Jan, Matthew, and I saw this Saturday morning. LOTR will always be my favorite movie(s) (because I just sat there during FOTR thinking, "They got it RIGHT!"); BUT, this is right there for me. The story, the acting, the action, the cinematography (I NEVER would have guessed that this wasn't shot in 3D because it's so well done), the comedy, all were spot on. I had the same thought as T7: It was just FUN!! Which is why I watch 99% of the movies I watch - to be entertained and leave the real world behind for a while.
AS far as the 3D goes, to me it's the best yet. I loved the 3D of Avatar (I'm only talking about the 3D - not the story) but I thought this was better. The 3D really added to the picture in the same way that 2.35:1 adds to the picture over 4:3. Another thing that I liked was the fact that there were times when the camera was zoomed out from the action a little bit and you really got a sense that you were watching one fight in a much larger battle.
We too will probably see this in theaters again. And, yes, I will pay to watch it at the 3D IMax when we do.
John