As a kid I really enjoyed reading fantasy/sci-fi novels and playing games like Dungeons Dragons, so I'm predisposed to be a fan of a well-done Lord of the Rings movie. And this movie is extremely well-done. Some of the other comments here complain that the movie is not 100% true to the book, an accusation that is true but also unfair. There's no way to pack the entire book into a single movie and not make a few changes for the sake of story-telling. And, as other reviewers have already mentioned, Peter Jackson (the movie's director) somehow manages to make the necessary changes while staying true to the spirit of the book. This is the first movie in a long time that has really just blown me away with a near-perfect combination of story, acting, directing, and special effects. The film captures and conveys the horror, evil, and menace of the dark forces so well that I honestly found myself gritting my teeth during many of the scenes - the Ringwraiths attacking, the Orcs working in the underground forge, the dark journey through the mines... At the end of the 3-hour movie I found myself wishing there was more and wondering how I'm going to wait another year to see the second part of the trilogy.