I watched the movie with the legendary Mrs. Whiskers in 3-D IMAX; both Laketown and Smaug were definitely improved by this; Smaug looked and felt and sounded like a *real* dragon; that Crumberbatch guy they got to do his voice -- particularly the "...a...LIAR!!!" brought chills.
The bees flying seemingly "out of the screen" when on Beorn's lands were a bit cheesy, though.
And as I said to the legendary Mrs. Whiskers the first time I saw Tauriel, and then throughout the movie, "I want her cell phone number." (Received *many* elbows in my ribs for that, too.)
Cheers!
We saw it in 2-D, and I was thinking about the potential 3D effects, but DP mentioned it afterward, regarding the design of the scenes with the dragon.
I also thought Tauriel was very pretty, and quite good-natured, too. I was just in awe at her perfect hair, the whole time.