I saw it this afternoon and thought it was good. In terms of events, it actually stuck very close to the novel. A few things were slightly changed or omitted, but as far as adaptations go, this is one of the better ones I've seen. I'd probably be more impressed if the existence of Game of Thrones hadn't made me consider how much better it would have worked as a miniseries at several points throughout the movie, but everything can't be an HBO series.
I think toning down the graphic brutality from the book's hurt the film thematically, but it was mostly in terms of goriness rather than in omitting or changing the manner of anyone's death. I also think the characters were largely underdeveloped, but I think that about the vast majority of movies these days since I've spent the past few years devouring the best of cable television, which does characterization on a level that's completely infeasible on film.
It wasn't the best movie I've seen this year. I don't even think it's top 5, but that doesn't mean much considering how many really good movies I've seen already. It was pretty good, though, and despite the length, at no point did I think it was dragging, which is more than I can say for most movies over 140 minutes, even the good ones.