Everyone expects another LOTR again. The curse of all fantasy film. Just go into the movie and expect something like Narnia instead and it should be fine Its based on a childrens book. What do you expect? I have watched it and its not too bad. Quite entertaining but feels a bit disjointed and some people could be lost if you have not read the book especially the ending. If you're those who only like shows like Transformers, 300, etc then you'll be disappointed. I guess most people will find it boring because its not LOTR type of fantasy. I remember most people did not like Fellowship of the Rings as well but most were only hooked after Two Towers because of the action.

By the way the books are one of the best fantasy sci-fi children books. Its much more better than Narnia (too Christian preachy) and Harry Potter (too damn predictable).