Films As Good As The Books

The Fault in our Stars

The film version of ‘The Fault in our Stars’ had all the feels of its paperback counterpart. In fact, I think that their were some ways in which the film was actually better; for me, the comedic aspect of the story came across much better on-screen. The choice of actors were absolutely perfect and are exactly what some people had imagined whilst reading, I am sure. But, most importantly, the film stayed 100% true to book and included as much information as possible.

Bridget Jones’s Diary

I actually saw the film before I jumped on board with the books for Bridget Jones, which may have given me a slight bias toward the film. Throughout the book it is evident just how much of a clumsy, ‘real’, and goofy character Bridget it and the throughly enjoyed reading about her. However, I thought Renee Zellweger done an absolutely fantastic job bringing Bridget alive and I had a slight preference towards watching the character rather than reading about her. Yes, there were some minor difference in the on-screen version, but nothing too severe that put me off.

Harry Potter

There is not much to say here really only that the Harry Potter films truly bought the books to life. Yes, there were details left out but at a running time of 2.5 hours for each film, there wasn’t much else could have been done. Although, I would happily sit through days of a Harry Potter film in order to satisfy my addiction.

The Hunger Games

Each of The Hunger Games films which have been released to date were excellent adaptations of the books. Considering how much information is provided in each book about Panem and the current situation, the films did a good job of winding it all together and making it easy to understand for the viewer. There are some parts of the story (Katniss/Peeta/Dale love story for example) that certainly came across better on paper, but overall, it stayed more or less true to the plot.

Push by Sapphire/Precious

This was a really heavy book and the film was no different at all. A story which hits you in the gut all the way through, the raw emotion was played out well in the film. However, there was one area in which the film was lacking. While reading the book, we get a deep insight in Precious’ feelings and emotions. We don’t get this in the film and it takes from the pain she is going through. ‘The File’ was another important thing which was lacking as this is something that ultimately ruled Precious’ life. Nevertheless, it was a good adaptation.

Divergent/Insurgent

Divergent was a pretty decent book to film adaptation, and I would more or less say the same things about it as I would The Hunger Games. Insurgent was a different story. I have included it on this list as it was still a pretty good film, but there were some parts which steered too far from the book, and even left some diehard fans bewildered (who knew what that bloody box was?!).

Gone Girl

I kept the best for last. Gone Girl the film was more or less an exact replication of the book and was portrayed wonderfully. I read the book after they announced there would be a film version, but before they revealed the lead actors. All through the book I had Ben Affleck in mind as Nick and thankfully the producers got the casting spot on. However, it was Rosamund Pike who stole the show and put on a much better performance of Amy than I ever could in my head. Ok, there are some characters who were taken back from the spotlight or removed altogether, but there were not enough changes to set this film up as anything besides absolutely fantastic.