A friend and I were going to watch it in 3d "Imax" today for $10, but then we found out that another theater in the Dayton area had it in 3D high framerate for $12. We decided to give it a try in the high framerate, since the "Imax" version locally really isn't much (if any) larger than a regular screen anyway. (not true Imax)
I can say that we were both blown away by the HFR version, and quite happy that we went to see it instead of the regular old 24 frames per second version.
Granted, early in the movie there were some indoor scenes where it almost seemed like things were fast forwarding a little bit - like what you'd see on a DVD if you hit the fast forward button on the remote, though not that much. However, I think that was mostly a holdover from a lifetime of what we expected from the older, more "flickery" format. In any case, we got used to it quickly in the movie, to the point where we really didn't notice it any more.
And you know what? The higher framerate made a HUGE difference in outdoor scenes with a lot of action, and especially scenic views where the camera pans across or around. In the past, the jarring flickering of the frames in those cases has jerked me out of the moviegoing experience, reminding me that it was just a movie I was watching. This time around, there was nothing but beauty to appreciate. I, for one, look forward to the time (hopefully soon) when ALL movies are filmed in 48 frames per second. It is a great leap forward.
BTW, regarding the plot, writing, character development and story - I can safely say that I really enjoyed this movie better than the previous 3. In the previous 3, I always found myself wondering WHEN it would be over by the time we got to the last half hour. I was tired of the unending battles and action, and wanted more character development, setup and plot. They simply had to do away with far too much trying to condense a long book into a single film. They even left Tom Bombadil out, for crying out loud.
This time around, they are doing it right. Characters are being developed to the point where I actually cared about them. They did a good job of setting things up for the following movies. There was a good balance between action and character development, and they also tied together with the other movies well. This way, they don't have to make the movie 4 hours long, and they won't have to leave important plot developments out of the movie in the end. It was the right choice to choose 3 movies for this book.
The deciding factor, I felt, was that in the final few minutes of the movie, even though my butt was a little sore from sitting that long, I still wanted more - I wished there was another half hour left in the movie. I'm definitely looking forward to The Desolation of Smaug in 12 months, and I'll watch it in HFR.