As someone who hasn’t read the books, and is judging it on movie alone, I would call this one a rental at best. Don’t get me wrong, it is a decent movie, but it isn’t a blockbuster (although I am sure it will do very well). There were some problems;
1. Although it has many grandiose CG sets, it felt like a very small, very low budget film.
2. There are several characters in there that aren’t developed. Its like the are in the way of the story being told. The game master for one is a good example.
3. Many parts of the basic premise don’t even really make any sense. I wont spoil it.
4. The direction could have been better. I was aghast at some of the angles chosen, especially in the cave scene.
5. It sort of felt like the author created this from a mix of a few different movies, like Harry Potter (the reaping and train ride), Twilight (a forbidden love), and Running Man (an old arnold movie from the 80’s).
If you have read the books, you will go see it anyway. If you haven’t, you may enjoy it in theaters, just don’t expect to have your socks blown off.
Watching this movie having read the book and watching it without produces a very different experience. A much, much better one. With the small background details the movie makes much more sense and some of the qualms you had with the movie are resolved. In short: if you read the book it is entirely worth it.