It more depends on the viewer's opinion.

Rating: 10/10 (22 March 2014)

Well I'm not going to stay here and list all the good and bad things about the movie. Sure, it wasn't as good as the book but you can't compare the two.
People usually complain how the movie is different from the book. How some scenes were cut short or not in the movie at all. However you must keep in mind that a book gives you an insight into the character. Into their thoughts, reasons, and knowledge. A book may contain countless pages of explanations. A movie, whereas, has to format the book into a two hour clip. Try and imitate the person's thoughts through expressions and actions. A two hour movie won't be able to include all the scenes from the book. The movie was actually pretty good and did include most of the important scenes for a 500 page book.
Another complaint is that the characters in the movie don't "fit the standards." Well, I'm pretty sure that everybody who has read the book have imagined the character differently. However the producers can't pick the perfect actors that will be able to fit everybody's expectations. They pick the characters they think fit best and if the author agrees then why are you complaining? The author definitely knows how their character should look like.
So, after saying all that, I personally think that the movie was great and that you should go and watch it before judging it based on the critical reviews of those who can't accept the fact that the movie couldn't fully match the book. As you watch it, keep in mind that even though the movie might not be up to your standards, it could have been a lot worse.