So what can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said? Yes, there are 15 $ above...as I left the theatre after seeing it the first time, I turned to my friends and said that that was the first movie in my life that I thought they didn't charge ENOUGH money for...excellent effects, enough fire and explosions to keep my short attention span tuned in, better characterization than I expected, esp. of Gandalf (although I hope Legolas and Gimli, and Sam for that matter, will fare better in the second, and I was disappointed in Boromir being turned into what Mr. Otter refers to as a SNAG, a Sensitive New-Age Guy...and we won't even mention the elves...)

Two hearts for at least TRYING to get some love interest and a decent female character into the thing, and not damaging it by the attempt. Yes, you can quibble about the fine points til the cows come home, get tired of the quibbling and leave again...but this movie is really amazingly sensitive not only to the book, hard enough to do, but to the feelings of the millions of those of us who love the book dearly and are torn between our desire to see it on the big screen, and our fear of another Bakshi-esque travesty. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and see it in the theatre, it's worth the extra money.