I feel like this could be a very controversial post, but I would like to put it out there, this is my opinion, and I respect you if you disagree with me.
Over the last year, I have read a lot of books that have been adapted into movies, and I have found a few of them. I have preferred the movie for different reasons, which is very out of the norm for me, as I have always said the book is always better than the movie. I still feel like the movies either skip out essential parts or characters, the casting was off or all-round butchered the essence of the book, but it is scarce for me to say I preferred the movie. Here is a list of books that I preferred the film to the book.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
This book disappointed me so much. The Hobbit and Lord of the Ring Trilogy are one of my favourite movie trilogies of all time. I love everything about them, the plot, the world, the character and the atmosphere they create, so going into The Hobbit, I honestly thought this would be a natural 5 star, only to find that the Hobbit movies expanded from the book, not the other way around. I still gave it four stars, but If you add all the movie times together, it is around the same amount of time as if you read it, making it that you get so much more from the movies than if you read the book.
The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
I watched the movie back when it came out in 2015, not knowing it was a book first. This reason was pretty simple, and I didn’t like Rosalie Ham’s writing. I found it very dense and hard to get through. I also found that nothing changed from the movie to the book, normally, the books have extra in it, making the books worth the extra time to read, but not this one. I gave the Dressmaker 2 star, and definitely wouldn’t reread it, but I would rewatch the movie.
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
I grew up watching Black Beauty, and I did like the book, the reason is no fault of the book, it was the ending and my personal preference. I liked the movie ending more so than the book ending hence why I prefer the movie.
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
I had a lot of problems with the book version of The Scorch Trials. I love the movie, but the book was a miss for me. I’m not too sure how I feel about Dashner’s writing style, there’s nothing I can pinpoint that makes me dislike them. The characters were a major let down for me, they didn’t feel fleshed out, and they made it very hard for me to care what happened to them. I also found Thomas annoying at times. He just didn’t get anything that was happening. The plot was a miss, I felt it didn’t flow too well, and it didn’t keep me engaged. It was the atmosphere that made this book a 3 star and not a 2 star, and I liked the world Dashner created.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
On this list, this is one of the only books that I found there wasn’t a significant difference in how I felt between the movie and the book. I just found with the movie, there was more development between Coraline and Other Mother, as she had more trips to the other side before her parents went missing. I felt because of that, and the movie flowed better.
I am not saying at all that these books are bad, they were just not for me, and would watch the movie versions before I reread the books.
Are there any movie adaptions you liked more then the books?
