I watched it in 2D. 3D sucks balls in every movie I've seen so I was not about to let that ruin the experience.
Myself and my 2 teenagers thought it was a really good movie.
On the dwarves, only Kili made you go "that's not a dwarf."
On the story, PJ took some liberties, but only some and it made for a better flow through the story.
Orcs and Goblins should really have been given more of a visual difference. I can see neophytes not getting that they were 2 different factions.
Otherwise, very happy with the film. Plenty for real Tolkien fans, as well as casual movie goers. (And reading some comments in this thread, plenty of people here who have no clue, but plenty of opinion. Please just stop commenting on Tolkien stories and just watch the movie. Because you aren't a Tolkien fan. You just like good films.)
Looking forward to the next segment.