get the idea that it took a few days rather than many months. Other than that I loved it...and can't wait to sdee it again. Like this weekend.

[Darth Tater]

Galadriel's flip out was my only major problem as well, though I did miss seeing Saruman of many colors, and am not quite sure why that aspect of his character was excluded. But now I'm nitpicking

[Captain Stern]

I thought it was amazing, however I thought the way that the fellowship traveled to each place was a little careless on the part of the director. For example one moment there in the Shire and the next there in Bree. They could have subtitled '3 weeks later' e.t.c for people who hadn't read the book I'm sure it was very confusing.

Eventhough the battle of the Last Alliance was truly spectacular I can't understand why Gil Galad was completely cut out. I had my worries about the omission of Glorfindel ( he wasn't even in the council! ) but the absence of the High King was a complete surprise, no, it was shock. His omission falsely gave us the impression that Elrond was the leader of the army.

One of the best scenes in my oppinion was when Saruman was singing/casting his spells to try and topple the mountain on the fellowship, very atmospheric!

One thing I'm still unsure of is whether Narsil was reforged or not? Also it wasn't made clear if it was Arwen who brought the water over the nazgul or Elrond?

[Darth Tater]

Gil-Galad was there.

[Captain Stern]

Well he wasn't fighting Sauron was he!

Elendil was cut down like an average soldier too...the film didn't show how powerful people like Elendil were.

P.S I had no idea Legolas was such a combat monster! I loved the way he killed about 5 orcs with his daggers in about a second! Superb stuff!

[Lelondul]

Oh yes Cap'n! That was something that wasn't given it's due time. There was the great scene of the battle of the Last Alliance (Gil-Galad and Elendil's near-absence aside), and seeing Narsil shattered - but they never showed it's reforging in Rivendell!!!

However, on your other point I must disagree. Saruman 'casting' the spell on Red Horn Pass was pretty hokey - Saruman had no such power. In fact, if I remember correctly, the book mentions the storm being Sauron's doing doesn't it?

Anyone else think that Sauron on the battlefield during the prologue was as friggin awesome as could be?! I don't think Sauron in physical form could have been potrayed any more frightening!

so much for a no-spoiler thread

[Captain Stern]

Even though it didn't happen in the book I still liked it. "Saruman had no such power." I don't think I agree with you there. He was a Maiar after all.

One thing that was a little on the funny side was the dual between Gandalf and Saruman, 2 old geezers being thrown around the room.

Sauron was increadible in the battle I agree, I loved the way the soldiers were literally blasted into the air!

[Selwythe]

When Aragorn captured Frodo and withdrew his sword when the Hobbits came to find him and when he defended them on Weathertop, his sword was fine. Then at Rivendell, Boromir found the Shards of Narsil, and the way the handle part of the sword is so short shows he could not have wielded those shards earlier. Later on, Aragorn wields the sword, mended, at Moria without any explanation (in the book, reforged by Elven smiths)

Could have done something about 'the sword will be remade when the One Ring is found" prophecy. There wasn't much emphasis on Anduril.

[Lightice]

Narsil wasn't reforged yet. It's going to be done at second (or was it third) movie. This is a fact. Unfortunate fact, but fact still. Aragorn gets it from Arwen when he leaves to the Paths of the Dead.

Anyway, the movie wa great! Few parts annoyed me. For example Elrond, that was sarcastic idiotic hater of humans. Plus that being played by "agent Smith"...Sheesh...Luckily he isn't showed too much. Exept of him, I could stand every change they had done in books for sake of the story. I'll go to see it second time too!

[Haldir]

Right-on Lightice! I was fairly sure that Anduril wasn't reforged until much later but I wasn't positive.

I anticipated the movie so much that I couldn't have found much fault with it at all. Maybe I after see it the second or third or fourth or...