So I finally got to see the HFR Hobbit. IT WAS TERRIBLE. There were moments where it worked pretty well but a lot of the time it just doesn't. A lot of the film felt like I was watching fast forwarded footage and I believe that might have actually been the case at times. I get the feeling Jackson likes to speed up footage to convey fast movement but it just looks like fast forwarding video at 48 FPS.

That's another odd thing about his wanting to film them this way. He's the kind of director that likes to play with time. Having various shots slowed down. Just doesn't work. Same for some effects techniques. The rock giant sequence stands out in my mind a lot. For example there was one shot looking down at the characters as rocks almost fall on their heads. In that shot the characters are all moving at 48 FPS but the rocks are falling very slowly in comparison. It's a shot you can get away with at 24 FPS but it just doesn't translate at higher speeds.

The one thing I will say for it is that it definitely enhanced the 3D. Strangely in one instance to its detriment. During an establishing shot of Rivendell the camera slightly tilts as it rises and the digital matte painting of the buildings really stand out as everything changes perspective except for them. Overall it felt like I was watching a video and not a film and that is not what I'd call progress.