Books VS Movies: Does it REALLY matter?

Numerous novels that are fill our minds with wondrous utopia's have become fascinating movies. The books that have successfully turned into movies, are more than likely part of a series. For example, "Harry Potter". With the amazingly graphic stories that speak of Harry Potter's 7 years at Hogwarts, it became a movie just as riveting. While I do believe that they did a very good job portraying J.K. Rowling's writings, I still believe the books (along with every other book that's been turned into a movie) is better. Why? Well, it's very simple. 

When I was younger I didn't quite gravitate towards books as much as the visual stories. I was easily entertained with movies, while I felt as if the books took forever to tell me what was going on. A young naive mind at work that was. 

As I've gotten older, I've come to re-read and fall in love all over again, with the movies that started as words on a page. I never realized how captivating they truly were and how simple the movies made everything seem. It is true what they say, easy is not always better. Films would often leave out the mental story, not allowing us to fully understand each characters persona. While I do believe Harry Potter did in fact captivate the audience with an accurate rendition of the books, this is not often the case. 

A prime example would be of the recently released movie, "The 5th Wave". While it started out as a book (book 1 in the trilogy) on May 7th, 2013, it was brought into theaters on January 22nd, 2016. Yes, this isn't the newest movie and I may be behind on my review compared to other bloggers, but this isn't the only film at fault. The reason I chose this particular book as an example is because it drastically changed in theaters. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Books provide us with deep insight and can supply us with more of the story. In the book "The 5th Wave", we can read about each main characters thoughts and why the story unravels the way it does. We are given more descriptive details on why a certain troop in Ben Parish's group goes "Dorothy" (crazy). We can actually read as the situation unravels and how they slowly uncover the truth. In the movie, this entire situation is skimmed over. They simply skip through details that would give you a better explanation. They also shorten the entire scenario with Cassie's mother. Instead of describing the harshness of the virus or showing you the true pain the family had to endure, they simply show her alive and then dead. That isn't truly accurate. The family watches their beloved mother and wife, wither away into a hollow shell. A part of the story that helps capture the amount of pain Cassie (and her family) truly go through. They also change the scene with Cassie's fathers death. She never even gets to see "the green bomb", that literally clears the area (in order to cover up the mass murder), that Cassie endures in the book. The "love portion" of the story, is also vastly shortened. In the book, you can "see" how Cassie slowly begins to fall for Evan. Even towards the end where Evan rescues Cassie, Ben, and Sammy, was changed. Also, a huge part that I personally liked, was the fact that "the others" (the aliens), could "plug you in" and see your thoughts and memories. This was completely removed from the movie, surpassing the chance at an excellent thrill. Especially when Ben is "plugged in" after his first battle. This happens increasingly throughout the entire visual story. In laymen's term, "The 5th Wave" was a bullet point presentation on the actual book. 

I know that some of my previous "spoilers" may not make sense to those who haven't read the book and/or seen the movie, but trust me, if you've read the book, you'll understand how important those particular parts of the book, mean to the story as a whole. Some may see these differences as simply irrelevant, but trust me, they aren't. You are missing out on some great actions scenes pertaining to "Wonderland". Seen the movie, but don't know what "Wonderland" is? EXACTLY! 

While I don't necessarily adore this trilogy compared to others I've read, it's still deserving of a better representation. I do feel as if the film almost butchered the first story, possibly hindering any huge publicity for the second film, I do hope that people haven't lost all hope. Although, I'm also hoping the second book "The Infinite Sea" by Rick Yancey, is given a fair chance to redeem themselves. 

I consider myself an open minded individual with a positive demeanor, therefore I will give the second story a chance. I truly wish for the movie to not become another classroom type presentation. Again, I'm not the biggest fan, but I don't hate it either. I will be reading the second and third books in the trilogy, because I am eager to finish the entire story.

So why are books better than movies? Simply because they are a wider and more descriptive version. You are given the chance to see inside the minds of each character, without having any "minor" - or major - details left out. You have the capability to truly see the story at hand, without missing anything. 

What movie(s) poorly - or awesomely - represented a book you've read?