Usually, book fans are ecstatic to hear when their favorite novel is about to hit the big screen. Their beloved storyline is given visuals and sounds that stay with the audience forever after watching it come to life. But also, the embodiment of the characters by well-known or up-and-coming actors is a huge thing to look forward to. How could fans not still fall in love with Jennifer Lawrence, as she defied casting expectations and portrayed one of the most fascinating dystopian-set characters in The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen?
Sometimes though, die-hard fans of a particular novel get easily disappointed when their favorite story is adapted into a live-action film, only to fail the original book and provide a flat disservice to the author's vision. It's taken as an insult to see such amazing characters be portrayed as mere masks on otherwise uncaring faces, CGI effects being taken to extremes only to look like strange moving 3-D pictures, and above all, the plot being redirected in another direction. These are all facets of what has happened to several novel-film adaptations.
A Walk To Remember
Generally speaking, this film is so adorable. Mandy Moore and Shane West gave such convincing and moving performances to both their characters. The chemistry the co-stars shared emanated through their little moments of laughter and pain, but especially in seeing the initially crude Landon finally say "I love you" to Jamie.
Sadly, when comparing the film to the original storyline, the movie does not do it justice. The movie's modernization ultimately ruins its romantic essence. Although fans enjoy the sweet moments between the cute couple, they also see it as very cheesy, even cringe-worthy due to its traditional 1950s nature. Had the film contained more modern dialogue and aspects, or perhaps just stuck with the twentieth-century setting, it would have given a strong nod to Nicholas Sparks' novel.
If I Stay
It's not the fault of the brilliant and dedicated, Chloe Grace Moretz, why this film is considered a "thumbs down." While the film mostly stuck with the original Gayle Forman novel, the movie doesn't give the story the visual magic that fans were looking for.
The movie, unfortunately, looks and sounds like viewers are being told the story, instead of immersing them in it. Mia faces severe loss if she chooses to awaken since she just lost her family in the car crash. If the movie had focused on more details surrounding Mia's out-of-body experience, rather than just her memories with Adam, then perhaps the film could have been stronger and not such a frustratingly dull experience. Overall though, the movie made the effort to stay true to the novel's storyline.
The Time Machine
H.G Wells' 1895 story, "The Time Machine," was certainly ahead of its time, and that's why a movie adaptation should have given its original plot the justice it deserved.
The 2002 film adaptation should have focused more on the details of various time periods that the character, Alexander, travels through. Instead, the movie tweaked the screenplay of the first film adaptation from 1960 and honed in on the romance between the protagonist and Mara. It's understandable that romantic drama captivates audiences, but the film could have been way more fascinating if it had focused on more of the scientific details the novel contains. Ultimately, the movie's special effects wowed audiences, but the sight of the evil "Morlock" species was and still is not favored.
The Great Gatsby
Many Leonardo Dicaprio fans will not be happy with this, but there is a reason why this movie is well-hated by some people. Dicaprio's and Tobey Maguire's strong acting chops aren't highlighted in the film because of its tacky fixation on the "Roarin' 20s" imagery.
The F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is packed with many thematic elements, to where it's easy to imagine the novel's world with a lot of bright colors and heavy emotions. But the movie creates an annoyingly sappy atmosphere. Had the movie focused more on Nick Carroway's emotions, it would have been more of an immersive experience.
The Divergent Movies
Maybe it's because of when the books and films hit popularity, but overall, the films are not high quality, which led to their ultimate downfall. The last installation of Allegiant didn't even make it to theaters because the films were so poorly received.
Shailene Woodley's powerful emotions give viewers a more relatable Tris, but the lack of build-up between Tris and Four ruined the first film. As for the other films, other characters aside from Tris look and sound as though they're not really human, they're just caricatures. Even the impressive Kate Winslet is made to seem boring and not-so-intimidating as Veronica Roth's novel had intended.
The Twilight Movies
Twilight is in the middle here due to how the films really tried to either stay with the novels or spice it up for viewing pleasure. Altogether though, viewers despised the weak performances by some of the actors, although they all have now moved on to wonderful and incredible careers today.
While the intense connection between Edward and Bella is addressed, it takes a while for the characters to seem remotely believable onscreen. Some viewers think they lose energy in trying so hard to connect with the characters.
The Giver
With an all-star cast including Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges, viewers expected a little more of a truly invigorating adaptation. The novel's story is closely followed by the film, but the actual fear factor isn't there.
Fans of Lois Lowry's novel already saw the minor yet impactful flaws of the movie, which includes changing the ages of the main characters. A 12-year-old boy is now an older teenager, with the actor looking as if he was in his late teens to early twenties. The entire idea of this dystopian society being one big lie doesn't look as scary as it reads in the novel. The color aspect of the movie is well done, but the general scare of this civilization isn't conveyed strongly.
The Scarlet Letter
Could this be any more obvious? This movie adaptation is still considered so terrible that even the protagonist of Easy A makes fun of it in one scene.
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This film turned Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel into a poor attempt at a sexy, passionate film. Its Hollywood-ized essence ruined the naturally strong acting skills of its cast, including Demi Moore. If the film didn’t try to add so much action-packed drama into it, perhaps it could have conveyed the original story’s psychological effect on Hester Prynne and her daughter. Instead, the production appears to have been so anxious to capture viewers that they added all these unnecessary action scenes.
The After Series
Josephine Langford deserved a much better role for her career. Anna Todd’s story details are partially followed by the films, but the cringe-worthy emotions by Hardin in the films are easy to laugh at.
While the storyline focuses on the protagonist experiencing a tumultuous relationship in college, the movies only create a distasteful image of the novel series. Many readers of the books found the films absolutely terrible because they skipped over significant details. The book fans felt that they watched a production that didn't even follow the books in terms of emotional captivation, and saw most of the characters as lifeless portraits.
Fifty Shades Of Grey
E.L James' books could have received a riveting screen experience, but alas, they didn't. Book fans, and all viewers of the films, felt that some of the actors' performances were expressionless, or mostly lifeless.
Original fans also felt that this film's R-rating was actually inaccurate because they felt they were watching a pathetic PG-13 rating with some nudity splashed into it. Some even claim that the BDSM element is completely misleading. Various viewers will disagree, but they mostly saw the film series' flaws, which were the emotionless, boring facial expressions.