Now I am a fan of the book series, and for book fans out there I can tell you that they changed a lot, took out a lot of the subtleties (it's patently obvious that Mr. Tiny is controlling Darren and Steve's lives the whole time, rather than a hidden thing revealed at the end like in the books), moved the plot forward, eliminated Debbie and replaced her with a monkey-girl, made his parents awful, etc....and for non-book fans, the plot can seem a little muddled at times, and the main actor who plays Darren is frankly a terrible actor, even if he looks the part....
And yet, it's still quite an enjoyable film, full of lots of laughs (especially from John C. Reilly, who is brilliant and a riot as Mr. Crepsley, it is worth watching this movie just for him alone!) and fun and colorful characters and an interesting story--enough of the books is retained for book fans like me to feel warm and fuzzy recalling them (this is no "Ella Enchanted" or "The Dark is Rising" abomination), and overall I think it's worth seeing. Everyone in the theater with me was laughing many times throughout the film, and besides the main kid everyone gave a great performance--Salma Hayek, the kid who plays Steve, William Dafoe, Patrick Fugit, the list goes on....
So in all, a decent film worth watching, and which I hope does well enough for a sequel....
And yet, it's still quite an enjoyable film, full of lots of laughs (especially from John C. Reilly, who is brilliant and a riot as Mr. Crepsley, it is worth watching this movie just for him alone!) and fun and colorful characters and an interesting story--enough of the books is retained for book fans like me to feel warm and fuzzy recalling them (this is no "Ella Enchanted" or "The Dark is Rising" abomination), and overall I think it's worth seeing. Everyone in the theater with me was laughing many times throughout the film, and besides the main kid everyone gave a great performance--Salma Hayek, the kid who plays Steve, William Dafoe, Patrick Fugit, the list goes on....
So in all, a decent film worth watching, and which I hope does well enough for a sequel....