Features | Book to movie adaptations
First I'd like to apologise for the fact this post is a day late. I know, I've only just joined and I'm already posting late, it's not a very good start! In my defence though I've had four exams this week and it has been very busy and stressful, hence why I completely forgot about posting. Thankfully though exams are nearly over, giving me plenty of time to think about other things, such as blogging.
Anyway, I just finished watching Mockingjay Part 1 for the second time, and it got me thinking about book to movie adaptations. I think the film version's of books often don't get enough credit. People are very quick to say "it wasn't as good as the book", when really what they mean is "it wasn't exactly the same as the book". The point is, movies are meant to be different from books. Yes you will never get the same amount of back story from a film, and yes small details may be missed out, but at the same time you get a sense of atmosphere from a film that sometimes can be difficult to create through text alone. Having said that, however, there are some film adaptations that are just plain awful, and so I thought I'd share my opinion on some of the book to move adaptations that have come out in the last year or so.
1) Mockingjay Part 1
Despite being a huge fan of the first two hunger games books, I didn't particularly enjoy the last book. I found it boring. I went to see the film anyway though, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It is so much better than the book. The atmosphere created in the film is just perfect, and it manages to stick reasonably closely to the book whilst making it a lot more exciting at the same time. It's also good for people who haven't read the book - even my Dad enjoyed it. It's almost good enough to make up for the fact it's in two parts, something I find extremely annoying.
2) The Fault In Our Stars
I was scared to go and see this film because I didn't want it to ruin what is probably one of my favourite books. I needn't have worried though. The film does a great job of telling the story, and I would recommend it to anyone, whether they were a fan of the book or had never heard of it. For me, the film had more of an emotional impact on me than the book. I didn't cry at all during the book but I wept during the movie (which earned me some funny looks as I came out of the cinema with mascara halfway down my face).
3) Insurgent
I was pretty disappointed by the Divergent film, so I wasn't expecting a lot from Insurgent. However it was actually pretty good. It stays close to the book and does a decent job of telling the story, although the book was better in my opinion. Plus, any film with Ansel Elgort and Theo James in it is an automatic win in my book.
4) The Maze Runner
This film really didn't do it for me. It wasn't a bad film, but none of the mystery and intrigue of the book is created in the film. Maybe my hopes were too high - after all, I did absolutely love the book. It's probably one of my favourite YA dystopian novels (and I have read a LOT of YA dystopian novels).
5) The Hobbit
A 300 pages book does NOT need to be made into 3 3-hour movies. This whole adaptation felt like a con to get to get hardcore fans to pay more money. They put stuff in there just to spin the story out longer. I mean where did Legolas come from? He's not even in the book! I know in the intro I said you shouldn't get too caught up in details being different in the film, but this was practically a whole different story. To be fair, I have only seen the first 2 films. Maybe the last one is amazing and makes it all worth it. Somehow I highly doubt that.
Thanks for reading my very long slightly rambly post, well done if you made it to the end!
Katie x
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