Adaptations! How close to the source material do we all want our movies?

Adaptations!  How close to the source material do we all want our movies?

Original stories, or straight from the books. What does everyone really want from these studios? Following is an article that may help you decide!

Editorial Opinion
By WYLEEJAY - Apr 05, 2013 11:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Other
Source: WYLEEJAY

Hey you all its WYLEEJAY. Have you asked yourself lately what kind of movies you want? I know I have.

A lot of comicbook fans complain a lot about how close to the source material the studios usually stick to with the scripts. Myself included. Who wouldn't want to see X men Days of Future Past follow the book? Well I've used The Watchmen in my teaser cause I think its the closest thing to a straight adaptation we will get. Yeah a few things got changed, but I really enjoyed it. The problem is, it was kinda predictable, because we knew what was gonna happen for the most part.

So what about Batman and Spiderman? Was it a good idea for the studios to come up with original stories, with some elements from the source material? There's two arguments here and I'm just wondering what side of this your on? Some would say different is good, others that they shouldn't deviate from the source material as much as they do.

I don't mind the movies being different. As long as its a good film. I just cant stand when they change the characterizations too much. Example you say. How bout Bane from the Dark Knight Rises? Was there a reason to change him so drastically? Or Mandarin in Iron Man 3. We have yet to see that so I hope there's a good reason. The stories themselves I don't usually mind the changes. As long as it doesn't tease you that its going to be one thing and turn out completely different. Looking at you X MEN 3 and your portrayal of Dark Phoenix. This is all just my opinion though.

So if say Marvel is limited to three movies a year, would you rather see something new, or a perfect adaptation? Your only going to get one at a time so why not something original? After all you could just read the book if you want the same story. Right?

Sound off with your thoughts!
WYLEEJAY OUT!

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marvel72
marvel72 - 4/5/2013, 12:09 PM
slight changes i'm fine with but when you call a film x-men first class at least feature the original "first class" team & not a bunch of mutants that seem like they've been drawn out of a hat.

Godkiller89
Godkiller89 - 4/5/2013, 12:31 PM
I totally agree
fortycals
fortycals - 4/5/2013, 12:35 PM
Im a dont care as long as it is good, kinda guy. Story wise I dont want to know everything that happens, or whats the point. I wouldnt mind a 100% true adaptation, but I just cant get excited for it if I know the story back to front. Sin City was a great movie, but it didnt have me foaming at the mouth for a midnight release. I always looked at it like one medium doesnt effect the other, its like having two different universes. I dont have to hate one because its not like the other.

I always like to bring up Mario Puzo books in this convo. The godfather and rambo movies dont follow his books to the letter, but they are still good movies. My enjoyment of the books, and my enjoyment of the movies, arent affected by the differences. I think I enjoy them better because of the differences. I went through all of first blood just knowing(spoiler), that Rambo dies at the end, because it happened in the book. So when he survived it was a big suprise to me. In the movie Rambo was redeemable, because he was tone down alot. In the book he had to go, because he was Batshit crazy. I dont hate either version, and they are way different from each other.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 4/5/2013, 12:38 PM
I agree too. I liked the movie quite a bit, but was let down with the characterizations.
Herc509
Herc509 - 4/5/2013, 1:34 PM
I like original stories, however, I like for the origin of characters to stick to the book. The original Superman movies pulled this off perfectly. They kept the 1st part of the movie the same as the comics & by the time he became an adult they pretty much did what they wanted, but because they stuck to the books in the beginning, it was pleasing to the readers & gave the unfamiliars the real history of the character. This formula is the main reason why the readers get so angry. Michael Keaton's Batman wasn't exact in it's adaptation but it was pretty darn close.

X-Men movies veered so far off the rails that it never really stood a chance & the more X movies they make, the worse it gets. When you have a group with such an extensive history as the X-Men, you gotta take your time to let things develop, that's why series like Avengers, Star Wars, & Lord of the Rings work because they're not trying to cash in on one film, they're allowing characters & stories to develop. The continuity of the "X" characters is so screwed. But maybe I'm being overly critical cause I hated em all but first class.
marvel72
marvel72 - 4/5/2013, 2:17 PM
all i want from comic book movies is that the characters look like their comic book counterparts(costumes a must in most accounts) & have the personality & powers of that particular hero or villain.

origins can be changed slightly i.e if you're gonna bring a character into modern times say iron man you can change the war he was involved with like they did with the 2008 movie,instead of tony stark being kidnapped during the vietnam war they brought it up to date by making the kidnapping happen during the war in afghanistan.

apart from that i'm fine with original stories.
bbiz20
bbiz20 - 4/5/2013, 2:58 PM
I think what works in a week-to-week comic book might not work in a 2 hour movie. I think what comic book movies need to do is get the material which people most associate with the character and put it in the movie. Perhaps the most famous storylines and interpretations of the character, etc. Comic book movies are really a way of selling a character. I think that movies are always going to have to go into their own dirction, otherwise they are just literally copying stories frame-by-frame. I do not think movie adaptations need to do that exactly, but just re-create everything most fans love about the character/ comics. For instance Marc Webb never understood that Peter Parker is a decent pretty responsible guy even BEFORE the spider bite, instead he turned him into a douchebag who revels in the power. Like I said, no-one expects a frame-by-frame adaptation, but to at least get down the concept of the character is something most people hope for.
bHrUuLcKe
bHrUuLcKe - 4/5/2013, 3:04 PM
For me personally... the closer it is to the source material, the better.
Really though, a good movie's a good movie. Keep it the same, change things, do whatever you want. Just make a good movie, and I'll be satisfied.
RobGrizzly
RobGrizzly - 4/5/2013, 3:20 PM
I think it depends on the type of movie you're trying to make. The advantage of most superhero movies is they've been around for decades, so there is plenty of material to mine from. That means they can pull from familiar stories (which pleases fans) while also being something completely new (which pleases everyone else).
They have the freedom to mix it up.

Then you have the tales that are a singular experience. Like Sin City, 300, Kick-Ass or Watchmen. Those actually should and have to follow the books closer, because they are complete narratives, beginnings middles and ends. Not on-going like the long-running heroes mentioned above. if one decides to stick with following the comic, don't break that rule by then changing too much crap. The point isn't to not be predictable, it's to translate a great story so even more people can enjoy it.
Minato
Minato - 4/5/2013, 4:25 PM
I dont mind Mandarins change because Ive read so many different versions of the character as long as he poses the most significant challenge to Tony I'm good with it.

Ive only known of one version of Bane and they completely deviated from source except for the intimidation factor. He was still ok and I don't mind.

Joker was almost spot on but the settle differences that were made actually added to the character.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 4/5/2013, 4:37 PM
Watchmen has 12 issues.

Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Green Lantern, etc... all have over 1,000 issues of very different stories. Many of these stories are contradictory for the characters, and feature slight or drastic retcons. In short, those characters are in a constant state of change. Yes, there are critically acclaimed storylines and publications that have become defining and amazingly popular, but again, someone is going to do something radical afterwards.

With that in mind, some things just don't make much sense, and for all the fun the X-Men movies produce, they are just as guilty of throwing stuff out there that just doesn't work.

Emma - YES, that is meant to be Emma Frost - it's no coincidence Silver Fox has limited psychic powers... Emma is a teenager in the 70s, but a 30-something adult in the 60s.

Leech is a very normal boy with a bald head, a huge departure from the half-mute and slimy green mutant kid with no visible pupils. Lazy change, probably didn't want to do make-up.

Deadpool, aka the Merc with the Mouth has optic blasts, blades in his forearms, and has NO MOUTH.

In the end, did these affect how a major audience saw the movies? Not really. Some people probably thought "the Deadpool" was cool, having never heard of Wade. Leech is such an obscure character in the comics, regardless of the role he plays in the Mutant Massacre (a favorite of mine), that no one would ever care. And Emma - well that might cause SOME confusion, but not enough to make anyone dislike the movie.

How accurate do we want them? I'd say enough that if it encourages audiences to read a comic book, they can easily identify the characters. For fanboys, it's a moment of glory when Hulk says: "Hulk Smash", when Cap "calls it", when Rorschach sidesteps all of his murder attempts in prison, when the Symbiote howled in pain to the sound of a church bell and latched onto Eddie, even when Johnny said "flame on!"

We'll bitch and complain because of the quality of the production, the story, the actors, the script and dialogue.... but it's the small things that make all the difference.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 4/5/2013, 4:50 PM
Right on tainted! Ecept Emma. Marvel patched that up on their site. It is a coincidence that there's two Emmas that turn to diamond. The Emma from Origins was Emma Silverfox. The sister of Kayla Silverfox. The Emma from First Class is the one we all know. A horrible fix, especially since they lead you to believe it was Emma Frost in the previews for the movie. Then changed it after First Class came out. Since she won't be in Days of Future Past we can count on that staying as is.
Wallymelon
Wallymelon - 4/5/2013, 5:00 PM
i agree with @sotojuiceman changes do need to be made, and its great to get original ideas on charaters we have loved for so long. sometimes i completely reject changes but most times i welcome because it just adds to the mythology and adds to the history of each character. i will always have the source material and its not like i dont want to see the source material on screen, i just dont have an issue with someone giving their take on it. because you know every fan that wants to make one of these movies has either made up their own story with their toys or friends orvideo gmaes or RPGs... everyone should be able to add something to the characters we love, thats what will makes it OUR character
HulkinOut
HulkinOut - 4/5/2013, 5:17 PM
@sotojuiceman yeah ppl are goin to complain no matter what.
i just dont get why ppl expect shit to be exactly like the comics and bash originality.
Odin
Odin - 4/5/2013, 5:35 PM
If the ending results are good, than it's okay to go different from source material.
RextheKing
RextheKing - 4/5/2013, 6:21 PM
The only thing about the source material I expect to be accurate as possible, is how each hero or villains, powers/abilities works. I wouldn't care if Tony stark got in a car crash and then created an arc reactor for his chest, as long as he still gets an armored suit with tons of weapons built in. Now yes, I'd prefer they'd stick to the source material when they do origin stories, but I do not blame a director, writer, producer, etc. for having some fun with the origin as long as the hero still comes out as the hero we know.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 4/6/2013, 6:59 AM
@WYLEEJAY
Yes, they changed it - but you still have TWO characters who match the physical description of Emma Frost - turning to diamond, with the first name "Emma".

When production closed, when the movie was released in theaters, when it hit DVDs - that Emma was Emma Frost.

When First Class came about, they decided to cover it up.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 4/6/2013, 8:45 AM
Here's some other things that need fixed too.

In X 2 Xavier says that Magneto helped him build Cerebro. In first class, Beast built the whole thing without the help from either of those two.

In X3 Xavier is still older in that flashback with young jean grey than he was in First Class, yet he's still walking.

At the end of X 3 we seen in the little after credits scene that the cure wasn't a cure but temporary. Magneto got his powers back. Yet nothing to confirm YET that the other mutants got their powers back.

In First Class Havok was never explained to be a relative of Cyclops, if Havok isn't going to be in Days of Future Past, I hope fox doesn't leave that unexplained too.

There's more but I can't think of any right now. If anybody else can let em rip.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 4/6/2013, 9:55 AM
Well, Storm shouldn't have ever been in the Cerebro search, unless she looks REALLY young for her age.... anyone born in the 50s would NOT look like Halle Berry in the 2000s.

Moira is also ageless - wait no, she aged about 11 years between 1962 and 2006 (or further).

Ah, worse things have happened.
SageMode
SageMode - 4/6/2013, 11:15 AM
When you deviate from the source material to where you dismiss / ignore importantly iconic aspects of their characterizations, then that's when it needs to stop.
DJRock93
DJRock93 - 4/6/2013, 6:21 PM
I think that whenever you completely change established characters, that's where a line should be drawn. CBM's are up for artist interpretation, which is great and allows for originality of character, that's awesome., and you even see it in comics. Different artists draw the same characters different ways, the new 52 skewed some origin stories, Superior is throwing us all for a loop and that's all fine. But Bat-Nipples and TMNT aliens? C'Mon now.
Woodinator
Woodinator - 4/7/2013, 9:39 AM
New stories are good...

New characters that in no way resemble the original (in story, character, or appearance is where there's a problem.

i.e. - Bane (DKR), Deadpool (second half of Wolverine Origins), Steel (Steel), Assassins (Wanted), Parallax (Green Lantern), Galactus (FF), etc...
tonytony
tonytony - 4/7/2013, 10:47 AM
i prefer a good movie over a restrictive adaptation, i am after all watching a movie and i understand that not all things transfer well to cinema.
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