Is it true that the book is based on the movie? So can i just watch the movie, instead of reading the book for my Science class? If anyone did both (read the book and watched the movie) can you please give me some advice as to if the movie has enough of the same information and stuff like that in accordance to the book. THANKS!!
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This comment might contain spoilers:
Yeah, the book is based off the script of the movie. However, Isaac Asimov got permission to "embellish" the story any way he wanted (Read the trivia section -- the book came out before the movie). The book follows the movie pretty well, but he took the liberty of putting in new scenes, a new ending (though escape is still the same), and extended versions. So, even though it follows the basic story and script of the movie, and your teacher quizzes you on the book, you can't just watch the movie! Book is pretty good and explains some scientific facts. Hope this helped.
And in case you or anybody else is interested in the other books:
Fantastic Voyage 2, also written by Asimov, has nothing to do with the first movie/book. It's still about miniaturization and going into somebody's comatose body, but this time trying to explain everything scientifically. This one is more realistic since scientific knowledge of the human body had advanced since the sixties (Describing cells, neurons, blood flow, how gravity would affect you if you were the size of a blood cell, etc.). It was good, but I think the first one was better.
Fantastic Voyage: Microscosm, kinda campy! Totally unrelated to the other books as well, this time a team goes inside a recovered alien body. Okaaaaay... Don't get me wrong, it does have its good points, but compared to the other books/movie, it's just average.
Maybe not. As I remember (and it's been a looong time since I read it) the book goes into a good bit of scientific exposition about the miniaturization process. This was an attempt by Asimov to rationalize the pretty preposterous concept: When you shrink something, do the atoms get smaller? If so, where does physics allow for teeny atoms? Or, if you remove atoms, how do you maintain fine structure while throwing away 99% of the parts?
Isaac explains nothing is actually miniaturized, the tiny people and sub are a sort of projection from another dimension where they're already smaller. Still pretty bad (like STNG technobabble) but at least not actually laughable.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS HEREIN:
As I recall (and it has been many years for myself, too) there was quite a bit of technological talk in the book. I can recall one specific scene, the crew has to minaturize the air that they have to take from the lung.
Also, the remains of the Proteus have to be salvaged from the white blood cell -- Asimov describes it as slogging along with bits of crushed sub protruding.
Solved some of the technical 'goofs' from the movie, I guess.
And I for one am glad he was.
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