Saw it midnight on the 17th.. or some people would say 16th, though 17th is correct ;] I prefered the book, just as I do with all books which become movies, but I still think that it was great. especially if you watch the extended versions of fellowship & two towers before going to see ROTK.. but damn your ass hurts afterwords. Anyhow, I agree it was stretched and could have been better. Whatever, I enjoyed it none the less
Glad to see people have taken a true interest in LOTR, i really hate it when people read a book just because they saw the movie.. it should be the other way around, but I guess it is a way of getting kids to read books they would never normally touch due to their size