To adapt, or not to adapt…

The smell of musty, aged paper blew into my face as I opened the thick tome. It was a very different smell from the glossy paper in the book I had just been reading, the smell of ink had been replaced with the smell of time. Acrylic fingerprints littered over the edges of the yellowed paper, which had begun to curl up. It made me smile. This book had memories. I thumbed back to the cover and stared deeply into the grey wizard’s eyes as loud flashes of greenery surrounded him and rain fell into his face, there was a furious determination written within him. I was intrigued. I wanted to know what his quest was; I wanted to see what had such a formidable looking being dredging through what was so obviously the oncoming of a storm. That was the beginning of my love for “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”. It took me over a year to read all three, but I was persistent and I got there in the end. Through countless tears, through anger, confusion, and most of all love, I got there, and it’s a journey I take as often as the mood strikes.

Having this love for a book of such magnitude requires patience and obsession. Almost to the point that every single drunken conversation somehow ends up revolving around it, and that quoting the inscription on the ring in the black speech is as common as washing your hands. So, you can understand my excitement and trepidation when it was announced that The Lord of the Rings was to get the Hollywood treatment. Who would play Frodo Baggins? How would they create Mount Doom, or The House of Elrond? And the biggest question, would it be as big of a let down as the cartoon I had just watched? We all know how this story played out; Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh all created a masterpiece. Yes, they missed things out, switched things around and added things in that weren’t necessarily written about but hinted at, but they did it beautifully. They, alongside Weta Workshop using the artwork of John Howe and Alan Lee, created the world that many had dreamed of and Tolkien had envisioned. The unfortunate thing is, that not all books, let alone fantasy books, that are converted from book to film, or game to film are done as well as “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”.

Sadly I can, at the top of my head, think of at least thirty books or games that have undergone movie treatment and tarnished a sterling reputation by doing so. I’m sure there would be many more if I were to delve deeper. For me, films that are adapted from books or games are not made only to placate the already existing fans, but to create new fans that will go out and buy the novel or the game. So, the question is: why destroy what someone has painstakingly created with bad direction, poorly written dialogue and ill acted scenes? If you are going to take on someone else’s work, shouldn’t you be as reverent as possible?

Take “Resident Evil”, for example, (I know that this is neither fantasy nor Sci-fi, but I think it deserves a mention). “Resident Evil”, as a game series is probably one of the most intense fear inducing games I have ever seen and tried to play (I generally get killed after thirty seconds and resort to watching other people get chased by zombies), yet when I went to see the film in the cinemas I came out sorely disappointed. I, amongst others, expected to see Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine working their way around Racoon City uncovering a mystery and trying to resolve the infection. Instead what we got was Mila Jovavich, who can be a formidable actress as seen in “Joan of Arc”, running around in a red dress shooting guns and pulling action faces. As if that wasn’t disappointing enough, there was a sequel in the pipeline, and then another… and then another. With each film came more disappointment and more name-dropping. Characters like Claire Redfield began to appear from nowhere and storylines began to run amok. The thing is though, if they hadn’t have used the “Resident Evil” franchise they would have had entertaining movies, albeit in the I-need-a-drink-to-get-through-this kind of way, but entertaining none the less. There are other adaptations that don’t even have the drunken entertainment going for them.

“Alone in the Dark”, “Silent Hill”, “Dead or Alive”, and “Prince of Persia” are just a few other films that have undergone Hollywood treatment and flopped abysmally. Then we have our very own fantasy game turned into a film: “Dungeons and Dragons”. The only thing that comes to mind when I think of this film is; “Why?” The “Dungeons and Dragons” game allows for any storyline to be developed, any character to be created, so why was the film so rubbish? Why, when you have such a phenomenal actor as Jeremy Irons, playing the villain of the film, Profion, why would you give him such a bad role? I know actors choose what roles they play, and can say no at any point, but when you have the legend that brought Scar, the evil Disney lion, and Aramis, the retired Musketeer to life, wouldn’t you work tirelessly to make sure that he had a script that reflected his abilities? I know I would. The only good thing I can say about this film is that, at thirteen years old and very much on my way to being a fantasy addict, it encouraged me to read about other fantasy worlds that existed out there. I suppose I should thank it, in a way, for been my way into “The Lord of The Rings”, and making fantasy more than Harry Potter. My little brothers loved it, and I’m sure I must have had a fondness for it at one point to let it encourage me, but I guess that with age comes wisdom, and better taste in films. Maybe I’m just a little picky, but I would like to see a game to movie conversion that sticks to the original elements that made us fall in love with the games in the first place. I’m sure there are exceptions to the rule of game adaptations being poor that I have yet discover, but as of this moment in time there are none for me.

An obvious medium to transfer is graphic novels and comics. This is also, possibly, the easiest format to adapt as it is already scripted, already storyboarded and in some cases already cast (Little Hughie in Garth Ennis’ yet to be adapted, “The Boys” is based on the Actor/Comedian Simon Pegg). Yet again though, applies to mainly Marvel films, we get poor adaptation after poor adaptation, name dropping (see X-men 3), and a saturated genre, which by the time they bring out the smaller titles, (“Thor”, directed by Kenneth Branagh) everyone is just sick of seeing super heroes and comic books. Personally, I am looking forward to “Thor”, and seeing what a Shakespearean actor can do when presented with such material to direct. Maybe it will be an exception to Marvel’s slue of ill adaptations?

However, little gems can be found within this genre, so, it’s not all bad. Take for example, “Watchmen” and “300”, these are well translated and entertaining to boot. Everything they changed or added is explained within the commentaries, and they both have one thing in common: Zack Snyder. So maybe he is the key to successful adaptations and entertaining films? Or, maybe it’s just letting the hardcore fans tackle them as they seem to be the only ones who appreciate the value and merit of the original materials? (Pay attention, Hollywood).

As for novels; where do I start? Novels don’t need to be changed into films; they are, if well written; a movie in their own right, yet it is another obvious medium to translate to film. There are a few good ones dotted around in the cesspool of Hollywood, but honestly the ones that come to mind, especially when it comes to fantasy are obviously “The Lord of the Rings”. Even the Harry Potter films, which an entire generation was waiting eagerly for, wound up being abysmally draining. After seven films, I am just calling from them to end. I have spent around about £100 so far on going to see the film with my little brother each time, and I have come out of every single one annoyed that they have abolished half of the plot line, cast the people they did and made it as cheesy as they have. In all honesty though, what did I expect? A Martin Scorsese, tribute?

Books to movie adaptations seem to be a difficult thing to write about. Everyone has their own opinion as to what is good and what is bad, but, maybe there could be one thing that we agree upon. The Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman book; “Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight” should have been left alone. When I finished watching this feature length animation I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth. Not only was the plot all over the place, but the graphics, an obvious combination of 2d animation and CGI, were appalling. If this had been made in the 1980’s I could have maybe understood, but it wasn’t. It ended up looking like a children’s cartoon that you watched when you were three.

Animated adaptations don’t have to be appalling, as proven by Hayao Miyazaki in “Howl’s Moving Castle”. Although he changed the story to suit his style of animation, it worked wonderfully and he created a true master piece. I don’t think that I can say anything bad about Hayao Miyazaki though, so this may be a tad biased, but what he did with the colours and the characters made me crush on Howl a bit. That may seem weird but, all I have to say is Jessica Rabbit (statistically speaking she is high on the dream girl lists of a lot of people, men and women, just look at the illustrations some people have done of her).

However, now that the Harry Potter franchise is coming to an end this summer, it appears there is a gap waiting to be filled. This could have been the “Chronicles of Narnia” series, which aren’t too bad, but Disney has pulled out of that one, and the verdict is still out on a sequel from the new owners. Where does that leave us? Twilight? God, I hope not, but in all probability it will be some vampire derivative, being the newest fad. There is “Twilight”, “True Blood”, “Vampire Diaries”, and “Being Human” all at the same time. This is grating, especially when you have to explain to a twelve year old girl reading “Twilight” who Dracula is. Honestly?

Yet, if all is bad, then why do we torture ourselves with the countless trips to the cinema, to see sub-par translations of our favourite books and games? I know why I do it. I do it in the hopes that someone has taken the original material and treat it with the respect it deserves, in the hopes that as I watch the stories unfold everything I loved about the book or game is playing out up there, on that big screen. I do it to find those hidden little gems that make the world of movies such a phenomenal place.

Afterthought:

There is a small glimmer of light in the bleakness; it seems there is a Conan movie coming out this year that is based on the genius series by Robert E. Howard and Arnold Schwarzenegger is staying well away. There is the “Game of Thrones” TV series, “Thor” directed by Kenneth Branagh, and many, many more. So, maybe there is hope for fantasy adaptations yet?

After The Fact Note: Conan SUCKED. Thor was pretty damned special and Game Of Thrones took things to a new level. Are TV Shows and Marvel Movies the way forwards?

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