Three Movies That Were Better Than The Books

Heresy! Witchcraft! Dissolve her in acid for the glory of the Sontaran empire!

Adapting a book into a move is always going to leave the latter in an uncomfortable position, simply because a visual medium under industry restrictions and directed entirely by one individual vision cannot, even if it wanted to, reflect the collective imaginative input of every individual reader.

However, sometimes, just sometimes, a movie does something special. It makes itself not only a good reflection of the work itself, but, in its own special way, does it better.

Case and point, see below:

1 - The Lord Of The Rings

Guys . . . I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. I would rather sit down and watch all three of Sir Peter Jackson's movies back to back than I would read the books.

As with any adaptation, things needed to be trimmed. And, if you ask me, Tolkien shines best when trimmed. 

Of course, it's not not nearly as immersive, and the level of detail and love that the Professor put into the work cannot be replicated, underestimated or replaced in any way . . . but Lord of The Rings, spectacularly cast, brilliantly acted, powerful, emotional, pacy, evocative and epic, with years and years of love and passion poured into costumes, sets and style, is exactly what you want when delving into this epic trilogy for the first, or even the ninety-first, time.

. . . And trust me, the lack of Tom Bombadil is also a mercy all on its own.

2 - The Princess Bride

Now, I know what most of you are thinking:
"Wait . . . this is based on a book?"

Let's just say there's a reason you've never heard of that book. It's . . . average. It's fine for what it is - a traditional swords-and-sorcery, true-love, fairytale-type thing that'll keep you entertained for an afternoon or so.

The movie, however, has an identity all of its own. The gloriously irreverant, self-aware humour injected into every scene and line of dialogue at once parodies and highlights the whimsical, campy glory of its fundamental traditional spirit.

There's a girl and a boy and a prince and a pirate and a journey and peril and bravery and treachery and swords and hijinx - we've seen it all before. But we've never seen it like this before.

3 - How To Train Your Dragon

You know that thing movies based on books sometimes do? That thing where they take the premise, the basic backstories, the names of the characters . . . and basically nothing else? You know, that thing they did to Eragon? Well, here is the anti-Eragon, complete with dragons. Why is it always dragons?

Cressida Cowell's hilarious How To Train Your Dragon book series is a marvel all on its own, and I'd seriously recommend it to any fans of dragons - particularly those under the age of thirteen or so.

That said, the movie - and especially its sequel - are better, in my opinion It's got the same adventurous, unlikely-hero heart as the original books, but with the addition of a greater emotional maturity that lends it an appeal across all ages and walks of life. Couple that with suitably creative character designs, a stunning soundtrack, and a smattering of clever humour, and you have a radical adaptation that, incredibly, does everything right.

~*~

What about you? Do you agree with my choices? Or do you have any movies you'd like to have seen on this list? Leave me a comment, and let me know!

~ Charley R

Three Video Games That Would Make Awesome Movies

I've talked about book-to-movie adaptations a lot in the past, but as you may have noticed, I tend to be rather vague in citing "source material" rather than "book" when discussing the theme more widely. While books hold something of a monopoly (read: chokehold) on adaptive material, either in prosal or comic form, at present, they are not the only texts and sources from whence adaptation has come.

Looking backward to the period that came some years before my birth and into the very early years of my childhood, in fact, that top spot was held predominantly by video games. Unsurprisingly, these years are also infamous for being the years of commercial sellouts, cash cow milking, and unintentionally spawning horrific cult classics to rival The Room.

But, in the paraphrased words of a good many great persons (and a thousand more desperate students hours before their exams), there is always hope of good coming from a slew of disaster. So, today, I bring you my top three picks of videogames that, I think, have the potential to make brilliant movies ... or at least go down in history as so-bad-they're-kind-of-brilliant anyway.

1 - The Elder Scrolls

Bethesda's sprawling open-world fantasy epics have all the potential for a stunning new fantasty epic - or, more likely, several. FromDaggerfall to Skyrim, each game takes place in a different part of a single cohesive environment, lending the world of Tamriel a wide variety of political and fantastical struggles from whence a veritable gold mine of stories could be drawn. The massive variety in races and backgrounds in the customisable main characters also invites potential for some industry-altering diversity to be introduced into what is usually regarded as the most tradition-dominated genre of game and film alike.

Likewise, the games' increasing focus on complete open-world, player-driven action and characterisation means that, should the classic central story arcs (ranging from toppling despotic undead usurpers to defeating the eldritch nightmare of the dragon god) not prove fodder enough, the material mined from worlds' worth of sidequests and subplots could fill dozens of movies in their own right. Think Game of Thrones meets Eragon. Only with proper elves, and the ability to catapult people off mountaintops with your voice.

2 - Assassin's Creed

EA may have displayed some truly unpleasant disregard for its players' wants and intelligence in the recent debacle over its lack of playable female characters, but nonetheless the game series holds massive potential as adaptive material. Based around the central concept of protagonist Desmond Miles re-living the lives of his genetic ancestors, the film (or, as above, potential series of) has a choice over whether to market itself as a complex sci-fi tale of a culmination of an age-long war between two powerful factions each seeking to delve deeper into the increasingly metaphysical secrets of the world's workings, or else focus more on the lives and adventures of Desmond's ancestors, ranging from a rougish Welsh pirate, a steely-eyed Native American freedom fighter, a deadly Syrian Master Assassin, and (everyone's favourite) the lovable, raffish Italian avenger.

The diversity of storylines and protagonists is unified by the focal point that is the upcoming final confrontation between the two warring sides - a conclusions though, not yet reached in the games themselves, is promising already to be of a truly theatrical scale. An opportunity begging to be taken, if you ask me.

3 - Metal Gear Solid

This series, originating from Japan, while convoluted and overcomplicated in places, is famous for its focus on story and character arcs. If an enterprising director were to cut off the extraneous material introduced by various spin-offs,  DLCs, and halt the story at Metal Gear IV, they would be left with a a gritty-action packed story following the fate of Solid Snake, one of set of clones embroiled in a series of political and military entanglements that see him travel around the world in pursuit of his enemies, all the while facing a shifting menagerie of allegiances that could stab him in the back quicker than any sniper's bullet.

For a character of his genre, Snake has a surprisingly dynamic personality, as shown by the love he receives from the game's fanbase, and the increasing complications of his situation as his backstory rears up to affect his complex and tragic future could make for a fascinating display of cinematography as well as excellent storytelling. The game also clocks up an industry record for cutscene and dialoge length, meaning there is plenty of established material to be used as foundation or homage, depending on the director's preference.

Bonus points if anyone is brave enough to include a scene of Snake creeping past the guards of a jungle fortress underneath his trusty cardboard box. Go on. Do it. I dare you.

~*~

Of course, as most of you will know, I'm hardly the world's greatest expert on movies or video games. Feel free to leave your own contributions to this list in the comments below, or commentate on paths you'd like to see the three I've suggested take, were someone to take them on!

~ Charley R