Peter Jackson gets things off with a bang with Fellowship. The images are great. Everyone establishes their character wonderfully.

My one reservation is the departure from the text. Dramatic purposes blah blah blah. Some of these things just don't feel right. I suppose you get those changes out of the way right off and the other films have to live with it and don't seem so polluted by it.

It's not possible to fault cutting material but it would have been nice to spend more time in the Shire before getting pulled into the harsh world of men.