> The Ents, also, would have chosen to go stomp Isengard without seeing a tiny little field of dead stumps. Also, what happened to the Huorns defeating most of the orcs? I remember Eomer's army being a minor factor.

But were the movie's changes problematic? I don't think so. Here is an instance where blind faithfulness to the book could have been harmful. Writing Huorns into the movie would have required additional exposition in a medium with less time to take on details like that. I'm glad the book is the way it is, but for the movie I approve wholeheartedly of the changes.

Another detail that works nicely is keeping Eomer out of the picture until Gandalf returns. It means the movie doesn't have to spend a lot of extra time on another character (there being a great many in that stretch already) and more importantly supplying an explanation of who the men Gandalf brought back are simply by the presence of a familiar face. It was a nice touch, really.