I can't imagine what they were laughing at. I don't want to give anything away, so it's hard for me to comment. But I'll say it's quite faithful to the original film and to Wells' novel. When I saw it, people applauded at the end.
I gather it has a happy ending that Channel Four's Joyce Kilhawik seems to feel is blatantly contrived. That aside, the review is interesting. Hope the movie does well.