That's cool, I didn't even know there were different versions...
A friend actually recommended the movie maybe a year or two after it came out, but at the point I wanted to read the book first. I watched it now! It's not the most awesome movie ever, but I enjoyed it. It's a story where it really makes sense to have a visual adaptation I think. A miniseries would also be great. Ben Barnes definitely looked good in it, so that's a completely legitimate reason to watch the movie :D