I'm a recent fan of the book series and have been eagerly awaiting this movie release. I was pretty disappointed. Although I think it was cast well, there was a definite cheesiness about it...most of the time it felt like a music video, or episode of Smallville. If you've read the book, you'll get more out of it but it won't live up to your expectations (unless you're 14). If you haven't read the book, you'll wonder why in the world there's been so much hype. The small budget didn't help matters with the laughable special effects. I think it has potential for the sequels, but overall it was just so-so.