Dani Kessel Odom (they/them) is an autistic writer and television critic who frequently covers science fiction shows like Doctor Who And To manyfantastic shows like The magicians And Percy Jacksonhorror, And superhero. Their specialty is adapting books to the screen.
They have covered events, such as the Denver Fan Expo. Their articles have also been shared by professionals in the field, such as Damien Leone and Lucy Hale. Their review of Ponies was cited in the show’s television trailer.
In college, they majored in English writing with a minor in psychology. They always had a passion for analyzing television and films, even taking filmography and screenwriting classes in college. They also studied and participated in numerous acting games on stage and screen between the ages of 7 and 18.
In addition to working at Screen Rant, Dani has worked as a freelance editor and writer for the past decade, often as a ghostwriter.
Movie adaptations are commonplace, but sometimes they completely miss the gist of the source material. These eight examples are particularly egregious.
Hollywood has always looked to other forms of media to find the best stories for television and movies. They often reinvent stories in new and creative ways, rather than adapting them one by one. However, these projects must also strike an important balance between new ideas and the central messages of the original stories.
Although it is generally ideal for film adaptations to bring something new to the storythis also risks isolating fans of the original works. That’s exactly what these eight films do. Although some films turn out to be excellent, it is impossible to deny that they have lost something critical.
8 The Shining (1980)
While I think The shiny is a good film, it’s not a good adaptation. Stanley Kubrick’s film makes a change to the story that completely undermines a key element of the story. Book by Stephen King. In the original story, Jack Torrance is meant to be a flawed but sympathetic man, and the Overlook Hotel is the force that corrupts him and turns him evil. The film completely ignores this.
In Kubrick’s film, Jack is already a violent, angry man suffering from alcohol use disorder even before he arrives at the Overlook Hotel. He had previously dislocated his son’s arm and, at the beginning of The shinyit is strongly implied that he abused Danny again. He has a terrifying presence during the interview. This makes it seem like Jack has always been evil.
7 Into the Woods (2014)
In the woods is one of the most clever combinations of fairy tales, offering a new storyline that draws on extremely dark themes, highlighting the harsh realities of life. Cinderella’s stepmother is even more verbally abusive. The Baker’s wife sleeps with Cinderella’s prince. Rapunzel dies, which marks a turning point for the witch.
Red Riding Hood and Wolf’s interaction in the play is much more frightening and pseudosexual, strongly implying that he sexually assaulted her. Originally, many productions even had a giant wolf penis hanging to really reinforce the message.
I’ll say it: Disney should never have adapted In the woods. There is no world in which they would include any of these elements. By removing the ugliest parts of In the woodsthe film misses the essential point of the setting.
6 Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
The epic showdowns between Batman and Superman in the comics are iconic, but the film version missed the essence of its main characters. There are great elements of the Snyderverse. However, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice failed both Batman and Superman.
Batman’s no-kill rule is fundamental, and Superman’s humanity and optimism are his defining traits. I’m not completely against a murderous Batman or a brooding Superman with no humanity in an alternate universe or twisted comic book story. Think of The Red Son or The Dark Knight Returns comics.
That’s not it Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice was presented as, however. It was the foundational work on which everything else would be built. It was the beginning of the entire DC Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, Zack Snyder never establishes precise versions of the characters before presenting this wildly unfaithful interpretation.
5 Minority Report (2002)
Unfortunately, one of the most confusing films, which misses the essence of the original story, is Minority report. First of all, in Dick’s story, what was initially presented as a single minority report ends up being three separate minority reports, but the movie has none, which is just strange.
Besides that, what about the Minority report does the movie have a happy ending? In the short story, Anderton commits murder to maintain the system and is exiled. Witwer takes over and everything returns to normal. The dark ending forces the reader to question whether Anderton actually had free will.
The Hollywood film twists the story by shutting down the Precrime system and leaving Anderton to live happily ever after with his wife and a new family. The ending of the film is not only a cop-out, but it’s pretty much the exact opposite of Philip K. Dick’s story.
4 Guardians (2009)
Guardians it looks amazing. It recreates the action of the comic book almost panel by panel. Anyone unfamiliar with the source material could easily leave Guardians saying it’s amazing. Unfortunately, it’s hard to ignore that Zack Snyder’s film misses the social critique in all of the subtext, rendering only the literal scenes.
The whole basis of Alan Moore’s project Guardians is that the characters we follow are extremely human and flawed, and they make questionable decisions with their powers. They should be feared and not revered. Unfortunately, the way Snyder frames the shots and puts them together makes it seem like he is glorifying violence and idolizing these “heroes.” This is a run-of-the-mill hero film rather than a deconstruction of the genre.
3 The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)
I’m a big fan of both The strangers and the remake of the trilogybut it’s hard to deny that the new version of The Strangers ceases to be linked to the original story in Chapter 2. The new story elements in the second installment undermine the original concept. Movies are supposed to be about random acts of violence.
In the original horror film, the fear comes from not knowing who these killers are or why they are preying on the victims. The Strangers: Chapter 1 understands this basic concept. The film never unmasks the killers. This tells us nothing about who the masked killers are or why they are going after the main couple.
Unfortunately, The Strangers: Chapter 2 made the extremely strange choice of not only telling us who the killers are, but also telling stories about them. This is a betrayal of the concept. We didn’t need it to humanize the killers. In doing so, the story is no longer one of random acts of violence. Besides, I didn’t want to have an answer in which “Tamara” is located The strangers.
2 Troy (2004)
If we separate Troy according to its sources, the 2004 film is fantastic. The story is filled with action, romance, drama and betrayals. However, the on-screen interpretation removes any reference to Greek gods and goddesses, which takes away a key part of the epic poem. The Trojan War is merely a proxy war waged by the deities, who spend all of history manipulating events.
In Greek mythology, gods and goddesses are the most petty, insecure, and completely human characters. They also happen to have the power to influence the world. After actively provoking the events that started the Trojan War, the pantheonic gods split and took sides.
Throughout the battle, Hera, Athena and Poseidon help the Greeks. Aphrodite and Apollo stand alongside the Trojans. They take every opportunity to influence the emotions and actions of humans in battle. It’s essentially a big family drama, and the warriors are just pawns. Troy is still a great film, but it ends up being just a run-of-the-mill war film rather than a true adaptation of the Iliad.
1 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams began as a radio series, then turned into a book series that became a worldwide success. The BBC made a limited series of it. Eventually, Hollywood adapted it into a not-so-great-but-not-completely-terrible movie.
A lot of fans completely hate him, which is valid. From my point of view, it’s an entertaining watch, but a poor adaptation. The 2005 film loses almost all of the British humor that Douglas Adams wrote into the book. The story includes subtle comments on the British class system, which simply disappear on screen.
Ultimately, it feels like they adapted an inherently British story without really understanding the culture it came from. It just doesn’t capture what made the original story so special. Hopefully one day we’ll get a new adaptation that’s actually The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In the meantime, goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.
