Almost Perfect

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2012)

I saw this in Digital Cinema instead of high frame rate or 3D. In some places the panoramic views were blurry. The close ups were all very clear and I don't think it detracted too much from the overall experience.
Even though it has been 11 years since the release of the Fellowship of the Ring, Mr. Jackson's makeup artists managed to pull off the characters looking 60 younger with one exception. This film starts on the day of Bilbo's 111 birthday and Frodo is noticeably older. Some things you just can't control. Elrond, Gandalf, Saruman and Galadriel were able to pull it off though. Nothing that really detracted from the film.
One criticism I do have is with a character that they decided to use that had been dead 142 years before Bilbo ran out the door that morning. Azog should not have been part of this story at all but most viewers won't have any idea that he doesn't belong there unless they have read the book and don't know who he was from the other books. That was very unnecessary since there were many other ways it could have been handled. Like the way Tolkien wrote it, perhaps.
Other than having to wait a year for the next installment, my only other complaint is making 3 movies to tell this story. He did add some of the background information that you wouldn't know if you haven't read the Silmarillion or the Histories but did we really need Radagast or the mention of Ungoliant's offspring? Hardly. Again, out of context for the Hobbit.
I did enjoy it and recommend it and unless you are a detail fanatic like I am, you will not be disappointed at all.