This is actually a solid film. Too many people who think they are smarter and that they can speak for others are dismissing or criticizing the film, so - while it's more accurately a ~4-star for me - here's an encouraging 5-star score 'cause it deserves the love and support, and I rarely score/review shows on Google but I'm doing it for this film.
My mom and dad who are not anime/animated show fans liked it. My mom who wanted to not watch with me and my dad, and who is someone who tends to fall asleep in theaters was awake and invested. She even seemingly wants more, asking about sequels after finishing the show. (Of course Dad says he would've preferred it live-action, but you know how it is.)
People need to stop preemptively making their minds up and choosing to dislike it. And before anyone thinks I'm politically motivated or influenced, my family and I are from the Philippines and are far removed from western political and cultural wars. In any case, it's not even the lazy "woke" sort of movie which I also have some disdain for (due to tokenism, not because I support bigotry).
Watch it in theaters while you can because that big-screen-dark-room setup plus the sound design really enhances the experience. The writing is good and the immersion is there throughout, and the visuals are largely solid except maybe for a couple of choppy sequences that may be distracting for some. And some dialogue scenes could have used more 'camera' angles. (This is more of a production issue.)
The film could also use spending more time with some key characters, so that later moments landed even stronger. However, the extra runtime would probably be risky, though the 2 hours as it is is well spent in my opinion. I don't doubt the filmmakers could be trusted with a bit more runtime.
So yeah, like I said, a ~4-star for me, but because it deserves more support and because my parents who were hesitant actually liked it, here's my 5-star score and I'm not taking it back.
Maybe W.B. just wanted to keep the rights, I don't know, but this film had actual craft and work put in it, unlike others that were made due to similar reasons. The cast and crew are Tolkien fans and it shows.
The problem now is with the competition, with all the films coming to theaters this December. But if you end up watching this and you're a Tolkien or a fantasy fan, I can't of course know you won't regret it but I definitely do not. I'd watch it again even, if money constraints didn't exist.