Before heading to the big screen, a lot of films start off as best-sellers on the shelf –Room, The Maze Runner, and the much anticipated Me Before You (swoon!). These days, it seems as if almost everything was a book before it became a movie.
So, which one’s better? The all-too familiar query, choosing between a book and its Hollywood version is actually more complicated than it sounds. With two alternate mediums of storytelling to select from, it’s almost unfair. Though there’s no harm in trying, here are some popular book-to-movie stories that are better one way than the other.
Image via Open Book Society
Harry Potter. From the shelf to the big screen, this record-setting series about the lighting-scarred wizard has shaken a whole generation. Sure, they’re a hulking 500+ pages apiece, but there’s something about J.K. Rowling’s original Potter books that has enchanted just about everyone. For starters, you’ve got Peeves the Poltergeist making mayhem along the Hogwarts corridors. Ginny’s way cooler, not to mention a top-notch Quidditch badass. And Ron’s too charismatic to just be the third male lead. All in all, for this one, the book is where the true magic happens.
Image via There Were Books Involved
Lord of the Rings. Hobbits, and wizards, and elves –oh my! The pinnacle of all fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien’s unforgettable trilogy spurred three award-winning films by director Peter Jackson. Following Frodo Baggins and company as he seeks to destroy the ring of Sauron, the films truly do the books justice. In fact, the movies seem to retain the integrity of the novels without the lengthy and, frankly, overwrought linguistic intricacy of the books. I mean, how many paragraphs can you write to describe a tree? Just saying.
Image via The Foothill Dragon Press
Ender’s Game. Starring Asa Butterfield and Han So –I mean, Harrison Ford –this film is set in a futuristic Earth where young genius Ender Wiggins gets recruited by the International Military to fight against an invading alien race. Based on the sci-fi masterpiece by Orson Scott Card, the movie version amped up the tech vivacity of the already futuristic novel with panache for beams, bursts and things that go boom. And in the way, it lost a lot of heart. With an unnecessary romance reminiscent of all things YA, this one is just better as a novel. Sorry, Han.
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The Divergent Series. Sometimes, the movies are just like their copy counterparts –as in, they are both pretty terrible. Written by Veronica Roth, this trilogy is set in a, you guessed it, dystopian future. The story follows young Tris as she leads a revolutionary uprising against an oppressive governing force. Sound familiar? Attempting to rise above its exhausted YA genre with an unconventional setting, the Divergent series instead falls flat with an unrealistic plot and lackluster characters. And with a film star-studded with acting hopefuls Shailene Woodley, Theo James and friends, at least the special effects are kind of cool.
Image via Screen Rant
The Hunger Games. Not your typical dystopian YA story, Suzanne Collin’s trilogy about the Girl on Fire makes up what it lacks in originality with a whole lot of heart. And having Jennifer Lawrence play leading heroine Katniss Everdeen doesn’t hurt. This is one where the books and the movies seem to share the same plane. Actually, elements of the novels that frustrate the reader are often softened in the film. And what the films miss most –Katniss’s emotional introspection –the books provides for the reader. I will always volunteer for either version.
Books or movies –it doesn’t matter. The stories we love will always stay with us.