One of my favorite movies

I actually didn't like the book better or at all

I might've liked the book if I'd read it first, but I'd still think the film was better. Strictly my opinion, BUT here's why:

Hank isn't as ruthless in the film as in the book, and I find him much more relatable as a result. We know Paxton could've played ruthless ("Vertical Limit" comes to mind), but I loved him in this film - basically Cpl. Hudson afraid of poverty instead of aliens.

The book also contained too many murders for my tastes - it became almost comical when he was forced to track down a single bill and murder everyone in a store just to cover it up.

I suppose I was somewhat jaded by the plot - I first read "The Money Tree" in elementary school, so it all rang too familiar to me (in that story, a boy plants a tree that grows actual $20 bills, but spends more time protecting his secret and worrying about the tree than actually enjoying any of his home-grown cash).

Oh ... and yeah this is one my all-time favorite films too

I enjoyed it very much when I first saw it, so much that I went out and bought the original novel. I haven't seen it in almost 20 years. Unlike 50s, 60s and 70s movies, most 80s and 90s movies have not held up well over time for me. I'll have to rewatch it and post my thoughts.