I decided not to have my expectations too high - it couldn't be as good as it was in my head. it wasn't either, but if you have an open mind you won't be disappointed. I understand why they cut out tom bombadil - you're trying to build a tension and a story and suddenly you have this weird man going around in yellow boots and singing. Why they put arwen in here isn't so easy to understand, but maybe they didn't want to mix in glorfindel - even another character to keep track of. what I really missed was lothlórien - they should have shown more of it and emphasized on the gifts. the rope sam was given will be very important later - and they didn't mention it at all. boromir gave away his intentions right away - I didn't remember it like that. I think the casting was great. saruman was perfect. legolas was absolutely beautiful - I've always loved elves. and he was impressing in battle! Frodo seemed a bit helpless, standing there with his big blue eyes. but he was supposed to be like that. the black riders were terrifying, and the orcs were extremely ugly.