Finally saw it this past weekend and loved it. The pacing was great...did not feel like a 2.5 hour movie at all. I think it helped a lot being able to jump right into the action without a long build-up.
Agree with all the comments about the 3D HFR, I always see that version first but the rapid "closed-circuit TV-esque" movement is very distracting, much moreso than the first installment. I look forward to watching this at home on Blu-Ray.
Sad that this is the end of that world...Jackson did an amazing job breathing life into this universe over 6 films.