9 Incredible Book-To-Film Adaptations From The Past Decade

When Hollywood isn't milking the superhero franchises or making The Hangover Part 67, it occasionally dips its feet into the literary world and picks out a story to adapt from there. Sure, many writers will tell you how their books have been optioned for movies for decades (without any progress being made), but sometimes the studios do get it right and select an outstanding project to bring to life. The reason not many books get adapted, though, is because it's difficult to capture a novel's multiple layers and very essence. Over 300 pages, for example, an adept novelist will be able to convey the past, present, and future of multiple characters, while serving up an engaging plot as well. In a film, however, many elements will have to be removed to ensure the running time doesn't venture off into the unwatchable territory. Hence book-to-TV series adaptations being more favored for studios in recent years. In the past decade or so though, we've seen a host of book-to-film adaptations that deserve massive praise for how the mediums beautifully complemented each other. However, let's just establish something first: this isn't about how high the films scored on Rotten Tomatoes, but more about how faithful they were to adapting (or updating) the source material. Of course, this is all a matter of opinion, too, so we do welcome your thoughts and comments on any of the movies listed here. If you have something you'd like to add to the conversation, please sound off in the comments section below. With that out of the way, let's begin. American Assassin (2017) From 1999 to his death in 2013, Vince Flynn wrote 13 books in the Mitch Rapp series (Kyle Mills has since continued the series after Flynn's passing). Despite it being the eleventh entry, American Assassin is actually the origin story of how Rapp became a CIA black-ops recruit. It's pretty much what you'd expect from a political thriller: action, deceit, and a whole lot of macho toughness. 2017's American Assassin, directed by Michael Cuesta and starring Dylan O'Brien and Michael Keaton, is all those things in a nutshell, too. Ignoring the mixed reception (obviously the critics were expecting Schindler's List here), it's a faithful adaptation of the source material that knows exactly what it is. Seriously, it's an action film – were you expecting an Oscar-winning screenplay and something that addressed the plights of Sri Lankan widows? At the end of the day, the book was a lot of fun, as was the movie. If you're a fan of Flynn's work, you'd be certainly satisfied with this big-screen adaptation of it. Gone Girl (2014) Reading Gillian Flynn's psychological thriller Gone Girl, it's hard not to imagine it as a David Fincher movie in the first place. It's an uneasy, complex, and mind-boggling tale. Also, the unreliable narrator makes for an excellent twist and red herring for all those who thought they knew what was going on. Honestly, raise your hand if you thought Nick Dunne actually killed his wife. Fincher captured all of this and then some with his 2014 film. The castings were superb, the color scale toyed with our emotions, and the narrative didn't deviate too far from the novel's premise. If anything, this is a case where the film might actually be better than the source material. With all the awards, nominations, and critical praise for Gone Girl, it's possibly one of the best book-to-screen adaptations of all time. It's not an easy watch or read by any means, but it's one heck of a story in either medium. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) The biggest misconception about Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is that it's a children's novel. Most people expect this fantasy book to something like a Harry Potter story. Well, it's not. At times, it's dark, strange, and downright creepy. This is why Tim Burton was the perfect person to bring it to life in 2016. Burton's odd and recognizable style matched this tale's eccentricity like Cherry Coke with any meal. Visually, it was haunting and impressive, giving us a super-powered film without the usual suspects in the lead roles. While the plot veered off at times, there was still enough substance to keep us enchanted by it all. Burton has had a few misfires in recent years, but Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children assured us that his powers aren't waning just yet. Here's hoping he helms the sequels, Hollow City and Library of Souls, in the future as well. IT (2017) It's safe to say that no one gave Andy Muschietti's IT much chance of succeeding. After all of the production nightmares and actor and director departures, it just looked like this would be another failed (and costly) Stephen King adaptation to flop. Sitting pretty as the highest-grossing horror film in history right now, IT exceeded all our expectations by miles. While the original miniseries might hold a special place in all our hearts (because of the nightmares that Tim Curry's Pennywise caused), this is a far superior adaptation. Put it this way: the film hasn't even been out for a month and the excitement for part two is already at an all-time high. While Muschietti did take some artistic liberties here - changing the infamous sewer scene as well as the kids' fears - he still delivered something that even King himself as praised for being totally awesome. Heck, when a writer can praise a film adaptation of his/her work, you must know that it's decent. Silver Linings Playbook (2012) It's incredible to think that David O. Russell's adaptation of Matthew Quick's debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook, achieved as much critical and commercial success that it did. Considering it's about a sensitive subject like bipolar disorder, it's an even more remarkable feat. It's not often that you find a film that's capable of being funny, sad and provoking all at the same time. Russell is renowned for being a hard-ass on set, but he certainly managed to get the best out of his leads, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, as they pulled together to create an Oscar-winning film. Even after multiple watches, this is one movie that doesn't get old or tedious. The success of the film was also good for Quick's pocket, as it reignited the interest in his novel and soared up the charts to become a New York Times best-selling book. Not bad for a first time novelist. The Martian (2015) This list wouldn't be complete without Ridley Scott's The Martian making an appearance. Originally self-published in 2011, Andy Weir's debut novel was snapped up quickly by 20th Century Fox. Not long afterwards, producer Simon Kinberg began developing the film, bringing on Drew Goddard to adapt the screenplay and direct the feature. Goddard departed the production before filming began and Scott came on board as the director, casting Matt Damon as the main character. And the rest, as they say, is history. The film went on to win numerous honors and was nominated for no less than seven Academy Awards (unfortunately, it won none). That aside, The Martian can count former US president, Barack Obama, as a fan, since he named it the best science-fiction film that he's ever seen. While the "best science-fiction film" might be a bit of a stretch, the novel and movie have both been deemed as the purest form of sci-fi around. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) We're going with the David Fincher adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for this list; however, if you haven't seen the Swedish-language versions of the popular Millennium series, do yourself a favor and check them out as well. The series features the late Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace in the lead roles, and they're quite good. Once again, Fincher proves he's the master of psychological thrillers while maintaining respect for the source material. Starring Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, this 2011 film brought an auteur perspective to the intriguing storyline. Yet, it's mind-blowing how more people didn't jump onto the Millennium bandwagon after this film. While the movie didn't perform quite as expected at the box office, it certainly did the book justice and there can be no complaints from the fans about this adaptation. Despite the positive praise, however, Sony has decided to do what it does best: reboot. Where The Wild Things Are (2009) Adapting a children's book is never easy. Quite often, filmmakers fail to capture how powerful a child's imagination really is when they read the book and the subsequent movie feels flat in comparison. That's why everyone was blown away with just how well Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are embodied the heart and soul of the fabled 1963 picture book created by Maurice Sendak. Combining live-action, costumes, and CGI into a formidable story, Jonze managed to bring this beloved tale to life in ways that we could never imagine. It was magic in the purest sense of the word, conjuring up all the fantasy and feelings this decades-old book instilled in us when we first read it. The novel is easily one of the most important pieces of literature created this century, and Jonze's film brought the cinematic prestige to this tale that it deserved. It wasn't just a great children's movie; it was a great movie all around. Cloud Atlas (2012) David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas is a novel that's unfilmable in theory. The structure and style of the book make it a nightmare to weave into a movie that can be consumed (and enjoyed) in one sitting. In fact, even Mitchell himself hoped the filmmakers wouldn't stick to the spirit of the book. It's no surprise then that when the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer's Cloud Atlas film was released, it received a mixed reception from critics and moviegoers. Look, it's not the first DVD/Blu-ray you'd reach for if you wanted to watch something relaxing on a Friday evening, but it's a damn mighty fine piece of art. Audaciously ambitious and gargantuan in size, Cloud Atlas the movie is an experience that'll make you seek out the book if you haven't read it yet. It's out there - way out there - but it's something that becomes even better after repeated viewings.