As a standalone movie, trying to watch this and get educated on the story at the same time? This shyt is ASS!
After reading a summary of the story, filling in the blanks and rewatching the movie? This is a masterpiece.
I love it more every time I watch it. You have to read the story (at least a summary of Book 1) beforehand though to fully appreciate it. They should've done a better job at trying to educate the viewer.
I'm in agreement. Apparently they have 4.5 hours of footage with all the main cuts coming in the first half of the movie, I really wish they had done like a 3:15 or 3:30 cut like the Lord of the Rings extended versions. But everyone's bytchy about attention spans nowadays.