There are countlessscience fictionbooks that are adapted into movies every year, but not all of them end up translating well to screen. This can be for a variety of different reasons, boiling down to anything from the filmmakers to the source material itself. Regardless of the reason, many different adaptations stray too far from the original book and end up as wholly different from the novels they adapt, and not for the better.
Science fiction is a genre filled with seminal works, withmodern sci-fi classicsdominating the genre as it stands currently. There are even compelling narratives withsci-fi villains that outshine the protagonists. However,some books that could have become classics when brought to the screen saw their engaging narratives failed by adaptationsthat missed the mark.
Based on anovel by Michael Crichton, best known as the author ofJurassic Park, the originalSpherenovel is an intriguing tale of what initially seems to be an alien discovery on the ocean floor. However, when a team of scientists goes to investigate, they realize that, despite the incredible technology, the craft they find is American. They find a perfectly shaped sphere in the ship’s cargo bay, leading to even more intrigue.
Where Michael Crichton’sSpheredoes a great job of building up the mystery at the story’s center,the film itself does a poor job of explaining the concepts so profoundly put in the novel.TheSpheremovie scrubs the unique aspects of the story away to craft a narrative that has been done before, and better, elsewhere.Spherefails to live up to the source material, as evidenced by its rating of 13% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Another film based on aMichael Crichton novel,The Lost World: Jurassic Parkpicks up where the firstJurassic Parkfilm left off. With Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm as the lead,the plot hinges on Malcolm’s exploration of another dinosaur-infested island, Isla Sorna. What follows is a dangerous quest that eventually leads dinosaurs to the mainland, with a Tyrannosaurus Rex stomping its way throughout San Diego.
Steven Spielberg’sThe Lost Worldessentially scrapped Michael Crichton’s novelfor a new story. Besides sharing a title, there is little in common between Spielberg’s sequel and the author’s original novel.The Lost Worldperformed well at the box office in the wake ofJurassic Park’s popularity, but it’s regarded as a lesser sequel, and it’s an adaptation of Crichton’s novel in name only.
Taking place in the far future,Ender’s Gamedetails a war between humanity and an alien race known as the Formics. The plot hinges on a young man named Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, who uses his strategic mind to work his way up in the military and fight against the Formics. As the story goes on, the lines that delineate clear morality become less and less clear.
The original novel was written by Orson Scott Card, who has won several awards for his writing, including Nebula and Hugo Awards.
Despite its massive opening,Ender’s Gamesuffers from a possible lack of understanding of the original source material. The film lacks the empathy seen in the original novel, andit seems almost unwilling to grapple with the painful themes that become the entire point of the original narrative.Ender’s Gamenever goes far enough, relying on acting and special effects where writing should have taken over.
It would have been difficult to adapt a story that already has a legendary adaptation, but the 2002 release ofThe Time Machineattempted to bring another spin to the iconic story. Following a doctor who invents time travel, the plot sees him travel further and further into the future.He eventually discovers that humanity has regressed and grapples with what that means for the future.
Instead of exploring and perhaps even deepening what had been presented before in the previous film adaptation and the novel itself,The Time Machineis instead another sci-fi adaptation that relies on its special effects to get by. More than anything,The Time Machineremake feels like a lazy excuse to retell the same story that is better experienced through the novel, or even the 1960 adaptation.
Starring well-known actors, including Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep,The Giverattempts to bring the iconic novel to the big screen. Taking place in a society where emotion and desire are suppressed, the world is painted in dark strokes where color is sapped from life. There is only one person who can see in color, The Receiver of Memory, who inherits the memories of the past and the community from The Giver.
WhileThe Givernovel itself is incredibly poetic, grappling with issues of freedom among others,the film fails to dig into these themes in the same way. It feels like a hollow retelling of a story that had so much heart in its original form. There is little done to elevate the story that was originally told, with bland visuals and no excuse not to simply read the novel instead.
Based on the original 1953 novel,Fahrenheit 451is a legendary story told in a dystopian society. Told from the perspective of a “fireman,” the story grapples with the idea of a society in which it becomes a government imperative to burn books.As the story progresses, the fireman begins to question a society in which it is illegal to read and learn.
Fahrenheit 451was nominated for several Emmy Awards, but it did not win any.
Even though the film was given everything it needed to succeed, with incredible actors and even better source material,Fahrenheit 451fails to meet expectations.It is another adaptation that struggles with style over substance, focusing on visuals rather than narrative. With a story that relies so heavily on narrative and thematic storytelling, the fact that this opportunity was missed is a tragedy.
Stephen King stories are known for having some of the best adaptations spanning across genres, including the legendary likes ofThe ShiningandTheShawshank Redemption.Because of this,The Dark Towerwas highly anticipated. The story revolves around one man’s quest to protect a mythical tower, taking place across parallel universes.
Part of the film’s issue is overextension, taking bits and pieces from across Stephen King’s eight-book series. This, coupled with the fact that the film was in development for over a decade, makes for a complicated creative process. At the end of it all,The Dark Towermovie was mostly incoherent, the story never quite coming across in the way it was meant to.
Denis Villeneuve’sDunehas become a massive film franchise with another movie on the way. However, decades ago, there was another adaptation of the legendary sci-fi novel released in 1984. In the same manner as the rest of theDunereleases, this version follows Paul Atreides in his fall and subsequent rise to power, thoughinstead of breaking the story up into several films like the newer adaptations, this movie condensed the story into one film.
Duneis a massive undertaking, and because of this, putting it all into one film caused several problems. The structure makes for a difficult watch, rushing the events of Paul’s life to continue on with the plot. Compared to the newer films, the depiction ofDune’s world is very different, going from an uglyscience fictionworld to one of the most beautiful in cinematic history.
