I thought that the movie was good, but it missed out on sooo many important facts and it skipped the beginning and the ending too, so you couldn't see as deeply into it as they could have let you. After watching the film i can suggest only one thing- skip the film and read the book.
A brilliant start to what is, in my opinion, the best film trilogy of all time. True, it may be long, but that it necessary to be able to develop the depth of the storyline that Tolkien created. The CG is astounding, the acting is top notch and the music composed by Shore has to be one of the most moving soundtracks I have ever heard. Fantastic.
This is faithful and tasteful adaptation of what turns out to be a pretty good book. Unfortunately, either the scripting or casting has problems- the slowness in conversation does begin to grate. I enjoyed this film and the book a lot, shame it can't be said for the rest of this abysmal series.