I am not terribly familiar with the books these things are based on but had fond memories of the original.

That being said, i was hesitant to even watch this because of all the negative press it was getting. I thought it was a pretty good film and was made in such a way that the average viewer could jump in without knowing anything about the books etc. I think this was the intention.

While I wouldn't rank it up there with other epic sagas I don't think it was bad and certainly think it is worth watching.