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With so many forms of entertainment at our disposal, two seem to dominate this sphere — books, and movies. And if you combine them, you get a lot of book to movie adaptations — the ultimate form of entertainment. However, not every book adaptation becomes successful in the eyes of the audience. A book to movie adaptation can sometimes be a flop, same with a series. The failure is usually the result of the butchering of the original story and bad creative decisions on the filmmaker's side.
It’s no secret that some books are much longer than their adaptations. Some of the best book to movie adaptations (TV show adaptations included) are ones that correctly use the given material, cutting out the boring parts, and leaving only the fun or most important ones. But not everyone can do it. Many bad movies based on books follow the original material letter to letter. An adaptation like this removes the whole creative side of the film, making the final product feel a bit bland.
If you want an adaptation to be a box office smash, you have to understand the deeper context of the book. Books made into movies and shows have to be true to the main idea that the author wrote. If the story is about consumerism, the visual content has to showcase it clearly and loudly. Books being made into movies usually become victims of misunderstanding and incorrect creative decisions. A lot of irrelevant material is added, which can have an adverse impact on the story.
And truth to be told, there have been a lot of books turned into movies and TV shows that aren’t on par with the original material. Since the internet is full of polarizing opinions (looking at you, Twitter), someone asked on AskReddit the question we are all eager to answer — “Which movie or TV adaptation is the biggest letdown for you?” Scroll down and upvote the answer you agree with the most. If you know any more bad TV shows or movies based on books, leave a comment below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The Hobbit
"Yep. They didn't have enough material for three movies. It felt stretched. Like not enough butter over too much bread."
harpling 2 years ago
I watched this film dubbed in Russian with Kartuli subtitles, while eating catsup-flavoured croutons and drinking grass-flavoured fizzy drinks. It was a surreal experience.
Lil Miss Hobbit 2 years ago
TBH there was a lot of information that they gleaned from other pieces of Tolkien's work. It makes sense, but not very many people were nerdy enough to have read some of his other stuff on Thorin, the Necromancer, Galadriel, etc.
Onion Patch Petunia 2 years ago
To be expected when the only purpose is to make an extra buck. Similar problem with the remake of Lord of the Flies
Devin Singh 2 years ago
Also they completely killed the tone of the book. If you read it, it's borderline comedy. It's absolutely hysterical. It was LOTR that was more serious, and Peter Jackson maybe confused the two.
RELATED:
#2
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
"The Percy Jackson movie It's bad enough the casting and effects were sub par But changing the story completely after act 1 really soured my enjoyment. The changes weren't that good either. Hoping the streaming series is better."
the shy platypus from nextdoor 2 years ago
Imagine how famous Percy Jackson would be, if there were good movies. And the fandom is right know really big...
LoyalHufflepuff07 2 years ago
*stabs TV with Celestial bronze sword and breathes heavily* WHAT PERCY JACKSON MOVIE?!?!
Dubsτep🅱️lade NS 2 years ago
YES. These were horrible. So glad that they’re doing a series with Rick as the director instead
Olive Orrell 2 years ago
I RESENT the movies, me and my firend cried over the fact it was so bad and the second felt even more wrong
Leonora Aetos 2 years ago
There's a reason I call these the Peter Johnson movies. *proceeds to spit at them*
Shadow the Dragon King 1 year ago
The only good scene in this movie is the fight between Percy and Luke, and that mostly because there’s a funny meme I like using an image from that scene
VeRy LaZy BuNnY 2 years ago
I fcking hate these movies!!!! I have read all the books tons of times, and they did them bad
#3
The Eragon
"This a classic example of a poor adaptation. It was not merely different from the book: it literally didn't hold together as a story. My husband and I went to see the film, and then we went to dinner, where I spent the entire conversation explaining all the parts of the film that didn't make sense for anyone who hadn't read the book."
Shadow the Dragon King 1 year ago (edited)
The Inheritance cycle is my 2nd favorite fantasy universe after Percy Jackson (who or what actually is Angela? It still drives me nuts)
Arou Rashi 1 year ago
Leave the girl's faith in a Christian God out of the picture as that aetheist director(Shonda Rimes) did, and this is the mess you wind up with.
Arou Rashi 1 year ago
Leave the faith of the girl in a Christian God, and this is the mess you wind up with
K W 2 years ago
I understand why the books were popular but the writing was never really that spectacular. The movie had so much lost potential though.
Joss 2 years ago (edited)
They were written by an I believe 15 year old - given that I'd say they were pretty well done.
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#4
A Wrinkle In Time
"I watched the film recently and what a mess. The kids especially the boys were so badly directed and they cut out the twins. I also can't stand Oprah due to her massive ego."
I-am-bubbles!(she/her/cat) 2 years ago
That movie made absolutely no sense whatever. It was so bad :(
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
I only watched the trailer, and I was stunned at how truly awful it was. As far as I could tell, it had almost nothing in common with the book.
JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
Never saw the movie, but absolutely loved the books. Introduced me to the concept of tesseracts, which opened my young mind (60ish years ago) to amazing science fiction.
K W 2 years ago
My mother adores the books and shared them with us when we were kids. It's a very distinct memory sitting with my two siblings listening to her read it. She was so excited for the movie and it totally broke her heart. Definitely skip it if you love the books that much. It's not even worth it for curiosity sake.
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BlueEyesWhiteDragon 2 years ago
I really wanted to like this movie... but it was just bad. It ruined the book. It turned the Mrs. Ws into essentially bad Instagram text posts. This movie had so much potential and wasted it.
GoldieDoggy 2 years ago
The first movie was definitely better. The English class i was in when the new one was in theaters went to watch it after reading the book, pretty sure everyone hated it. No twins (who even have their own book later in the series), weird lettuce monster instead of the beautiful pegasus thing with a human face (as described in fairly good detail in the book), and so many other issues.
Marissa Taylor 2 years ago
Omg i hated it .i was so disappointed because it was a mutile racial cast and eith todays tech they could have done so much ! But no. There whwre no twins.,chariles walles was adopted and the whole movie was a sad mess. It didn't feel like a wrinkles in time at all .:( the abc version was so much better
BlueEyesWhiteDragon 2 years ago
Which isn't saying much because that version is bad, too 😂
Load More Replies... #5
The Witcher
"The Witcher. Characters are all portrayed really well but they've absolutely butchered the story beyond comprehension. Honestly id be fine with changes if the result ended up good but the latest season was just a gradual descent into awful tropey writing and reliance on unimpressive cgi monster fights."
the shy platypus from nextdoor 2 years ago
YES YES YES YES YES!!!! Read the books!!! They are so damn good. They have suspense, a cool humor and everything you need. The second season of the show has literally nothing to do with the books. I had to ask myself if I read the same thing. I think, if you don't know the books, the series are good or okay but the books are one thousand times better! Believe me!!! Read it please :)
jai putman 2 years ago
sorry but most of the first two seasons is taken pretty much directly from `sword of destiny` the first book of short stories...
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JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
My first experience with this was Island of the Blue Dolphins, an amazing award-winning book. I begged my family so hard to go see the movie and was embarrassed by how banal it was.
LizzieBoredom 2 years ago (edited)
This is why I like Documentaries. It's hard to change the ending.
#6
World War Z
"World War Z. They somehow turned one of the most unique books into the most generic movie possible."
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
Yes. The book is fantastic. The film is just "go and make a zombie movie".
John Topper 2 years ago
The movie and the book had nothing more in common than the name. The two just had nothing to do with each other beyond having zombies. It wasn't even an adaptation issue, it was just two completely different stories that had the same name.
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
It's not even a good film, and as an adaptation it's a catastrophe.
Load More Replies... #7
The Giver
"Should never have even been adapted in the first place. The color-blindness twist is so satisfying when you read it as a kid, and basically impossible to translate to film by its very nature."
the shy platypus from nextdoor 2 years ago
Only saw half of the film. Is the book so much better? I thought that all characters were so flat
#8
The Maze Runner
"The Maze Runner series. The first movie was OK, and the rest were utter nonsense."
Ruby 2 years ago
THE BOOKS WERE BETTER. But honestly we all loved seeing Newt so... can't complain.
aceupyoursleeve 2 years ago
The movies aren't good, but I will watch Dylan O'brien and Thomas Brodie-Sangster in anything. I also get the impression that the cast had a good time filming and worked well together. And to be fair, the books aren't all that great either. It's bit particularly well written and the world building falls apart under scrutiny.
Michael Riehle 2 years ago
Well, the books were among the worst books I've read in years and I expected the movie to be worse, so I never saw the movie. Not sorry about that.
foofoofloofy 2 years ago
The first book was pretty good, but the ending was s**t. The rest...pretty much went on a downward spiral.
Load More Replies... #9
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix & Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
"I will never recover from the adaptations of book 5 and 6. I remember being 12-14 and appalled. Don’t even want to attempt to revisit those movies now, I’d be even harsher."
VeRy LaZy BuNnY 2 years ago (edited)
I personally think they are both good movies, I love the order of the phoenix but im not a huge half blood prince fan I just can't watch the first two, the acting is eh
HelluvaHedgehogAlien 2 years ago
I just wanna see the actors on screen and what stuff looks like, but I guess the books were VERY better than the movies… they cut out so many parts and added in some weird stuff
Lil Potato 2 years ago
ugh, half blood prince is my favorite HP book, but they destroyed the movie
#10
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy
"Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy ranks pretty high because of the delta between how fantastic the books are and how horrible the film."
Theoretical Empiricist 2 years ago
One of the major draws of the book was the way Douglas Adams used words. There is simply no way to visualize "They hung in the air like bricks don't".
JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
The only plus I found in the movie was the world weary robot perfectly voiced by Alan Rickman.
Rachmiel Shraga Lichtenstein 2 years ago
The movie script was also written by Douglas Adams, I think, and was purposefully made to be different from the books
GoldieDoggy 2 years ago
Honestly i enjoyed the movie and the books. I'm about halfway through the series so far, and even the author said that many details were changed between each adaptation of the original radio show.
René Sauer 2 years ago
*lol* never read the books, so I was truly entertained by the movie. But I always wondered how that chaos translated into a book
Cuppa tea? 2 years ago
First I saw the movie and I loved it. Then I read the book and it was bit disappointment. Part of it I couldn't really understand, so in this case I prefer movie.
Ivana Bašić 2 years ago
I remember the ending of Abyss, when the majestic alien ship surfaces and looks like a plastic bowl. Watching Hitchhiker after having read the book felt like that scene, only it took an hour and a half.
Steven Bennett 2 years ago
There were some good parts in this movie, and even Douglas Adams admitted that he tended to change the details version to version, but I agree that overall this Hitchhiker's was an incoherent mess. And while I can understand a studio's desire to Americanize IP--so you can appeal to an audience 8X larger--sometimes you need to let an English property remain English. (See also the failed 1999 FOX Doctor Who movie.) Martin Freeman was an excellent Arthur Dent, but Sam Rockwell as a rotating-head Zaphod was just an abomination.
#11
Anne With An E
"Anne With an E on Netflix is so depressing and dull. It has almost nothing in common with Anne of Green Gables except for character names and setting, honestly. I hated it. At least we have the 1985 TV movie that is a much more faithful adaptation!"
Evie 2 years ago
I actually really enjoyed it. I feel like the first season stuck pretty well to the book, but then took a creative turn. I'm very sad that the show was canceled. :(
Joss 2 years ago
I also loved it. It addressed race, class, and abuse in that era in a way that the book didn't - but neither did anything else from that era and I think it was a really powerful interpretation of it. I've read the books. I also love the adaptation with Meagan Follows, which kept truer to the original story, but didn't flesh out the things that were glossed over about the era the way Anne with an E did. I really wished they'd kept it going!
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Monica Michelle 2 years ago
One of my favorite adaptations. A real understanding of trauma and the ability to use imagination as a way to cope
Leonora Aetos 2 years ago
As a show it's very good. I liked it. A friend of mine was obsessed with Gilbert for some reason. As a book adaptation I think it could've done better. The Sullivan version will forever top this one for me.
KnightOwl 2 years ago
What? I grew up reading the books and loved Anne with an e. It was really well written, well acted, the cast was amazing, the storylines were great (except the whole gold rush storyline which I hated) yes it was a lot darker at times but I think that made it better. Anne had a very rough childhood so her struggling to deal with that through flashbacks and PTSD made a lot of sense. I'm still really sad that it was cancelled.
D Mckinnis 2 years ago
Thank God someone else saw that too. The magic of Anne Of Green Gables is her amazing imagination and ability to disassociate from the horrors and trauma by making up stories... Anne with an E was so woke and so focused on her PTSD and Trauma it totally ruined it.... I had a similar childhood and I to this day try to model my life around hers... Anne Shirley was my childhood hero and this show actually made me angry. It's not a story about trauma darnit, it's a story about how love wins. How you can overcome anything if you just believe and above all.... It's about not letting your pain destroy you. Anne with an E was awful.
PiscesInTheWild 2 years ago
I was gonna wholeheartedly agree, but the comments here made. me rethink.
#12
A Series Of Unfortunate Events
"A Series of Unfortunate Events. To be super clear I loved the new Netflix show; it finally did that series some justice, and Neil Patrick Harris was incredible, in my opinion. But the original movie (with Jim Carrey) from my childhood was such a major letdown and probably the first time I felt really betrayed by something like that. Those books were so, so incredibly important to me growing up, and that movie was a travesty. Jim Carrey was an interesting choice, and I feel like he was capable of doing it right, but the whole thing just came off so silly. And combining the first three books into one confusing and sloppy movie... Just like, why? It's like they knew they'd never get the chance to tell the rest of the story, so they just slapped together what they could and said, 'Eff it — we'll do it live.'"
BlueEyesWhiteDragon 2 years ago (edited)
I disagree with this one. I liked the movie more than the Netflix series. The physicality of Jim Carey as Olaf was missing. I kept having to look up NPH's height compared to Jim Carrey because NPH seemed so small and short as Olaf. They're basically the same height; Jim Carrey just knew how to loom over characters better. Sure, Klaus not wearing his glasses was bad and they definitely let Jim Carrey riff too long in some scenes, but the world felt right to me. And I love the book series, but the later ones do devolve into a lot of repetition and macguffin finding and the Netflix series really made that clear without improving it.
Whimsical Duckling 2 years ago
I didnt know there was a movie, but the show is actually really good.
#13
I Am Legend
"I Am Legend. I loved the ending of the book so much and was so disappointed by the movie."
John Topper 2 years ago
As others have said. The ending of the book is interesting, insightful and deeply introspective. The movie is just typical meaningless mass market c**p.
(っ◔◡◔)っ blush 2 years ago
Wait that´s the one with the scene where the dog wouldn´t eat his vegetables right?
Paulo Freitas 2 years ago
They changed the ending of the movie, because they where afraid people wouldn't get it.
Rhu Johnson 2 years ago
The original ending filmed (which you can find on at least some of the disk releases) was in line with the ending of the book. It was a very negative test audience reaction that made them completely change it.
Load More Replies... #14
The Dark Tower
"The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. They compressed seven books into one movie. Needless to say, all atmosphere and feel with the characters and story disappeared. I'll go read the books again."
T. 2 years ago
This movie is an insult to the books. I watched ten minutes and was already upset and I regret having watched it in full. Missing major characters, the story massively shortened and thus so many things that don't really make sense anymore or don't feel right. Imo it was worse than the Avatar-adaption.
Bug 2 years ago
I was disappointed with the casting of Roland. I expected a much more worn looking actor, not a pretty boy.
Load More Replies... Cuppa tea? 2 years ago
Green Mile - couple of pages novel turned into 2 hours movie. The Dark Tower - 6 books turned into 90 minutes movie.
#15
Fahrenheit 451
"Fahrenheit 451. As someone who knows every word of that book, and who also loves Michael B. Jordan, that movie just hurt. I couldn’t make it 10 minutes."
#16
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
"Do comic storylines count? If yes, the monumental Dark Phoenix Saga has been butchered twice by Fox. Like, why?! The thing is the whole arc can't be impeccably delivered in just a single movie. It should have been a trilogy or something."
GoldieDoggy 2 years ago
Honestly pretty much the only thing i remember about that movie was her in the air. I was looking forward to seeing an X-Men movie in theaters for the first time, left very disappointed.
Irene Donovan 2 years ago
It was actually supposed to have been two movies. The Fox-Disney merger ended that in favor of rebooting the X-Men into the MCU.
#17
The Golden Compass
"Some of the casting was great, but the lackluster script and extremely watered-down story and themes ruined it."
RoanTheMad 2 years ago
ugh the "golden compass" (books name is actually northern lights) did suck, the BBC version of the book and its series (His Dark Materials), whilst not 100% true to the books, was really good though, and Ruth Wilson's performance as Mrs Coulter is honestly Oscar worthy.
aceupyoursleeve 2 years ago
I wasn't a fan of pretty much any aspects of the movie aside from Nicole kidman's role, so I was a bit skeptical about the different actress. She totally killed it though.
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John Topper 2 years ago
I think a really big problem here was the world building. The world in the books was immaculately pieced together. It was bright and incredibly vivid and really felt completely authentic. The movie doesn't have the time to build imagery like that, so they focus on the characters who are just dropped in the world. In my opinion, this is the most common failing of adaptations. A movie simply can't build a world like a great writer pulling strings in the imagination.
#18
Divergent
"Divergent. Fourteen-year-old me never got over the heartbreak that was the movie adaption."
Lil Potato 2 years ago
ugh, i loved the first book(not the rest tho) but the movies were awful
VodkaInMySweetTea 2 years ago
At first glance, I totally thought that was a little baby's head she was cradling in the crook of her arm. xD
#19
My Sister's Keeper
"The original ending had left me in tears. It also seemed quite fitting for the story. She was born for her, and at the end, when she died, it was also for her. The movie totally ruined it and made it something that can be predicted by everyone, whilst the book ending took me by surprise."
Julie Snelling 2 years ago
I read the book and a friend had watch the film. And I was like I the ending was so good with the car crash and she had no idea what I was talking about. I understood once I watched the film why she didn't know what I was talking about.
#20
Jack Reacher
"I think the movies, especially the first, are genuinely good on their own. As Reacher movies however, they are terrible. Was really pleased with the show."
James016 2 years ago
The series was much better. At least they cast someone who could pass as Reacher
Adhikaar Nunkumar 2 years ago
The first Jack Reacher movie, Tom Cruise presence on screen made up for the height differences,
#21
Artemis Fowl
"I loved the Eoin Colfer book series Artemis Fowl. I even had The Artemis Fowl Files and the comic remake from the first book, so I was very excited to see my favorite antihero main character in a movie adaptation. So yeah, let's not talk about the Artemis Fowl movie... I'll go re-read the books instead."
I-am-bubbles!(she/her/cat) 2 years ago
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought it sucked. For so many reasons, but the character misinformation was so sad. There were so many plot holes in the movie, while it was thorough and well written in the books. Any fans want to help make a new one?
purplepandaprincess 2 years ago
I totally love the books (which I stumbled upon as an adult)lent my copies to friends to read them as I always felt they were superior to Harry Potter. I got really excited when they finally announced a film was being made and that Eoin Colfer was also writing it... So figured it would be great. Then heard all about the changes that had been made upon its impending release. It should have been so awesome and rivalled the potter boy had it been done properly as it's an 8 book series. But major plot lines and complete character changes just made it a completely pointless film adaptation.
James Kovar 2 years ago (edited)
Read the first book for a college class and the teacher mentioned a movie in the works. Cut to almost 20 years later and I finally see a trailer... Maybe once my daughter has read the books, her and I can watch the movie and complain together.
An Unpopular Opinion. 2 years ago
Couldn't make it past the hour mark before I wondered 'Why am I torturing myself like this?' Because the books are SO GOOD and they just kinda took out THE MAIN FACTOR OF THEM
#22
Wheel Of Time
"I hate how dumbed down Moiraine was on the show. She was just running around reacting to things instead of the spymaster and strategist she was in the books. Book Moiraine knew things and her greatest strength was also her greatest flaw. She felt she had to control everything around herself. She's one of my favourite characters in the book and they turned her into a generic, armwavy magic lady.
Not to mention all of the set pieces that were changed or omitted that is going to change the end of the story. I get it's a different medium, but they didn't even try."
Adhikaar Nunkumar 2 years ago
I agree with you, books are great, the series is utter rubbish
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Max Fox 2 years ago
I will disagree. While I do not like the ending of the first season (the scene at the Eye of the World" should have been more dramatic IMO), and I think that the women going to the Eye was a mistake, because their time as students in the Tower build up a lot of what happens later, I do like a lot of what they have done. I disagree and do not think that they dumbed down Moiraine at all.
K W 2 years ago
I enjoyed it a lot as well. And completely agree with how almost nothing of their training was covered. There are very few shows where I watch a new episode immediately on release day and this is one.
Load More Replies... Max Fox 2 years ago
It's not a movie - it's a very recent series on Amazon Prime.
Load More Replies... #23
Queen Of The Damned
"That was my first experience with a bad adaptation to a beloved book. I was so mad they left so much out - like I know it’s one movie and the book is stacked af, but don’t remove the entire history of how the vampires came to be to force in a romance that was never even hinted at in the book, sincee they interacted for mere seconds and without really talking. The soundtrack, and Aliyah, deserved better."
Katrina Leitkowski 2 years ago
This was a terrible movie. It only did well-ish because Aaliyah died before it was released
Confused Duck 2 years ago
Missed one - Chaos walking - the film with Tom Holland and daisy ridley - The trilogy of books by Patrick Ness was so inventive and the film followed the basic ideas, and then changed the story to squeeze 3 large books into a 90 minute film. Terrible.
Christina Tschopp 2 years ago
I disliked how they tried to push two books into one movie. Taking part of The Vampire Lestat and trying to put it together with Queen of the Damned just didn’t work. Not for me anyway.
#24
All Quiet On The Western Front
"The newest “All Quiet on the Western Front” completely missed the point even if it’s visually pretty cool."
aceupyoursleeve 2 years ago
Please everyone watch the 1930 version. It was an absolutely groundbreaking exploration of war that rejected the pro-military propaganda being pushed at the time (and today as well). It also had a lot of WWI veterans who helped inform the writing and played extras.
Onion Patch Petunia 2 years ago
And it has the most painful final 10 seconds ever filmed!
Load More Replies... #25
True Blood
"True Blood always comes to mind. I loved how it started. The first few seasons were mostly faithful, and even with the changes it was still good. But it started to go downhill in Season 4 with how they treated the witches storyline, and then from Season 5 and onwards it was completely unrecognizable from the books. I still mourn what it could have been because during the first few seasons, I considered it one of my top favorite shows."
MaggieMay85 2 years ago
I had to stop watching the show. Like what the hell is with Vampire Bill? He wasn’t suppose to be a main character, he’s a weenie.
Katrina Leitkowski 2 years ago (edited)
None of it came from the source material except some character names and a few concepts like it has vampires. I couldn't even finish the first episode. Everything about this show was just wrong. The series doesn't even end the same as the books. Worst adaptation ever
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I hated the books, and thought the show was only marginally better.
JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
Wasn't there a scene with the vamp under the floorboards of her closet? That was in the book.
#26
Ready Player One
"I’m so glad someone else was as disappointed I’m Ready Player One as I was! My husband didn’t get it so I made him listen to the audiobook. Just like why make so many changes, the book was so rich!"
HelluvaHedgehogAlien 2 years ago
I never read the books, so the movie seemed ok. (Cue the downvote fairies because of my audacity to suggest something)
aceupyoursleeve 2 years ago
Take my advice and skip the book. It makes no attempt to explore any concepts or make a point. It isn't even just a shallow, mildly entertaining read. It's a self insert with incel subtext and constant over-explained pop culture references.
Load More Replies... Lil Potato 2 years ago
i loved the book, but the movie was awful! hated artemis in the movie most of all
Darkest Argentum 2 years ago
To be fair SOME of the changes were do to getting the rights for some charicters Ultramans western rights had been tied up in US courts for YEARS and only resolved the WEEK of the films release
KitKatss 2 years ago
The book was awesome, and I've got the second part ready to read, but even though the movie did go quite off script which annoyed me, I still love the movie anyway :]
aceupyoursleeve 2 years ago
Ready Player One is not a good book imo. The movie wasn't great either, by any means, but it at least made Wade less of an incel, even if he was still bland.
#27
Tales From Earthsea
"I was coming here to see if anyone else had mentioned Earthsea. I have no words for how terrible the Syfy channel version was and then the Ghibli version...ugh. I wish it could get a proper adaptation."
Rhu Johnson 2 years ago
At least the author liked the Ghibli version. She did say it was a good story, just not her story. She only had negative things to say about what SyFy did with Earthsea.
Pheebs 2 years ago
Studio Ghibli has a history of doing their own spin on books - looking at you, Howl’s Moving Castle. I like that they work with the authors, even if the end result is different. HMC isn’t true to the book, but I honest Like both versions. Haven’t seen/read Earthsea, so can’t comment on that.
foofoofloofy 2 years ago
I've never seen it, but I'm surprised that Studio Ghibli could make something that's not great.
Marta Szczygieł 2 years ago
IMHO it's not a bad Ghibli movie. It just isn't Earthsea.
Load More Replies... #28
Under The Dome
"Under the Dome by Stephen King. It's not my favorite book by him by any means (wtf that ending), but I still enjoyed it and was interested in the tv series when it came out. Nonsensical changes, mediocre acting, the works. I didn't watch Season 2 and can't say I was at all surprised it was canceled."
JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
Totally agree the TV show was excrement. What kind of idiot choice was it to nickname the male lead, a former soldier, Barbie?
Lost Penny 2 years ago
He was Barbie in the book as well. Dale Barbara, hence Barbie.
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Christina Tschopp 2 years ago
The thing that makes me sad about this is the fact that Stephen King had his hand in the show. The very first scene of the very first episode aggravated me. I barely made it through the episode and decided not to watch anymore after that.
#29
Assassins Creed
"This one was painful. Also how did they manage to make it so brown, dull, and ugly?!"
Darkest Argentum 2 years ago
the first Assassin's Creed was inspired by the 1938 novel Alamut by Vladimir Bartol.
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Mirabelle Skyrim 2 years ago (edited)
I've always enjoyed the game trailers more, especially Assassin's Creed Origins where Leonard Cohen sings 'You want it darker' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGq7ZCth7QY
#30
Pet Sematary
"I loved the book Pet Sematary by Stephen King, and the 1989 movie (I haven’t seen the newer one) was complete garbage."
Christina Tschopp 2 years ago
I couldn’t make it through the new version of the movie. Didn’t like it.
#31
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
"It was one of my favorite series when I was younger. I get why they tried to combine three books into one movie. But it would have been better as a darker sort of Mini series."
#32
Misery
"Misery was overall a good movie and a great performance by Kathy Bates, but so much of the book was the protagonist’s internal monologue and the novel he was writing while being held hostage, and the movie couldn’t capture that."
LH25 2 years ago
I find that true with most adaptations of King's books. They just can't capture all that internal monologue that I love about his books.
Duncan 2 years ago
I think that's why they used to say The Lord of the Rings was unfilmable, since they're all written in 3rd person omniscient you get a lot of everyone's internal monologue.
Load More Replies... Christina Tschopp 2 years ago
It is really difficult to get a good adaptation of any Stephen King book. I will say that there are a few I do enjoy, mainly beca of nostalgia. The first mini series of The Stand because it was the first thing I had seen adapted from Stephen King, the first version of IT because Tim Curry made for a really creepy Pennywise (looked like Bozo gone evil), and Doctor Sleep.
darqemm 2 years ago
The movies of Needful Things and Cujo were better than the books but by and large the magic that is SK depends a lot on inner monologues.
Load More Replies... Onion Patch Petunia 2 years ago
For a really great in-depth look at turning the book into a film, I recommend a chapter in William Goldman's book Which Lie Did I Tell?
#33
Watership Down
"Came here to say this too. I don’t understand why they have to rush through everything when there’s so much worth exploring. it had potential but just didn’t take its time building the world or the characters. I didn’t like the original adaptation either."
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
Yeah but the original cartoon adaptation is iconic. Scared the s**t out of my whole generation.
PlatinumTheCat 2 years ago
I love the book, I read it in fifth grade and It will forever be one of if not my favorite book
Load More Replies... Onion Patch Petunia 2 years ago
I still hope someday they'll get it right. Make the story a motion capture with real rabbits and Fiver's stories as cartoons
#34
The Lovely Bones
"I did not enjoy the film adaptation of The Lovely Bones. The book was so dark and sad, and it seemed like they wanted the movie to be aimed for a younger audience, perhaps? This is a difficult task for a story that starts out the way it does."
Remen Zack 2 years ago
I've watched the book but the movie trailer wasn't giving much at all. The storyline was twisted and nothing should really be twisted or changed in such a delicate and true story such as this.
#35
The Time Traveler’s Wife
"The Time Traveler’s Wife. They took a dark, bittersweet story with two very complex characters and made it a boring, sappy romance. Family is a huge theme in the book, and that isn’t there at all in the movie. Loss and grief are huge in the book, not in the movie. And lots of references to punk culture and the Chicago of the '80s and '90s…not there in the movie."
purplepandaprincess 2 years ago
This is the film/book that made me realise you must choose to either watch or read but not both. So unless I've forgotten enough to make it not matter or just wasn't invested in which ever was first don't give your chance to compare them as it's almost always guaranteed to disappoint!
PandaBearKat 2 years ago
After having cried for 3 straight hours at the book ending, I welcomed the lesser tragic ending of the film.
#36
The Man In The High Castle
"In The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick presented the most chilling alternate history of World War II where the Axis powers win. There's a deep but very understandable horror in how the novel does not hinge on any plucky freedom fighters, because overturning the new Nazi world order just isn't conceivable. Rather, the book is about desperate humanity under triumphant fascism and how that shapes what is and is not possible. The Amazon Prime series based on the book is about plucky freedom fighters overturning the new Nazi world order. It is absolute garbage for morons."
#37
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
"The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. They turned it into a movie called The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. Just blatant commercialization: Give it a catch phrase, make a franchise, and churn out lots of mindless crap. I was sad that Eccleston was in it."
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
The books are so good, especially The Grey King, and the film is just endless bollocks.
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
BBC radio just released their radio adaptation of the books, and it is fantastic! Well worth looking for.
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#38
Ella Enchanted
"That movie was tragic! I was literally scrolling to find this. My friends and I were SO obsessed with Gail Carson Levine and that movie was such a miserable, silly letdown."
Ashley Storz 2 years ago
I scrolled to find this one too! It didn't even have the same characters!!!
Evelyn Hinckley 2 years ago
THANK YOU! My biggest problem with it was that Prince Char was amazing and swoonworthy in the book, and in the movie he was spoiled, entitled, and just wrong.
An Unpopular Opinion. 2 years ago
I don't remember much, but i remember being like... no.., after watching this one
An Unpopular Opinion. 2 years ago
I don't remember much about the book either but I remember loving it!!
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#39
Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'hoole
"Legends of Ga'Hoole (based on Guardians of Ga'Hoole) they made a lot of pointless and unnecessary changes to the world, lore, and characters, which was even more baffling when they already bit off more than they could chew by deciding to cram the first 3 books into one film. Turning Otulissa into a soft spoken, shy, "girl next door" was especially heinous. The marketing too was absolute "genius". They made it look like a light-hearted kids film, completely going against the tone of the series, while the actual film was quite dark; true to the series tone, but scaring the crap out of the kids they tricked into coming to see it. It just showed they had zero faith in the source material and its own audience, in which case... why make a movie at all?"
Shoto Todoroki 2 years ago
Makes me wonder what the trailer for Warriors will look like when it comes out
#40
Timeline
"Timeline. They took my favorite Michael Crichton book and absolutely butchered it so badly that Michael Crichton refused to license any more movies based on his novels."
Katie Fink 2 years ago
This was the first book I read by that author and I remember being so amazed at the details. Too bad really
James Kovar 2 years ago
My dad read this and recommended it to me in high school. Got excited when I saw they were adapting it and then I saw it... Needless to say, I didn't recommend it to my dad.
#41
Persuasion
"Netflix's take on Jane Austen's Persuasion. I endured 10 minutes of it. Then again, it's Netflix's. I did it to myself."
Dad Dunphy 2 years ago
I am in the minority because I didn't hate this Dakota Johnson Persuasian. I adored the Amanda Root/Cieran Hinds version but appreciated the winking speaking to camera Anne Elliot over the long silent looks.
Elliott Rogers 2 years ago
I enjoyed it, it wasn't perfect, but the characters and visuals played well for me. The story was condensed well, and the breaking the fourth wall actually gave some dynamism to the character.
Joan Mejean 2 years ago
I enjoyed this adaptation as well. Jane Austin's writing involves quite a bit of humor, so why not give the 287th portrayal (exaggeration)of a Jane Austin story a bit of enjoyable quirk? At least it stands out from all the rest.
#42
The Beach
"The Beach. The book is AMAZING but the movie is just horrible. Probably because it entirely omitted one of my favorite characters from the book."
#43
The Dresden Files
"The Dresden Files TV series. Continuity errors in the story because episodes were broadcast out of order. Trying to crush an entire novel, Storm Front, into a less than one hour (when counting commercials) episode and failing. I will never not be disappointed that Dresden's car in the books, a Volkswagen Beetle named the Blue Beetle in the books (a non-sentient character in its own right), changed to a Jeep for the TV series. I think Paul Blackthorne as Dresden hit it on the nose with his looks and performance. The actors portraying the characters of Lt. Murphy and Warden Morgan did a great job capturing the essence of the books characters. But looked different from the physical descriptions of the characters in the book series. I'm okay with this. For me, the end result was The Dresden Files TV series coming across as being okayed by the powers that be, but without a clear and coherent path for the series."
Steven Bennett 2 years ago
I am a huge Jim Butcher fan, so I was excited for the show even though I did not have high hopes, knowing it was a Sci-Fi channel production (think they still spelled it that way when this was made). Paul Blackthorne wax such an excellent choice I still think of him as Harry Dresden all these years later, regardless of whatever else I've seen him in. Sadly, with better writing, I think this show could have been successful as a hybrid monster of the week/crime drama, but with the deeper reveal of the NeverNever and the magical world running in the background as an overarching story arc, since that's has been the tone of the book series, but TV producers rarely seem to have that deep an understanding of the source material.
RJ Spiteri 2 years ago
The show got me into the books, and while I loved it at the time, I'm not sure I could ever go back after reading the books.
Load More Replies... Darkest Argentum 2 years ago
The series was terrible but its how i found out about the books and i dont mind how they changed bob cause how hes described in the books would have looked cheap on film
Patrick Linnen 2 years ago
One glaring difference that the TV series had was to mash all of the vampire courts, White, Red, and Black, in to one and to make Bianca (head of the Black court vampires (life-energy feeding corpses, if I remember correctly)) Dresden's old love interest. I just treated them as two separate universes, Dresden Files - Book and Dresden Files - TV.
#44
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries
"Honestly, it’s prob easier to name one that didn’t disappoint but if I have to pick the one I hated the most, it’s the Aurora Teagarden mysteries. The books are so good and then Hallmark sucked all the quirk out of the characters and plots. The acting is so terrible and bland."
#45
The Book Thief
"The Book Thief. That book made me sob my heart out, and to have such a poor film adaptation was disappointing."
Leonora Aetos 2 years ago
Waaait.... I've cried over and over reading the book. I didn't know there was a movie. Now I'm scared. I have terrible expectations already.
Calane E. Vanya 2 years ago
I think that book is quite unique (I mean e.g. writing style) and creating a good adaptation would be really hard. So I just wouldn't have high expectations for a movie. But maybe I'm too harsh, because I know only one movie adaptation which I liked more that a book (Cloud Atlas - I hated this book and really like the movie).
#46
Foundation: Death And The Maiden
"Foundation. Loved the books, and had high hopes for the series, especially after the first ep. Then, straight into the toilet. Why film an "adaptation" that has almost nothing to do with the source material? So disappointing."
#47
Annihilation
"Annihilation was a let down for me. They omitted quite a few things that I was looking forward to seeing adapted in the movie. They even omitted the reason why it is called annihilation!"
JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
That movie was so boring. And the sound was so low throughout that I had to risk keeping max volume just so I could hear most of the dialog.
#48
A Discovery Of Witches
"A Discovery of Witches. I didn't even make it past the first episode. I had just started re-reading the books when someone mentioned that there was live series that had just released. Didn't even make it past the first episode."
cadena kuhn 2 years ago
Honestly if I didn't love the show I never would have finished the book they r great but slow to start
#49
Inkheart
"Inkheart. I loved the story of a man with such a beautiful, melodic voice that the stories he told came to life. No hate but that is not Brendan Fraser. Not to mention they changed the plot so much that they couldn't have done the sequels if they wanted."
KitKatss 2 years ago
I loved the books a lot, and this might be an unpopular opinion, but even though the film was offscript, I found the movie enjoyable to watch, but I'm really sad that it couldn't be separated into three parts, because they put so much in the first part
GoldieDoggy 2 years ago
Yes! Definitely one of the only "bad" adaptations i actually enjoyed. I do wish they had created the movie a bit better however, because inkspell and inkdeath would be amazing to see on-screen
Load More Replies... #50
Altered Carbon
"Altered Carbon. They got the look and atmosphere of the book, but diverged on every other count. The book was built around themes of anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism, the show homogenized everything and stripped out everything contrary to the establishment. Not only that but because they savaged and mashed together 3 books of plots and characters into one season, they kinda shot themselves in the foot for doing any more seasons, as evidenced by the limp second season."
Paulo Freitas 2 years ago
There is no second season, there is only One season that i liked a lot ( never read the books só... ), And there where no more seasons, i refuse to agnolage ( i butchered the spelling i know ) that aberration that " The Falcón " did during his free time.
#51
The Goldfinch
"It made me question if I even read the book or just skimmed it. So, I reread the book and still loved it. The movie was just boring."
#52
The Tragedy Of Macbeth
"I recently watched Joel Coen’s adaptation of Macbeth and it made me very unhappy. The cinematography was beautiful and I found Kathryn Hunter’s interpretation of the Weird Sisters as a sort of gestalt consciousness inhabiting a single body to be interesting but Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were just awful."
#53
Sphere
"The book was SO GOOD! I read it as a teenager and when they finally made a movie about it I was so stoked! And wow, what a dog of a film... I refuse to watch it ever again."
Paulo Freitas 2 years ago
Oh man lmao, i still have " PTSD " from this movie, só i worked at a theater at the time, which means i could watch the movies for free, só we had Titanic on One Room, and " Sphere " on the other, since Titanic was full Room, and Sphere had almost no One, i went to watch it, i woke up with my coworker calling me, and laughing at me, só 2 days later i tried to watch it again..... Same frikking result, after that i Gave up.
#54
Johnny Mnemonic
"Johnny Mnemonic was so deeply disappointing. What made it worse was that apparently William Gibson was involved in the production."
#55
No Exit
"I couldn't agree more on No Exit. It's the book that got me into reading. I was so happy when I saw that they did the movie. But it was absolute trash."
#56
Station Eleven
"There was a lot I liked about the changes to Station Eleven (Jeevan and Kirsten staying together longer was really lovely), but I really hate the changes they made to Tyler’s plot. I didn’t want redemption for him and shoehorning it in didn’t work at all."
#57
Jurassic Park
"When Jurassic Park came out, I read the book first and the movie didn’t come close. Never did watch the movie all the way through."
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
The book and the film are both great, though. Like The Shining, it's a good film but a poor adaptation.
Darkest Argentum 2 years ago
The book and film both feel like what they are West world with dinosaurs
Cyndielouwhoo 2 years ago
The accompanying photo is from a recent sequel, but the post names the original one.
Simon Fisher 2 years ago
I want to know what people think about "The Magicians" adaptation. I quite liked the books, but the TV series was a mess
Paulo Freitas 2 years ago
There are not that many differences from the book to the movie, there was a " scene " in the book that was not in the movie, but they " shoved " that exact same scene in Jurássic Park 3
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago (edited)
There are some pretty big differences. Like...neither Hammond nor Malcolm survive the book. Book Muldoon, the professional hunter who understands exactly how velociraptors hunt, isn't caught out using the exact tactic he himself explained earlier on. And in the biggest difference, Book Malcolm actually understands chaos theory instead of just going "science is scary and wrong!" throughout. Like I say - good film, poor adaptation.
Load More Replies... #58
Sum Of All Fears
"Sum of all fears. It is not very complex, not very good but trashy entertainment., and the high power adaptation made it generic and boring."
#59
Legend Of The Seeker
"Sword of Truth Series, the books were alright up until about book 6, but the TV show, I have NO idea where they were going with it and it was a laughable mess right from the get go."
#60
Catch-22
"Catch 22. It's my favorite book. The OG movie is okay I guess. Was so stoked for the mini series. George Clooney nailed it in his first episode -he's obviously read and understood the damn thing- but it was like the directors sat him down and said "No George, you can't be over the top. This ain't a comedy" because the rest of his scenes were a bore. They sucked all the dark humor smooth out of it. Again."
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
The film's actually pretty good. Alan Arkin is a talented deadpan comic actor.
Onion Patch Petunia 2 years ago
Satire is really difficult to film. I keep hoping they'll make films of the Orton plays
#61
Longmire
"The Longmire Series by Craig Johnson. The TV series has so little in common with the books, they should have called it something else. The TV series has no humor, no interesting characters, no sexual innuendo, few positive depictions of the Indians, no change of seasons, and frankly, very little to recommend it. And now that I recall specifics, the worst thing was when Lucian (a tough as-steel Doolittle raider somewhere between 90 and 100 years old with one leg) runs and jumps off a cliff committing suicide. Preposterous!!!"
Liz Orreo trex ago go 2 years ago (edited)
Separately I started reading the books because I watched the show, during the off season. The books are so different, but they are good in a different way than the show. The show is more about the characters, and how they interact, and Longmire is a quirky, but staid and good person. The characters make the show, they break your heart and who they really are is the heart of the show. The books are gritty, and Longmire is the only real character, and he is relentless, and does nail biting crazy things and risk death constantly to get the bad guy. The show has very good characters, the book has characters as a foil for Longmire to get the bad guys. If they had Longmire do the things he did in the book in the show, the show would be banned for gratuitous violence, and he would be a robot like a Terminator
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What do you think ?
Lost Penny 2 years ago
I'm surprised Doctor Sleep hasn't made it on this list. I couldn't even finish that movie, it just made me angry.
Erik Ivan 2 years ago
The worst adaptation in history must be BBC's The Watch. It was supposed to be an adaptation of Terry Pratchetts stories about the Night Watch. But the writers, the producers and the director had probably only read a Wikipedia summary, decided it was not necessary to read any of the books and made a serie from a manus writen on a very wet saturday night, after smoking way to much weed. It was absolutley horrendous, even if you ignore the claimed Terry Pratchett connection. Oh, it went so bad on the early stages that the late Sir Terry Pratchetts daughter left and refused to have anything to do with it.
UnicornFloof 2 years ago
So, we're just not going to talk about Twilight?! Book Bella is quirky and sharp. Movie Bella is a steamed spaghetti.
Shoto Todoroki 2 years ago
And book Edward was cool, and I'm still mad that they didn't show any of the expensive cars Edward bought Bella. I also wanted to see the blood drive scene
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Tacet 2 years ago
How the BBC America The Watch is not on this list I don't know. In all the speil about it it isn't even "based on" it's "inspired by". It's ment to be about Terry Pratchett night watch. The only thing that had any semblance of connection to the books was the names, and if you are going to change so much why even keep them and any connection to source material at all? The casting changes for some imaginary woke agenda was so stupid.
The Ghost of Glasgow 2 years ago
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The Matthew Modine one. I get that it's a very hard book to make into a film since it's all journal entries, but they totally butchered what they could piece together with awful acting, music, cinematography, all of it. Very obviously made for day time tv which is sad because it's such an excellent read.
Nicole 2 years ago
It would be fun to see a list about books done off of series/movies that got things wrong. For instance Murder She Wrote had someone who wrote (and I think he still does) books after the series was done and he messed up my favorite returning character, was constantly getting things completely wrong about the characters that lived in the town she was from and didn't quite capture attitudes/personalities about the characters that I would get angry and have to put the book down for a bit. I have trouble leaving a book unfinished so I would go back to it but why I read more then one, I don't know.
Lost Penny 2 years ago
I'm surprised Doctor Sleep hasn't made it on this list. I couldn't even finish that movie, it just made me angry.
Erik Ivan 2 years ago
The worst adaptation in history must be BBC's The Watch. It was supposed to be an adaptation of Terry Pratchetts stories about the Night Watch. But the writers, the producers and the director had probably only read a Wikipedia summary, decided it was not necessary to read any of the books and made a serie from a manus writen on a very wet saturday night, after smoking way to much weed. It was absolutley horrendous, even if you ignore the claimed Terry Pratchett connection. Oh, it went so bad on the early stages that the late Sir Terry Pratchetts daughter left and refused to have anything to do with it.
UnicornFloof 2 years ago
So, we're just not going to talk about Twilight?! Book Bella is quirky and sharp. Movie Bella is a steamed spaghetti.
Shoto Todoroki 2 years ago
And book Edward was cool, and I'm still mad that they didn't show any of the expensive cars Edward bought Bella. I also wanted to see the blood drive scene
Load More Replies... Tacet 2 years ago
How the BBC America The Watch is not on this list I don't know. In all the speil about it it isn't even "based on" it's "inspired by". It's ment to be about Terry Pratchett night watch. The only thing that had any semblance of connection to the books was the names, and if you are going to change so much why even keep them and any connection to source material at all? The casting changes for some imaginary woke agenda was so stupid.
The Ghost of Glasgow 2 years ago
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The Matthew Modine one. I get that it's a very hard book to make into a film since it's all journal entries, but they totally butchered what they could piece together with awful acting, music, cinematography, all of it. Very obviously made for day time tv which is sad because it's such an excellent read.
Nicole 2 years ago
It would be fun to see a list about books done off of series/movies that got things wrong. For instance Murder She Wrote had someone who wrote (and I think he still does) books after the series was done and he messed up my favorite returning character, was constantly getting things completely wrong about the characters that lived in the town she was from and didn't quite capture attitudes/personalities about the characters that I would get angry and have to put the book down for a bit. I have trouble leaving a book unfinished so I would go back to it but why I read more then one, I don't know.
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