In the books Faramir immediately rejected the ring and sent the Hobbits on their way - it wasn't a whole bunch of hand wringing. It radically changed his character.

IIRC, that Faramir plot was cut from the theatrical release and was only included in the extended version.

I think I sort of prefer showing him struggle with it and then make the right decision rather than just making the right decision easily. Resisting the temptation makes him more heroic.

Being tempted and resisting the ring is a already common theme in the whole book. I liked the depth they gave to Boromir in the movie, but Faramir defining characteristic, as opposed to his brother, is his immediate rejection of the ring.

There were a couple of scenes removed from the cinema version that showed his character a bit more, but that character was a huge departure from the book.

The main one was a flashback that shows his relationship with Boromir and the toxic effects of Denithor's favouritism.

The film made him look weak, violent and rash but in the books he was the polar opposite of all three.

In the theatrical release he takes them to Osgiliath, something he doesn't do at all in the books. His weird indecision was definitely in the theaters.

It did make him more human, so it's not entirely bad. In the books he, like Aragorn, is a paragon of humanity, straight up just better than the rest of us.