9 Film Adaptations That Are Better Than The Book

Of course, there is the popular axiom that “the book is always better than the movie.” There are many reasons for this: a great book can immerse you for many nights of reading, while a film has just a couple of hours to fill your time with the same story and characters. The novel or book is the primary work of one person with a small crew of helping hands, like editors. With a film, there are many more cooks in the kitchen, so to speak, making it likelier for certain aspects – from the acting to the accuracy of the set design – to not live up to readers’ expectations. Most of all, novels that come with a first-person perspective often give screenwriters a challenge, since the writer must bring the idiosyncratic thoughts and feelings of the character to life through a visual medium.

Jordan Adler

Published: Dec 2, 2013 01:27 pm

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Casino Royale (2006)

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Daniel Craig - New James Bond movie Casino Royale

With all the recent hype surrounding Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman, I point some critics of that decision to the fan derision that met Daniel Craig when the blonde, mostly unknown British actor was cast as 007. Disdain directed at Craig and the poor response to Die Another Day ensured that not many were thrilled to watch another James Bond film in 2006 – in fact, the film couldn’t even pull off winning the box office on its opening weekend. Nevertheless, it won the hearts of many 007 fans in the end and is considered one of the top films in the Bond pantheon, if not the top.

The producers of Casino Royale wisely rebooted the series with Ian Fleming’s apprentice novel: what better way to bring a fresh new approach to the character than starting from the rough beginning? However, it also meant that screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis had to find a way to expand on the protagonist, since Fleming’s slim novel is more concerned with the espionage plot than the character. Fleming is still trying to flesh out and realize who Bond is by the end.

But Martin Campbell’s film is most spellbinding in the moments where it expands from the source material – in creating a deeper relationship between Bond and Vesper Lynd, and of course, the film’s go-for-broke action sequences. The nimble and ambitious free running chase sequence near the start is one of the most impressive set pieces in action film history.

But, in the end, it is Craig’s performance – commanding and vulnerable – that brings a greater impression of who Bond is in his first go-around than the novelist depicted.

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Author

Jordan Adler

Jordan Adler is a film buff who consumes so much popcorn, he expects that a coroner's report will one day confirm that butter runs through his veins. A recent graduate of Carleton's School of Journalism, where he also majored in film studies, Jordan's writing has been featured in Tribute Magazine, the Canadian Jewish News, Marketing Magazine, Toronto Film Scene, ANDPOP and SamaritanMag.com. He is also working on a feature-length screenplay.