Philistine!

I went to see it last night, and loved it. Will definitely see it a few more times in theaters.
> To really get into a fantasy film, it's easier if there are no
> expectations of how characters will be played.
For LotR, my expectations had little to do with the actors involved - the characters we already well-defined by the books. And I was pleased with how they were realized.
> I can't think a good fantasy/sci-fi film that had an already
> well-established actor playing the lead.
Hmmm... Galaxy Quest, 12 Monkeys, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon come to my mind. I'm tempted to add The Matrix and the original Planet of the Apes, but I think they were good
despite their lead actors, so they don't really counter your point very well. In fact I will agree with you in general - not counting sequels and such, it generally helps a fantasy/SF movie to have unknowns in the lead roles. In the case of LotR, I personally was not that familiar with Elijah Wood, so it didn't bother me. Anyway, I never liked the hobbits quite as much as most of the other characters, so I didn't care as much how they were portrayed. Most of the name actors I was familiar with - Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Cate Blanchett, Sean Bean, John Rhys-Davies - were exceedingly well-suited to their roles, in my opinion. Ian McKellan in particular.
What did other folks think? Cindy and Jane thought it might be too much of a "guy flick" - was it? (I mean, some of us
like that sort of thing, of course.)