The really weird thing is that, albeit LOTR is the Godfather of Fantasy, it really takes a lot of effort to make D&D suck. Having read FR, Dragonlance, Ravenloft, David Eddings (his Sparhawk books are some of the best fantasy ever written, in my humble opinion)and a whole host of other authors, I am amazed that Hollywood could make such a complete mess of the genre. It did not help that one of those annoying Wayans brothers, the Whalin chap and the Master of Over-acting, Jeremy Irons himself was in it. I don't know what happened to Mr.Irons, he was always a rather good actor and was splendid in "Elizabeth I". As for interesting early fantasy, I can highly recommend the tales of Lord Dunsany, they are quite enjoyable.