Woo hoo! Just got back and I've got to say I absolutely loved this movie. A little more deviation from the books than I expected, but all fine in the name of good cinema.
Before I point out just what I loved, let me answer the Narsil question. As an avid LOTR CCG player, the sword Aragorn carries is not Narsil. It's just a normal sword and you can see he carries it from Bree onward...or at least one remarkably similar. I doubt Jackson would just leave out something as important as reforging Narsil, especially given the screen time it got in the first film.
Now, here's what I'm still hyped up about even after the movie:
Gimli --- he's always been one of my favorite characters and I thought he didn't get a lot of great screen time in the first film. They more than made up for it in this one. While one person I saw it with thought that some of his comments were badly timed, I found myself enjoying the vast majority of his lines and his amazing butt-kicking ability. His speech on dwarven women was awesome.
The Ents looked outstanding.
Gimli and Aragorn holding the causeway --- probably my favorite action scene in the entire movie. This was like something from a dream. Just pure, unadulterated fantasy fun.
Wormtongue and Theoden --- The "bad" Theoden looked great...err... appropriately worn down. I really didn't imagine him like this, but he looked good....guess Jackson didn't think he could communicate the corruption without something visual. Grima was impressive....can't wait to see him get his due.
The Dead Marshes were frickin' creepy.
Gollum was fantastic. The absolute best CGI character ever done in a live action film. They nailed his inner conflict. Wow. That's all I have to say about that.
They made Faramir out to be a much bigger jerk than he was in the books, but I guess they needed to show the weakness of men. I was wondering where the flying Nazgul would come in...especially since Legolas didn't snipe one like he was supposed to. Faramir got that done, though.
Anyone else think "Let them come" will be in each movie much like SW's "I've got a bad feeling about this"
Overall, outstanding job. I am surprised at how much of Frodo's journey they left for RotK. "The Choices of Master Samwise" was always one of my favorite chapters in TT. Still, if they're leaving off the Scouring of the Shire, they'll have room for it. Also, I felt like Merry and Pip's storyline could have been given more time, but they did well with the time they had.
I just can't wait for the scene in RotK when Aragorn bends the Palantir of Orthanc away from Sauron. It's like giving the bird to the dark lord himself.
Well, enough gushing. I'm still on my post movie high so forgive me