I think Faramir's potrayal is better in which it's explained why he acted the way he did to Frodo and Sam, besides showing his bond with Boromir and his father's biased love (I thought Denethor was exactly how I imagined him to be, but we'll see in ROTK). But IMO it still didn't justify his treatment of Gollum at the end when he released the hobbits, not to mention his men's brutal gang-up on Gollum earlier! What did Gollum did to him anyway, just because he's ugly and skulking that doesn't mean he is bad! He was Smeagol at that point and they had no reason to treat him like a criminal!
*cooling off* Anyway, I thought the rest of the scenes were great, including the final tally between Legolas and Gimli as well as the shot of the forest's attack on the Orcs. And although I found Eowyn to be too forward and almost annoying to Aragorn, I liked the part at Helm's Deep where she protested against them putting her with the women and children, I wished they'd put it in the theatrical version. Still, I was a bit startled when she started singing at Theodred's funeral...it wasn't how I expected it.
So in the end it does explain a lot more, and fill in the gaps in the flow of the theatrical version. I think it's money well spent and a must-have for a LOTR book fan (who can accept the changes, anyway
)
