Parts of the movies criticized that you liked anyway

[denethorthefirst]

- I liked that FotR shortened the timeline in the beginning. In the books 17 years went by (T.A. 3001 - 3018) till Gandalf figured out that the Ring might be the One. I never found it believable that Gandalf was so slow and took so long to figure out the nature of the Ring. 17 years! The shortening of the timeline creates the necessary tension, a feeling of danger and immediacy thats a bit lacking in the slow moving beginning of the book.

- I did not mind that Tom Bombadil was cut. Yes, he is an interesting part of the world, but I really cant imagine how he would have worked in a movie. He would have slowed the pacing down too much. Maybe his inclusion could work in a TV-Miniseries-adaptation, but even then I remain sceptical.

- Although I think that the Balrog was too big overall, I liked the design of him.

- I did not mind the expanded role of Arwen. It gives her something to do and introduces her character. Compared to the later changes in TTT and RotK thats mild and rather defensible.