This seems like a more substantive "book vs. movie" criticism than one usually sees, but as someone who has only seen the movie, and enjoyed it at at least a B+ level, I'll make the "accepting the movie on its own terms" argument. Ramona is a much less fully realized character in the film, though there's still…

That's the ending of the original stage musical (and the original Corman movie, for that matter). I saw a community theater production of the stage version, and I thought that ending worked because all of the characters were pretty unsympathetic (or at best pathetic) caricatures. Rick Moranis and Ellen Green, though,…

Of course, it seemed likely to me that the Prawns would return with reinforcements to clean house. Not that there's much beyond Wikus' sacrifice to make the viewer sympathize with the human race by that point.