I LOVE Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi action movie Children of Men. I’ve watched maybe six times and every time, the ending always almost brings me to tears. So when I learned it was adapted from P.D. James’ book of the same name, it was a no-brainer deciding what my next book would be.

After finishing the book, it wasn’t difficult to reach to the conclusion that I enjoyed the movie better.

While James’ book gives a more in-depth look at how human infertility and humanity’s slow death march towards extinction affects the sexual dynamic between men and women and almost demented ways humans try to cope with a world without children or a race of dead men walking, I feel the book dedicates WAY too much time describing the failing of human civilization and the Regrets and guilt of Theo Faron. It’s not even until after 2/3 through the book where it feels like the plot and story are properly paced and stuff of consequence actually begin to happen.

The film’s adaptation by, comparison, feels consistent in its pacing and the world building and woe-is-mes of Theo feel more compact a take up less of the audience’s time.

What books do you feel were worse than its film adaptation and why?

  • robinthehood@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Fight Club is exactly like the book. Who ever read that book and thought it would be a good movie was a genius. So many details in the book are just passing thoughts that are easy to pass over. The movie really highlights the charm of those details. The movie is better than the book.

  • jinxykatte@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I watched the Martian a bunch of times before reading it and honestly I prefer the movie.

  • throwawaylewdi@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Maybe this doesn’t count here, but I have to toss out Holes by Louis Sachar. Not because the book was bad, quite the opposite really, but the few things the movie add that differ from the book are so good that they push it to be just a hair better

  • angelfaye22@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Shutter Island was a rare case where I watched the movie before reading the book and I’m glad I did, because if I’d read the book first I wouldn’t have given the movie a chance Great movie! Absolutely horrible book

  • PeterchuMC@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I would say Good Omens, the book is fantastic but the TV series loses barely any jokes and feels like a more complete story what with the new ending. I’m not counting Series 2 in this as I’d say it’s worse than the original series that adapted the book and it’s only a bridge to Series 3 that will be the planned sequel to Good Omens.

  • kysposers@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Not a book so sorry for not answering

    The Boys comic, holy shit are the comics edgy and not in the kinda cleaver way the series is

  • Aspenwood83@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Ones that come to mind: Ready Player One (the book is complete trash, but I found the movie quite fun), The Bourne trilogy (book 1 is ok, but still worse than the film; books 2-3 are a complete mess), The Shawshank Redemption (the film has a much tighter focus), and The Green Mile (unlike the rest of these, this one was still good; it just suffered from the fact it was initially published as a serial).

  • QuestionableGoo@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Everything Is Illuminated and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.

    Both are weird and awesome movies, but books have tons of unnecessary and distracting sex, and are overall less focused.

    I rarely encounter anyone who recognizes either, especially Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, but both are worth a watch. Everything Is Illuminated is much more polished and easier to enjoy. Watch Even Cowgirls Get The Blues very high and prepare for giant thumbs. It feels more random and only covers the first half of the book.

  • FireNationNazi@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Not movie but game. I absolutely love both the games and books of Metro series but the games are much more better than the books.

  • IndependenceMean8774@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I like The Godfather book, but the movie was far superior. Some of the background information about characters was more interesting in the book, like Luca Brasi being a total monster and Al Neri’s former life as a cop. But other parts like Lucy’s mega-vagina problem, Sonny’s big schlong and Johnny Fontaine’s problems with his love life struck me as prurient and pointless.

    The movie made the smart move by jettisoning these subplots.