The translation of a best-selling novel to a film adaptation is not always an easy task. Hungry for ratings while making sure that only the essential stuff is packed in the movie, the original work is not always served with justice when it comes to making films. The following are the 15 movie adaptions that missed important stuff:
15. V For Vendetta (2005)
Call him a freedom fighter or an anarchist, V is one anti-hero that moviegoers and comic book readers adore too much. Perhaps the finest character of Vertigo Comics, his 2006 political thriller movie V For Vendetta was based upon the graphic novel of the same name.
The movie made several changes from the novel the most notable one being Inspector Finch finding out V’s plans by trying out LSD in a concentration camp while in the movie, the law-men sympathize with the criminal and even help him.
14. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
After President Abraham Lincoln leaves for Ford’s Theatre, the movie leaps forward to the present time and ends right there. However, the novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter had much more interesting to offer. After leaving for Ford’s Theatre, Lincoln is assassinated.
Unlike the movie, the novel leaps a century later when Henry Sturges and Lincoln attend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. The President did die but was resurrected as a vampire by Henry who believed that:
“some men are just too interesting to die”.
13. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The movie ends with Alex in a hospital being de-conditioned but there is more to the story in the novel written by Anthony Burgess.
The final chapter reveals that the sociopath was not cured but became tired of his violent and reckless ways as he grew older. Alex desired to be a productive member of society and start a family.
12. Fight Club (1999)
Directed by David Fincher, Fight Club ends with the narrator shooting through his cheek to kill Tyler Durden and sees the buildings collapsing while holding Marla Singer’s hand.
Nothing like that happens in the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. After he shoots himself, the narrator wakes up in a hospital and sees the staff. They reveal themselves to be the members of Project Mayhem who are expecting Tyler to return.
11. Malcolm X (1992)
Directed by Spike Lee, the 1992 biographical film Malcolm X was a great presentation of the African-American human rights activist. Starring Denzel Washington in the title role, it was arguably his greatest performance ever.
Based upon The Autobiography of Malcolm X, the movie missed the part about how the Muslim Minister took the underdog boxer Cassius Clay – who would later become Muhammad Ali and win the World Heavyweight Championship under his wing and convinced him to join the Nation of Islam.
10. The Avengers (2012)
Receiving critical acclaim and making a ton of money, The Avengers was an innovation in superhero movies as it teamed up some of the greatest Marvel Comics superheroes of all time: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow.
Believe it or not, not all of them were the first recruits of the superhero team in the comics Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow were not in it. Ant-Man and Wasp were. Due to being overshadowed by the ones shown in the movie, Marvel Studios made the right choice to snub them from the team.
9. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Unlike the rest of the entries, The Silence of the Lambs is known for its great accuracy in its translation from novel to movie so why is it even on the list? Because of a slightly altered yet iconic quote by Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
When Agent Clarice Starling visits the cannibal in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Lecter states,
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”
However, Lecter never says chianti in the novel. Instead, he says Amarone.
8. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Beginning to stale, the X-Men franchise needed a savior and luckily, director Bryan Singer arrived to save the day and came up with an awesome film adaptation of the comic book storyline X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Wolverine goes into the past to confront familiar young mutants including arch-rivals Professor X and Magneto and convinces them to work together to prevent the extinction of their species.
However, in the comic book, Wolverine never went back in time. Kitty Pryde did. So why was Hugh Jackman chosen to carry out the duties intended for Ellen Page? Probably because the muscular and dramatic Jackman can sell more tickets than the short and innocent Page.
7. The Jungle Book (1967)
Based on the novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book is one of the most loved and finest pieces of children’s literature of all time. You know how the story goes: Bagheera the panther finds an infant child in the jungle and gives him to the wolves where he is brought up as one of their own.
The story has been incorporated into countless media adaptations such as animated movies, television series, and even live-action movies. But among all those adaptations, not even a single one shows Mowgli tricking the animals of the jungle into destroying a human village and forcing its people to run away.
6. A Walk To Remember (2002)
Want to know why the movie is named that way? Author Nicholas Sparks writes in the 1999 novel of the same name that Jamie Sullivan was so sick that she could hardly walk down the aisle at her wedding but gathered every ounce of her strength to do so.
That beautifully explains the reason behind the title but in the 2002 movie adaptation starring Shane West and Mandy Moore, Jamie walks normally down the aisle without any difficulty and gets married to Landon Carter.
5. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The slithering Wormtongue is a vile character in Peter Jackson’s final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy who was ultimately killed by Legolas after he pushed Saruman off a balcony at Orthanc.
Though Wormtongue did die in The Return of the King, it was not at the hands of Legolas. The character was killed by hobbits at the Scouring of the Shire after murdering Saruman.
4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Partially based on the storyline Batman: Knightfall, Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion of The Dark Knight Trilogy was a great ending to the legend of Batman. Though it mirrors how Bane brutally beat the Caped Crusader with a final blow to his back, it misses one important thing.
After the severe injury, Bruce Wayne lies on his back for several weeks watching the city being destroyed but in the comics, while the Billionaire Playboy rested, his apprentice Jean-Paul Valley continued his legacy as the next Batman.
In contrast to the traditional bat suit, Valley had his unique armor equipped with lethal weapons and bladed wings. Realizing that Wayne’s methods were obsolete, he became extremely violent to the point of ruining Batman’s legacy.
As soon as Wayne healed, the original Batman not only stopped Bane but also reclaimed his mantle by taking down the very monster he had created.
3. The Godfather (1972)
Don Vito Corleone and Al Capone are the most notorious mob bosses in literature and real life, respectively. Author Mario Puzo gives a glimpse of a possible scenario if the two mafia leaders were rivals.
In the Godfather novel, Capone sends two henchmen to kill Don but are brutally murdered by Corleone’s right-hand man Luca Brasi but none of this is mentioned in any of the Godfather movie installments.
2. Jurassic Park (1993)
Remember how Dr. Ian Malcolm scientifically states,
“Life will find a way.”?
Well, at least in the novel by Michael Crichton, it did not. At the end of Jurassic Park, Dr. Alan Grant and his team safely escape Isla Nublar.
However, there is more than that in the novel. After they leave, the Costa Rican Air Force bombards the island with napalm, killing every single dinosaur in it.
1. Harry Potter (2001-2011)
Highly regarded as one of the greatest works in fantasy literature, Harry Potter is a collection of seven large books. So large that it had to be translated into eight movies. For obvious reasons, a lot of things were cut from books such as the absence of Charlie Weasley, Nearly Headless Nick’s death day party, Wormtail’s death by strangling, etc.
For the sake of the article, let’s narrow down to the most important thing the movie adaptations left out: the origin story of Lord Voldemort. Author J.K. Rowling revealed that in the Half-Blood Prince installment but the movie incorporated it in minor flashbacks.
Turns out that the witch mother of He Who Must Not Be Named seduced a muggle with love portion and gave birth to Tom Marvolo Riddle. Due to genocidal tendencies and almost being a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, the boy grew up to be none other than Lord Voldemort.
Did we miss any of the movie adaptions that missed important stuff on our list? Please let us know in the comments below!
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