I think they did the best they could with the film (Peter Chung was involved). The series is so anti-narrative I don't think it would work as a commercial picture, which is what they (MTV) aimed to do.
What I DID like in the film was the organic technology and the wonderfully stark industrial locations they chose. The look was RIGHT. And the storyline, awkward and recycled as it was, could technically fit within the 'rules' of the show.
Just barely.
However - I do agree with you,
watching that film would hardly inspire me to watch the show, had I not seen it first!