The game is one of the top pins of all time because it rocks! Whether or not you know the movies, I'd recommend it. Maybe you will take an interest in the movies after playing the game a few times. I really enjoy the movies, and we have the extended play versions....which are 3+ hours each. I tried reading the books to my kids but we had to stop after the first one because it was too painful for my kids to listen to me try to speak the old English.
I don't think you can go wrong with LOTR.