Maybe not Oscar material, but I enjoyed it.

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2006)

From reading the reviews so far, it seems to me that the most scathing reviews are from people who also didn't like the book. Fair enough, though I have to say I don't understand why you'd go see a movie based on a book you didn't like.
I thought this movie was well-cast and well-played. The direction was good, and the cinematography was excellent. I think the film's drawbacks are directly related to the difficulties inherent in adapting a novel to a screenplay, and particularly a novel that is as didactic as this one. There was a lot of explanation in the book, and it would have been impossible to include it all in the film version. I think they did the best they could to balance the need to explain what's going on and the need to keep the film under three hours.
There are those, of course, who are offended at the premise of the original novel, and they should not be expected to like the film. There are also those who didn't like the movie on its merits as a film. They're certainly entitled to their opinion. For my part, I don't see how anyone could have done much better bringing this particular book to the big screen.