I finally got to see it, with a little help from my neighbor's mother (watching my daughter). I thought it was done well. I brought along someone who had not seen any of the previous two movies hoping that it would be like a Star Wars episode (no previous knowledge required) but that was not the case.

I definitely think Fellowship was the best of the three but I enjoyed each one.

I can't quite put my finger on the subtle disappointment of this movie... perhaps too much time spent fighting in Gondor and not enough of the ending. I'm not sure.

No matter what, the effects were awesome, with terrific detail. The actors all did marvelous jobs as well. I wish I knew what was in store for the Elves or how the world of Men would finally work out but we'd need more book for that info now wouldn't we?