This film is a nice break from the hectic pacing of the last ones. Ever since the third film, when 2 1/2 hours became much too short for an adequate adaptation of the books, the movies have been rather loveless attempts to squeeze just enough information into the limited time to allow for a superficial understanding of the main story lines. This one, on the other hand, takes its times, which is its greatest strength, and stays rather close to the book. On multiple occasions I was really surprised when another detail that wasn't strictly necessary to the main plot was graciously allowed its space.

This is a very good adaptation that makes me wish they had started making two-part movies out of the books earlier. And since it already covers about 3/4 of the book, I am looking forward to a similarly (or even more?) detailed second part.