Ok, honestly people. I think we're past the point of being surprised or indignant when a book we love is adapted for the big screen. It's going to happen eventually.
Yes, you can be upset and angsty about. It ruins the book. It changes X detail and leaves out a huge side plot. The people who portray Edward or Ginny or the Mad Hatter are NEVER going to live up your expectations. That's because they're imagined. And our imaginations are ALWAYS better than the real thing (or the real pretend thing, in this case).
As avid readers, we all should have owned up to it long ago: real life is never as good as the book. Isn't that why we turned to reading in the first place? It could just be me. Reading is always better than the reality. But that's my life philosophy and I'm sticking to it. =P
Once you accept the following:
a) Real life is not as good as it is in the stories.
b) The stories are always better than the movie.
b.2) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the ONLY exception to the rule.
c) Movies will always change side plots, details and sometimes major pieces of the book. Expect it to happen.
Then, then you can learn to enjoy the film adaptations for that they are: sometimes decent movies -- if you can consider them on their own as a MOVIE. More often than not, they're not very good. (Ahem, Eragon). But sometimes, if you let it, Hollywood really can still surprise you.
I finally learned to accept this sometime between high school and now. As such, I was in for a surprise with the latest Warner Bros. offering of HP: I REALLY enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I went in with very few expectations, given how Order of the Phoenix turned out, and actually loved it.
Yes, they didn't show nearly enough of the memories Dumbledore shared with Harry of Voldemort. Yes, they left the rest of the Hogwarts kids out of the final Snape/Dumbledore battle scene. Yes, Ginny isn't nearly as fiery and cool as she is in the book. We didn't get to see Mr. Weasley in the hospital and thus learn more about Neville and his parents.
BUT, the dialogue was better than ever. Ron, Harry and Hermoine actually had funny moments. Luna was still great. Slughorn was great, Snape was awesome as usual. It was a suspenseful, good, well-shot action movie.
And now, for the first time in years, I'm excited for the next HP movie. I was a bit irritated over it being split into two films (Come on, Warner Bros: If New Line can manage to keep RotK to a 3+ hour film, you can keep HP 7 as one movie. But let's be honest: they have to milk the franchise for everything it's worth, because what else have they got going for them?)... but, at least now I am hoping it will be an ending the series deserves, just like Rowling delivered (which Stephenie Meyer did not. But I'll save the Twilight rant for next time).
A Softer World: 1248
8 years ago
5 comments:
I never liked Ginny in the book either. I always kinda thought she was annoying and useless.
And on some less hasty corollaries...
I remember thinking that the teenage angst in HBP the book was annoying, and I thought they portrayed it perfectly in the movie (the scene where Harry fiddles with the seat on the train to avoid interfering with Ron's little love is brilliant!).
Also, I never could get through any of the Lord of the Rings books because I found them wordy an boring (I know, right? Coming from a girl who gets her kicks reading Ayatollah Khomeini's works and criticizing Jared Diamond...), so I was totally thrilled with the movies despite my awareness of the changes.
Finally, one of my favoritist books ever is (unabashedly!) Jurassic Park, which I have read no less than 12 times since the first time in 3rd grade, and the movie also happens to be one of my favoritist movies ever, despite the fact that it is so altered, the only thing that's the same is that velociraptors are awesome.
So really what gets me about HBP the movie is that, similar to my feelings about OotP, I felt that unless you were already intimately familiar with the characters, character development was lacking. You already had to know what was going on, characteristically, to really get a feel for who these people were. It's understandable, considering the sheer amount of character development that occurs in the books, that a producer would be unable to fit it all in, but... I enjoyed HBP and thought it was good, but I just don't think it was a "great" movie, especially as a stand-alone project.
Ah...but you are assuming I am an avid reader!
I have to agree with Kat on the Harry Potter review.
Not having read that book, I think gives me the perspective to take the movie for -well- just being a movie.
In which case, the storyline was kind of choppy and the events/characters weren't as well developed as they could've been and probably were in the book. I liked it too but was a little underwhelmed in the end. Don't hate me - please :)
Oh! And on the Twilight front... there's a rumor out there that the fourth book could be split into three movies. Talk about milking a franchise.
As for Breaking Dawn, think of your hatred for it in this way - the movie(s) can only improve upon the book. Maybe?
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