I am not asking you to like it, I'm just saying I did

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2014)

First, to address the critics-
Emotionally Vacant- I watched this on HFR 3D and I felt most of the emotions the actors are trying to convey. Though of course, you can't expect much from extras. But the main characters were spot on.
HFR didn't work- I agree on some minor scenes, but not all. They worked perfectly well for me on all battle scenes and on major character interactions.
Missing Story Plots/Incomplete- I don't know what movie some are telling about, but the film I saw last night had all the closures I was looking for. (Loved the scenes where Tauriel, Thranduil and Legolas were confronting each other, and finally when Thranduil's shows his soft spot, not only for his son, but also for the captain of his army)
There are lots more but these are the ones I find myself resolved.
When I watched Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings some years back, I knew the series will be epic. Every movie I saw was always an improvement of the previous.
The Hobbit series was no exception. Although I took time realizing that this was not going to be the same with the LOTR trilogy, it should start on its own. And it did, when I have accepted that this preceded the first 3 movies, I understood a different story telling. One cannot compare movies or series that are entirely different from the other, much less, one which would tell the history of the first.
There are many scenes that I just can't get over with that keeps replaying in my head. Bard using his son to kill Smaug, Thorin's bout with gold sickness, Galadriel's outrage, the nine and Saruman's fighting sequence (Saruman was really bad a$$ here), Thranduil asking Bilbo to confess about stealing the keys to his dungeon, Elven King's smirk that signaled his archers to position (yes a simple smirk- everyone in the theater said 'ohh' here)... and the elk's heroic charge (not mentioning a spoiler here).
There are lot's more. Just a fitting finale for the 3 Hobbit movies.
Only issue I have is editing. There were minor transitions that are just 'naahh'.
Overall, it is your personal preference if you like it in 3D, 3DHFR or just he good old classic digital. If you ask me, I'll watch it in all formats.
Can't wait for the DVD and the extended cuts, plus production gag reels.
"But now comes the day.. To bid you farewell.."