Overall, I was completely immersed in the story, and the movie fulfilled my expectations. It took me to that special place that LotR does. It wasn't nearly as emotional, and was more fantastical, but I feel that it was appropriate for the source material. Most of the added material felt natural to me, and not out of place (including, unlike most feel, the rabbit sled). My least favorite addition is Azog. I feel his character is very one-dimensional, and i'm very disappointed that he's completely CG. The Uruk-hai were beautiful as real actors in make-up. I'm not sure why this decision was made. The action was very Peter Jackson-y, and some of the sequences were a bit over the top for my tastes - primarily the goblin chases. I was never very fond of it in LotR either. But it's his style, and the familiarity of it helped tie it into that universe. The acting is superb! Martin Freeman stole my heart as Bilbo - just perfect. Ian McKellan reminds us of why he IS Gandalf, and I'm incredibly pleased with Richard Armitage's performance. He makes me feel for his character, where i could barely even relate to him in the book. Riddles in the Dark is dead on. The importance of this scene as an iconic piece of literature was not lost on the cast and crew, and they delivered. As wowed as I was by Gollum in LotR, I am that much more wowed now. I bow down to Weta. Utterly jaw-dropping!

I will go see this in the theaters again as often as I can afford to. I intend a trip to the nearest theater showing the 48fps. It's getting aweful reviews, but i want to see it for myself. I admit, I'm easily pleased, and I can understand where some of the complaints are arising from. However, I'm still a sucker for Jackson's Middle Earth.

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