...this movie would be better received?
A good portion of people seem to hate the movie because "it's nothing like the book", so my question is "If the book didn't exist (if the movie was created on its own), would the reaction still be the same or would it be different?"
I love the movie and have never watched the book. Didn't even know there was a book until today. The movie is hilarious with a touch of romance. Surprised at its low ratings here and on Rotten Tomatoes.
shareI love the movie and have never watched *(um, read) the book.Same here. I just saw it as a non-animated sort of Shrek film, which I also loved.🐭 share
I don't really know if I can be 100% objective, cause I love the book and hate the movie. However, I think it's quite possible that, if I hadn't read the book, I might actually have liked the movie and perhaps would have thought it was cute.
Once upon a time there was a magical place where it never rained. The end.
Never read the book. One of my favourite movies.
I will acknowledge that it's a movie that may have come along at exactly the right time for me, even though I saw it a couple of years after release, and I am definitely not in the target demographic. I re-watch it, I still love it. It must have stuck.
I will read the book, but... it's not like I ever heard of the book before. I'm a huge fantasy fan but it's impossible to keep up. Every year about 100k books are published and literally thousands become cult successes - ie their sales justify the author's advance.
A great novel will sell tens of thousands of copies. A bad movie will be seen by millions.
A great author whose work gets made into a crappy movie will still benefit, hugely, from the exposure.
Getting offended by a bad movie remake of a cherished book is like criticising a nurse who didn't bandage your friend's slashed artery perfectly, even though he saved her life. The real world rejects perfection. Sometimes all you get is all there is to give.