I think Peter Jackson did a good job of this and despite what some reviews i read, the CGI helped in some way but then again I'm a visual person. Now i would like read the book to compare the movie to the original story.
The movie had my attention the whole way, which for me makes a great movie. I would be interested to hear what others think about this movie, some good debates can be had.
More to follow once i've read the book.