I wouldn't say he was ruined; different, definitely, but I was kind of fascinated by the spin the casting put on the character. You remember Cutler Beckett, from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3? Same actor.

Also, they did have to abbreviate a lot of the book's plot points to fit into two hours-- but I think they chose their alterations fairly well. Worth seeing at least once, I should think, if only to compare and contrast with the longer version.