Adaptational Suck
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All I want is a good adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. It hasn't been done, even after a dozen or more attempts. Every movie has to have a swash buckling, action hero super-count who gets his revenge in under an hour of screen time. They've missed the point entirely: the count is awesome by virtue of him never getting his hands dirty - he gets his revenge through meandering subplots involving diverse groups of unrelated people. But movies like to miss that out because that would take up too much screen time.
I suppose a tv series would be able to retain all the subplots and restore the count to his quiet, bad ass pedigree. But the only tv series I've seen is the anime Gankutsuou, which doesn't even make the count the main character. I suppose "Whiny Teenager Who Follows Around Fiction's Greatest Avenger" doesn't have as good a ring to it, but it still fucks me off that this ugly, obnoxious cartoon is the closest we've had to a good adaptation of one of the greatest literary classics of all time.
I suppose a tv series would be able to retain all the subplots and restore the count to his quiet, bad ass pedigree. But the only tv series I've seen is the anime Gankutsuou, which doesn't even make the count the main character. I suppose "Whiny Teenager Who Follows Around Fiction's Greatest Avenger" doesn't have as good a ring to it, but it still fucks me off that this ugly, obnoxious cartoon is the closest we've had to a good adaptation of one of the greatest literary classics of all time.
"Due to the prolonged development period of the film, in 2010 DC Entertainment shifted focus onto developing a television series adaptation. Film director James Mangold pitched a series concept to cable channel HBO, whilst consulting with Gaiman himself on an unofficial basis, but this proved to be unsuccessful. It was reported in September 2010 that Warner Bros. Television were licensing the rights to produce a TV series, and that Supernatural creator Eric Kripke was their preferred candidate to adapt the saga. In March 2011 it was announced via Neil Gaiman's web blog that while he and DC liked Eric Kripke and his approach, it didn't feel quite right. The author hopes to launch the series in the near future." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandman_%28Vertigo%29#Adaptations_into_other_mediaGrandmaFunk said:
It might be stuck in development hell, but it is still being worked on. HBO is working on American Gods as well.
There's exactly one good adaption of Alice in Wonderland (Hallmarks Alice in Wonderland. Look it up on YouTube, you wont regret it) but noone i know has ever heard of it. Everyone seems to remember the painfully mediocre Disney cartoon or the unbelievably terrible "Alice in Narnia" version by Tim Burton.
captcha: back to basics. Hell yeah, Hallmark didn't try anything fancy, it just took the books and adapted the hell out of them.
captcha: back to basics. Hell yeah, Hallmark didn't try anything fancy, it just took the books and adapted the hell out of them.
I don't think any of the actors fit the characters, with the possible exception of Zoey Deschanel. None of the personalities of the characters really stood out either, as though the actors were too embarassed or nervous to properly get into character. Lousy casting really, especially when compared to the tv show.Total LOLige said:
There is a decent but really low budget adaption of Through the looking glass, starring Kate Beckinsale and featuring Ian Holm. You can look it up, it has some nice scenes.maninahat said:
Yup.Vault101 said:
ah, I think I saw that one as a kidPsychedelicDiamond said:
I think I read somwhere the structure or whatever of the story doesnt really lend itself well to move adaptations
EDIT: and the only real complaint I have about burtons version is the mad hatter...I mean for fuck sake jhonny depp what did you do? stuff yourself along with the costume department in a tumble dryer and go with whatever came out?
The Birds of Prey TV series was nothing like the comics...though I saw the TV series first and thought it was alright, everyone else seems to hate it.
Oh, Judge Dredd, likewise.
Oh, Judge Dredd, likewise.
To some extent, Umi and Fuu in the Rayearth TV series... sure, they both get some wonderful moments, but the amount they get tossed the idiot and/or distress ball so Hikaru can look better is astoundingly annoying. (I'd compared one friend to Umi as a compliment. The TV series made her feel it was an insult.)
Top of the annoying list includes the two of them running away from monsters so hikaru can defeat them solo, Fuu declaring 'we should draw our weapons' before they both stand there for over ten seconds so a monster can grab them and they have to be rescued, a shining moment for Umi being brought down because one of her most wonderful and character defining speeches from the manga is given to Hikaru instead (cause Hikaru has to be the centre of attention), and when she gets to make the sppeech later in a replay of the scene from the manga, Hikaru has to point out she'd said that already.
Eh, include Hikaru in that too. I loved her in the manga, but I got close to hating her in the tv series.
Top of the annoying list includes the two of them running away from monsters so hikaru can defeat them solo, Fuu declaring 'we should draw our weapons' before they both stand there for over ten seconds so a monster can grab them and they have to be rescued, a shining moment for Umi being brought down because one of her most wonderful and character defining speeches from the manga is given to Hikaru instead (cause Hikaru has to be the centre of attention), and when she gets to make the sppeech later in a replay of the scene from the manga, Hikaru has to point out she'd said that already.
Eh, include Hikaru in that too. I loved her in the manga, but I got close to hating her in the tv series.
Maybe try the three part TV movie series from '98: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167565/maninahat said:
Gérard Depardieu is everything but an action hero, he's a real character actor and he really shines in that movie. And his collection of noses in it is really awesome
For me it would be the Eragon movie. Damn, that was bad...
I hate to break it to you but one thousand isn't over nine thousand.Patrick Buck said:
The Eragon film sucked ass compared to the book. They butchered the plot, turned non-human monsters into generic ugly-dude henchmen... gah. The Alex Ryder film also sucked compared to the novel. The Harry Potter films for the most part actually did ok on adapting the books, I think, so fortunately not quite all of my childhood was butchered by Hollywood.
What else?
Oh, the transformers movies were terrible, but I was never interested in transformers anyway so it I can't really say whether they ruined the characters or whether the characters already kind of sucked. But I will say this: Shia Lebeef can suck it. He's just bad. He's a greasy goddamn ratman who can't act. And Optimus Prime and Megatron are just generic good guy and generic bad guy, respectively; they don't seem to have any sensible motivation to do what they do beyond this is what the generic bad guy should be doing.
A New Hope is the worse adaptation of A Hero With a Thousand Faces I've ever seen. I mean sure, it covered all the important parts, but it did it in such a soulless manner.
In all seriousness, adaptations don't bother me all that much. Sure 90 percent of them such, but guess what, 90 percent of everything sucks.
Even with the truly awful ones, like Dragonball: Evolution or Last Airbender, I can't bring myself to be mad over them.
Besides, Dragonball was an adaptation of Journey to the West to begin with, so it really is not fair to lump all adaptations together into one group of fail.
In all seriousness, adaptations don't bother me all that much. Sure 90 percent of them such, but guess what, 90 percent of everything sucks.
Even with the truly awful ones, like Dragonball: Evolution or Last Airbender, I can't bring myself to be mad over them.
Besides, Dragonball was an adaptation of Journey to the West to begin with, so it really is not fair to lump all adaptations together into one group of fail.
Hello Ong, I'm Soak-ah!ChupathingyX said:
*eye twitch*
Since you stole my number one example.
Percy Jackson. That movie was not Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief the book. It wasn't even a good movie. It was all bad, all the time.
Errol Flynn does not count?Buretsu said:Unlike other Robin Hoods, he spoke with a British accent.Elementary - Dear Watson said:Robin Hood: Both Kevin Costner and Rusell Crowe both are NOT Robin Hood! At all! :/
In fact, the most Robin Hood-like Robin Hood is the guy in Robin Hood men in tights!
Wow no one mention what they did to Deadpool in X-men Wolverine Origin?
Ok he was alright in his original form at the start of the movie (would of been perfect if he make a 4th wall moment) but then they decided to change him into that "thing" at the end!
Another one which I think most people won't get is that Bionicle character Lewa. In the toy description he was like the youngster of the Toa and he was also the joker of the six too. In the Mask of Light he wasn't a joker nor did he sound young at all. What a huge let down as he was one of my favourites.
Ok he was alright in his original form at the start of the movie (would of been perfect if he make a 4th wall moment) but then they decided to change him into that "thing" at the end!
Another one which I think most people won't get is that Bionicle character Lewa. In the toy description he was like the youngster of the Toa and he was also the joker of the six too. In the Mask of Light he wasn't a joker nor did he sound young at all. What a huge let down as he was one of my favourites.
Really? I thought Chow Yun Fat's performance as Roshi was one of the EXTREMELY few redeeming parts of that horrible movie.Soviet Heavy said: