Honestly, certain things are better left in their original form than to be additionally remixed. I mean, books should be read and not adapted into films all the time because some directors fail to understand that getting inspired is way too different from exactly directing a book-based movie. While there have been some good movies in recent years, the list of the worst book-to-movie adaptations keeps growing.
Books have their own distinct flavour; they transport us to another world as we read them. However, when a great book is adapted into a bad film, the ethereal, transcendent feeling that we all felt while reading the book fades. That said, here’s a list of movies that shouldn’t have been produced as movies because… total disappointment.
7 Worst Book To Movie Adaptations
After
Personally, I disliked this entire book series for multiple factors, but when I used to read it as a die-hard Harry fan, it made a tiny bit of sense. It was pretty common back in those days to romanticize a bad boy and an innocent virgin girl’s toxic relationship. If it had been left as a book, it would have been understandable. But making it into a film in the twenty-first century? Hell nah.
There are so many good scenes from the book that got deleted, then what’s the point? And why did they even bring in a lanky boy when the readers were so invested in long-haired Harry Styles? Disappointment. If you want to stream it anyway, it’s airing on Netflix.
Kissing Booth
Kissing Booth is another stupid Netflix movie that got on my nerves. Guys, what’s with this high school trend that’s going on? With so many aspects to show regarding high school, here we have a completely ruined movie that brings in a woke culture. To be honest, I’m not a fan of it.
The cast was literally the only thing worth looking at, but their acting was lacking. Noah and Elle’s chemistry wasn’t natural. Even if they dated behind the screen, something felt awkward. Also, the movie messed up concepts like underage drinking. Plus, why would Elle go back again and again to Noah after he torments her? Normalizing toxic relationships have to end. Stream it here if you’re curious.
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Firstly, the book itself is messed up. The male lead is a time traveller, and he falls in love with and marries the girl whom he has known since she was a child. The worst thing is that this man would still be in his 30s. This isn’t even a love story to start with. Imagine a girl child who gets visited by a good-looking man through a portal every now and then—obviously, she’ll develop a bond with him.
Soon, when the girl grows into an adult, she believes he is the one, not because she really fell in love but because she was made to fall in love due to his constant appearance. Turning this dumb book into a movie is even worse. Just why? Why would you waste your money on a storyline that normalizes paedophilia? Anyhow, if you want to watch and rate it, it’s available on Prime Video.
Divergent: Allegiant
I am a huge fan of the Divergent series. With its unique plot, each book proved to be priceless. The factions, the world, and the characters took my breath away. Thus, when it came out as a movie, I was super excited. To my expectations, the first part of Divergent really turned out well. The cast did their work perfectly, and the locations were eye-catching.
But the success didn’t last long. While Divergent and Insurgent gave their best (Insurgent also missed some key points), Allegiant was completely disappointing. There was just too much going on in the movie. It felt stuffed and forced. Moreover, the CGI wasn’t good at all. You can watch the movie on Prime Video.
I Am Number Four
Another sci-fi film featuring a cute boy with incredible power who falls in love with a regular high school girl. Okay. That’s why the movie flopped. I am Number Four is adapted from the Lorien Legacies series, and the plot of the series is really good. It has a huge backstory, and it details the power the nine members possess.
In this movie, we only focus on the fourth member, who is a young guy. While all his co-members are hunted, Number Four hides from the bad guys and stays on earth. Fine, the story seems decent, but did the movie convey it properly? Nope. They missed a lot on his backstory, made his “appearance” the only aspect of the movie (because Edward Cullen was trending back then), and failed to give a good movie. The movie is available on Disney Plus to stream.
World War Z
Who doesn’t love zombie movies? Would you believe our Brad Pitt appeared in one? Yes, he clearly did, but the movie was bizarre. I was purely left in a loop of questions when the zombies in this movie avoid terminally ill patients, even if they go and ask the zombie to bite them (not literally). In this movie, a small girl with a terminal illness gets no damn from the zombies, as they only eat healthy people.
How do the zombies even know who is sick? Even a normally sane person won’t be able to figure out a stranger’s health chart. What sorcery is this? The action sequence is another cringe-worthy aspect. Oh, Brad, they made a fool of you because the action scenes didn’t even look real. Though it isn’t real, it was shown so badly that it looked like a rehearsal. To enjoy the odd zombie movie, visit Netflix.
The Dark Tower
Stephen King is an exemplary novelist, and his outstanding The Dark Tower novel is one of my top favourites. When such a great novel was adapted as a movie, I was hugely disappointed. The movie isn’t a direct adaptation of the novel but a continuation of it based on the novel’s plot line. This unique thought of the director got me curious, but surprisingly, they failed.
One of the biggest heartbreaks was that the movie was so short and missed out on so much of Stephen King’s magic. His ability with words takes me to another level, but the film just made his novel look like a typical action film. Additionally, the portrayal of Roland’s character was so bad that it made the brave Roland look like a mediocre person who seeks only revenge. Check out the movie on Netflix and see for yourself how poor the production is.
Your Turn
People’s opinions vary, and I completely buy that. These seven are just my personal list of movies that I think could have been done better. If you think a movie on the list is unfairly included, or if you think another movie should be included, please leave the name in the comments.
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