The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

From the opening credits I instantly felt transported back to Tolkiens' land of Middle Earth. It was wonderful to see Bilbo and Frodo talking on the morning of the infamous 111th birthday of Bilbos (which is the start of Fellowship of the Ring)and Bilbo writing in his infamous book. During his reminiscing and some excellent exposition from Jackson we are given enough background (for those who have not read the book) on how the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor was lost to the dragon Smaug and lands you right at the spot where Bilbo meets Gandalf for the first time, to start the preparations for the quest at hand, saving Erebor.
I'll admit, I was wary of this film. Being a huge fan of the LOTR trilogy I was hesitant and a little doubtful that Jackson would be able to capture my imagination in a new quest. Well, I had nothing to be fearful of.
While it clearly has Jacksons hand, the film had a very different feel to it than I was expecting. It was expertly paced with a strong script and some really excellent peformances. Hats off to Martin Freeman whose non-verbal performance was exceptional and a testament to what can be expressed in a eyebrow or an arm movement. He was able to expertly encapsulate the essence of Bilbo, as played by Ian Holm in LOTR, but it was a strong independent performance. I especially loved the scenes with Gollum and Bilbo riddling to the death, one of my favorite parts of the book.
The usual suspects were also there, Gandalf, Saruman, Lord Elrond and Galadriel, all giving their usual strong s'elves' (see what I did there?). Though the scene on Rivendell felt a bit like a visit to the principals office, it was saved, gracefully, by Cate Blanchetts effortless existence.
For me, the biggest surprise was the dwarfs.......is it wrong to have the hots for a dwarf? Well I don't care, Richard Armitage was, well, exquisite as Thorin Oakenshield. His soft base voice in "Song of the Dwarves" was mesmerising and he took me wherever he went in his character, wonderful to behold. The rest of the motley crew, including one of my favorite Scottish actors, James Nesbitt, were themselves unmistakeably silly but defiantly endearing.  
Touchy subject I know but I liked the high frame rate and 3D. Some have expressed a concern for the "too life likeness" with the HFR and 3D but I have to say it added, not detracted, from the film.
As a lover of theatre I embraced the 3D, as, accompanied by Howard Shores' rousing score, I felt as though I was watching live theatre and I was immersed in it. Every shot was full of life and was exciting to experience.
I will definitely see this again, though will watch the "normal" version just for comparison but all in all it was as unexpectedly funny as it was moving, catching you off guard when a moment of true courage occurred.