As a communications student (at the time when it was released), I was stoked that they explored the idea of language shaping the culture/way of thinking of a species. It was amazing to see such a concept applied to sci-fi, especially since it's not really a science-y topic.
Aside from that, I just didn't expect that the story would unfold the way it did, since I wasn't aware of the short story it was based on when I first watched it.