A book-to-film success. Expect nothing and get the book!

Rating: 10/10 (28 October 2013)

So, if you've read other reviews and thought this will just be someone who's read the book trying to dissuade you from their opinions, it is not so.
Yes, I have read the book. Yes, this is a story aimed at children but it was modified after its initial success to be more adult. If you have time the whole 4 books are a rather superb tetralogy and stand as the best-of-the-best of Sci-Fi.
As a film of a book you have to understand the truth of it: you can't put all of a book in a film unless you have 8hrs or more. Who would possibly want 8hr films?
So, almost all of the meaning and feeling of the book gets to the film. The adult-ish version of the story drives the film and leaves it where the book left it - ready for further exploration of the central point (I'm not going to spoil it) of the film and more.
I accepted the child actors without trouble unlike, for example, the appalling Harry Potter characterisations. The rest of the cast came over well and nobody drove it from a 'famous' perspective leaving the film to again stand on its own as about the story. All the details you need to understand clearly what was going on were there and done so with the same subtlety as the original.
The CGI was good, clear and didn't take over. It was used to propel the story and add to it.
Overall I couldn't fault the work. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to further attempts at the following books which will be entirely adult in story and emotion.
Don't expect more than it can give you or be prejudiced by reviews and you'll hopefully see what I did in it: a story about our world, the politics of real life, a SciFi fantasy and some emotional discovery.