I haven't seen the original or read the book, and I still didn't enjoy the movie. It starts off well, and (though the girlfriend getting run over by a carriage bit is quite unintentionally funny) it's entertaining up through the collapse of the moon sequence (the best part of the film, IMO, and if he'd gotten stuck there it probably would have been a much better film), but the movie goes downhill in a big hurry once he gets to the far future. From that point on, it's comparable to the Burton remake of Planet of the Apes. But it might actually be worse. I don't know. It's pretty close.
I would definitely not recommend buying it sight unseen.
Well I'm probably the only one who actually likes the new one better than the original. Probably because the original sucked, and the new one sucked much less. Let's face it, the original never got much critical praise.
It's rare when I like a remake better, and I hate admitting it.