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?
The Descent
The movie took one small concept from the book and ran with it to great effect. The book was really weird, really gross, and somehow also really boring. The movie is brilliantly scary.
One of the scariest movies I’ve ever watched. It itched all of my fears in one movie
Same here. It’s so terrifying and so so good.
Feel up to spoiling the book for me? It’s my favorite horror movie, and a really good film no matter the genre. I am curious how the book is different.
From what I can remember it sort of veers off halfway through to talk about an old guy and his lover who are I think archaeologists or are finding artefacts at least. And then veers off again to a demon guy (?) who goes to work in the mines. I stopped reading after that.
The world finds out hell is real and sets out to map and colonize it. It has nothing in common with the film except the title. I enjoyed it.
Agree. The movie is a classic. The book was weird. And if I am not mistaken, there were multiple books. I went down a weird rabbit hole and read all of it and then felt weird about myself after.
The movie isn’t an adaptation of the book, though. They’re separate properties about caves that share a title.