I haven't read the books, so I can't talk about the differences at length. I read a comment from another reviewer who is furious about the movie, because of all the changes. You have to remember when a beloved book gets made into a film, it's almost impossible it'll meet what you had made of it in your mind.
Also as this is limited (running time mostly), it won't have everything the book had. Even Peter Jacksons adaptations could not have everything Tolkien had written in his book (at least not in the version that was running in the cinemas). Having said all that I hope this prepares you in case you do want to watch this. This is light and fun (with dark themes of course) and aimed to our inner and outer child. It does a good enough job taking us away and entertain us. That's good enough in my book (no pun intended)
Also as this is limited (running time mostly), it won't have everything the book had. Even Peter Jacksons adaptations could not have everything Tolkien had written in his book (at least not in the version that was running in the cinemas). Having said all that I hope this prepares you in case you do want to watch this. This is light and fun (with dark themes of course) and aimed to our inner and outer child. It does a good enough job taking us away and entertain us. That's good enough in my book (no pun intended)