It’s a common joke that Hollywood doesn’t have any original material anymore. So many movies and shows that have come out in the past twenty years are remakes or adaptations of other forms of media.
When I was doing some of the book challenges earlier this month, I kept on coming across different books on my shelves that are now movies or television shows, either released or in the works. It got me thinking, just how many good ones are out there? The answer is, in my opinion, not many.
Before I start, let me reiterate that this list is my opinion only. There are several adaptations that have been released that I think are pretty good, but others think are trash. Likewise, there are some that I think should be buried in a landfill that Atari’s E.T. game, but are loved by audiences. I’m also not going to hit on every one that’s been done, because that’s almost impossible. I’m just going to hit some highlights.
Let’s start with the obvious success story, Harry Potter. The seven book series turned into eight movies, loved by critics and fans alike. This is an example of a good adaptation. Yes, changes were made to accommodate actors (Daniel Radcliff’s blue eyes, for example) or for timing proposes (the removal of quidditch in Order of the Phoenix). On the whole, the story comes across the same as the books. The ending is (mostly) the same. The writers and actors hit all the right moments that were needed for the plot. It worked. Is it the best adaptation out there? No. Could it have been better? Well, yes. It could have been seven seasons on HBO. Which is rumored. Nothing more.
Here’s one in the opposite direction. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. The movie, not the television series. The movie basically took ten plotlines, threw them in a blender, spat them into some form of a script, and filmed it. It sucked, it was horrible. WHY. I almost walked out of the theater ten minutes in. As for Shadowhunters, I think the show gave a good faith effort to at least adapt the material. Was is perfect? Well, besides Magnus and Alec, absolutely not. Did it at least tell a good story? Most of the time. Did it follow the source material… kinda? I mean, there were plotlines from the books in there. Somewhere. Ok, it was entertainment, nothing more. I’m not calling it good. Just good faith.
Sometimes adaptations are better than the source material. I’ve mentioned several times that I prefer the film Nerve over the novel. While it’s not the best movie, I will give it credit for changing the final act, which I felt in the book was a major disappointment. Instead of introducing a bunch of characters that aren’t important in the final third, the screen writer streamlined it and make it work in the context of the film. I was actually really impressed with how well they did actually.
Another series that needs to be is The Chronicles of Narnia. Adapted several times of the years, I was introduced to it by Walden Media’s take on the series. I though the first one, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was actually really decently adapted. Quality of life changes, sure, but still ok. The sequel, Prince Caspian was less successful in adapting the source material in my opinion, but was still a fun little movie. I unfortunately never saw the third film. I’m not about to say that these adaptations were perfect by any means, but it got kids into high fantasy, as well into good fantasy literature. That has to count for something.
The same cannot be said by the ill-fated Eragon film. Ugh. That film is like my first relationship: all promise, no payoff. I was a fan of the book when it came out, but the film actually killed any love I had for the series. (This has happened since as well, with Beautiful Creatures ruining my want to continue past the first book, because all I remember is that horrible movie). I still can’t really get over the fact that the cast was actually pretty amazing (excluding Ed Speleers, who was in his first film role, though his career did rebound and he was amazing in Downton Abbey six years later).
A series that deserves mention in the same vein as Eragon is the His Dark Materials series. in 2007, when The Golden Compass adaptation was released, it had another amazing cast with a young unknown playing the main role. Once again, the adaptation failed to live up to the source material. (I though it was passable, but I know why everyone hates it.) I will give BBC One and HBO credit where credit is do, as they have redeemed His Dark Materials into a successful television series. (I don’t have HBO right now, so I actually haven’t see it yet. It’s on my list, I swear.)
Sometimes, adaptations actually end up flying under the radar for one reason or another. There is one that I know of that I only knew about the film version because I followed the lead actress, Maki Horikita. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is a book based in America that was adapted into a Japanese film in 2010. It had an really good cast, including the late Anton Yelchin. I hate that it is so hard to see in the United States, because it actually is a pretty decent adaptation, even with the shifting of the setting from the US to Japan.
If we’re talking source materials that shift from one country to another, let’s bring the overly expensive and critically disliked Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets into the mix. I actually enjoyed this film! It was a good mind suck. And yes, it is an adaptation, as it is based on a French sci-fi series called Valerian and Laureline. I’m not about to say that this film is amazing or anything, but it was fun to watch, and really pretty.
And it is here that I realized that I missed two of the big YA adaptations from the past ten years. Oops. The Hunger Games and Divergent. One that is actually really good and did a decent job adapting the source material (for the most part). The other that just… wasn’t. Guess which way I lean. (Hint: the lead actress starred in a spy thriller in 2018 with one of my favorite actors of late, Matthias Schoenaerts. And I’ll get to him in a second). Honestly, I’m not surprised that the prequel to Hunger Games is getting made. At least that team knows what they’re doing.
Ok, fine. Let’s get to the whole real reason for this topic. The Old Guard is based on the comics written by Greg Rucka, illustrated by Leandro Fernandex, published by Image Comics. The movie adapted the comics spectacularly, including my favorite scene of 2020, the van scene. The cast is stellar. The writing on point. Give me the damn sequel. I will accept no criticism for loving this film. Hell, it got me to watch another adaptation, Far From the Madding Crowd (thanks Matthias for Gabriel Oak), and I’m trying to do research Diabolik comics before the film hits on New Years Eve (thanks Luca for Diabolik). And I rewatched Aladdin, which is an adaptation in of itself (thanks Marwan for hot!Jafar).
It’s obvious that I could only skim the surface of adaptations in one post. The obvious ones I missed are Game of Thrones (only saw two or three episodes, don’t have an opinion), Lord of the Rings (saw the first movie, kinda meh about it), and Twilight (not even going there). And there are so many YA adaptations that have been released in the past few years, both as films and series, that I could be here for a year and only just get started on the list.
If I missed one that you want me to talk about, drop it in the comments. I’ll happily discuss these films and shows above as well as anything else I can get my hands onto. I know I had to skip a few heavy hitters (The Hate U Give is another), but I just wanted to hit a range.
Until next time!
