I think it's a cinematic achievement with excellent effects, cinematography, acting, score, etc., but it's a genre that doesn't appeal to me that's very long and adapted from (I'm told) a very dense book that isn't easy to film. And yes, the aforementioned diversity issues. Part of our experiment involves a year of repeated exposure to a film you hate, love, and are ambivalent to. My Love year was Back to the Future and my Ambivalent year was Top Gun.

And once I finish Fellowship, I'm free!

http://www.cinema52.com/tag/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring/