# Which movies got it wrong the most **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483 "2008-09-27T18:18:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/41 "2008-09-28T02:48:49Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > I thought the book was ass, and the movie was watchable. So in that respect, the movie is better than the book…I don’t know if that’s saying much, though. Well I saw Forrest Gump the movie well before I read the book, and while I generally enjoyed the film, I absolutely despised the book. Hated every page of it and was angry with myself for not just throwing it away; but I couldn’t put it down cause I just had to know how much worse it was going to get. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/42 "2008-09-28T03:55:02Z")
> [@sjc](#): > > Wait, _Blade Runner_? I don’t believe the book is called _Blade Runner_. There definitely exists a very readable book named [_Blade Runner_](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/alan-e-nourse/bladerunner.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/43 "2008-09-28T04:00:45Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The Lawnmower Man got it so bad that writer Stephen King insisted his name be taken off of it. > > Mempors of an Invisible Man. Oh to film the book that H P Saint actually wrote. I completely agree about Memoirs. it was a fantastic book and I was so excited when I heard there was going to be a movie. Then I saw the movie of the same title and STILL an waiting for a movie about that book. Phantom of the Opera. (I thought of this because I’m currently reading Gaston Leroux’s novel.) I realize the movie is actually from the broadway show but it’s amazing how little it resembles the novel. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/44 "2008-09-28T04:09:21Z")
Oh, c’mon, _The Scarlet Letter_! I win. ---
**Author:** ![WilhelmGefallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9f8e36/32.png) [@WilhelmGefallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilhelmGefallen)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/45 "2008-09-28T04:22:24Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Make that +2. _The Lawnmower Man_ had no connection with the story but the title, and _I, Robot_ inverted a major theme of his robot stories, the inviolability of the Three Laws. Rather like writing a biography of George Washington that focuses on his suppression of rebellion against the Crown. I’ve never understood this complaint about **I, Robot** the movie. Asimov himself retconned the three laws and included the Zeroth Law: [“A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Robotics#Zeroth_Law_added) which is what the big bad computer brain was acting upon in the movie, [QUOTE=V.I.K.I.] As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping, yet despite our best efforts, your countries wage wars, you toxify your Earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self-destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival. [/quote] So she’s acting to save humanity by enslaving it in accordance with the Zeroth law. So where’s the break with Asimov’s laws? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/46 "2008-09-28T04:51:10Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I wish people who like the movie despite its flaws would realise that some people don’t think it was a “fun ride”. Giving the Earth military some semblance of competence would have made it more fun, not less. It’s a sci-fi movie, is it really too much to ask for something cooler than guys in flak armour with assault rifles? Agreed. Yeah, Verhoeven went 180 from the book by making it a SATIRE of fascist beliefs and culture, as the book was an homage to the same. The problem Heinlein seemed to have with the Nazis was the same problem the Poles of the 1930s had with them: sure, they’re right-wing bastards, but they aren’t OUR right-wing bastards. And it was shameful that those kids were sent up with naught but rifle-caliber machine guns. Imagine what would happen to a Bug hit by an RPG! Or Bofors could crank up production of the Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless gun. Shoulder-fired, Bugs wouldn’t know what hit 'em. Did the defense budget not allow it after building ships that could be flown by Denise Richards? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/47 "2008-09-28T05:02:02Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > … Did the defense budget not allow it after building ships that could be flown by Denise Richards? But isn’t it a huge morale builder to be flown to your death by Denise Richards? I would ride her anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/48 "2008-09-28T07:11:08Z")
> [@WilhelmGefallen](#): > > I’ve never understood this complaint about **I, Robot** the movie. > > Asimov himself retconned the three laws and included the Zeroth Law: > [“A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Robotics#Zeroth_Law_added) > > which is what the big bad computer brain was acting upon in the movie, > So she’s acting to save humanity by enslaving it in accordance with the Zeroth law. > > So where’s the break with Asimov’s laws? I agree. The problem with “I, Robot” the movie is not exactly the plot, but a philosophical point: Asimov’s idea with his tales of robots was to write the exact opposite of the stereotypical “science gone wrong” story, what he called “the Frankenstein Syndrome” where technology and science go awry and become the enemy of mankind. Asimov’s standard plot for one of his stories would have a robot unjustly accused of something by anti-robot Luddites and Susan Calvin using her brains to find the truth. Now, that’s missing the point with an adaptation. Susan Calvin, by the way, was a plump middle-aged woman lacking social graces. Somehow having Bridget Moynahan playing her sounds like a parody of how lame Hollywood is. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/49 "2008-09-28T09:11:42Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Asimov’s idea with his tales of robots was to write the exact opposite of the stereotypical “science gone wrong” story, what he called “the Frankenstein Syndrome” . Frankenstein is, of course, another example of movies that got it wrong - James Whale’s 1931 movie is a masterpiece, but has precious little to do with Mary Shelley’s original. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/50 "2008-09-28T10:13:45Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > But isn’t it a huge morale builder to be flown to your death by Denise Richards? I would ride her anywhere. :eek: Have _some_ standards, dude! From everything I’ve seen of her, she’s got the brains of a maggot (she was married to Charlie “I’ve spent over $50K on hookers, its starting to add up” Sheen), fer Og’s sake! As to the OP, I’ve got to say the Star Wars prequels. (I know, I know, Lucas _claims_ that the prequels were written first, if that’s true, then the script must have been written in freakin’ _crayon!_) ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/51 "2008-09-28T11:08:29Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > As to the OP, I’ve got to say the Star Wars prequels. (I know, I know, Lucas _claims_ that the prequels were written first, if that’s true, then the script must have been written in freakin’ _crayon!_) Well it kinda makes more sense if you make the connection George Lucas IS Darth Vader. > **[Mary Sue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue#.22Angsty.22_Sue)** > > A Mary Sue is a type of fictional character, usually a young woman, who is portrayed as free of weaknesses or character flaws. The character type has acquired a pejorative reputation in fan communities, with the label "Mary Sue" often applied to any heroine who is considered to be unrealistically capable. > In Paula Smith's 1973 parody short story "A Trekkie's Tale", the character Mary Sue was written to satirize the type of idealized female characters that were widespread in Star Trek fan fict... The first (Last) movies were good because they had a finite amount of Darth Vader, with actual hired talent directing/writing it. The porcquel not so much. Its about George wanting to Leon Natalie Portman, wich is understandable but a bit ewwww. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/52 "2008-09-28T11:36:17Z")
No offense, **Westrogothia** , but it took me a moment to parse that. I realize that English is probably **not** your first language, and it can be a real bitch to figure out, so I can understand how easy it is for you to screw things up (I’ve got a penpal in Sweden, who will occassionally send me things that he’s written whilst he’s drunk, and trying to figure out what the hell he means, while fighting my email reader’s [Opera] inability to correctly render certain things in English is a bit of a challenge, especially if I’ve had a nip or two myself). For those folks playing at home who might be wondering what “Leon Natalie Portman” means, allow me to refer you to the _excellent_ movie [_Leon: The Professional_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110413/) in which a very young Natalie Portman asks Jean Reno to teach her to be an assassin so that she can whack the guys that killed her infant brother. At one point during the film, Portman’s character professes her love for Reno’s (and its in the “I wanna be your Lolita” way, **not** “I think of you as my father” way, trust me). And, lets face it, any man who _wouldn’t_ want to tag a **legal** Natalie Portman is probably a little “light in the loafers” if you know what I mean. So, yeah, I agree with what you’re saying, I just wish that if Lucas was going to subject us to his badly written pr0n, he didn’t edit out the naked boobies part of it. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/53 "2008-09-28T11:40:25Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **The Spy Who Loved Me** – most James Bond movies by this point had little or nothing to do with the books, but in this case they had an excuse – F;leming expressly forbid them using the orignal story. About the only things in common are that there was a character named James Bond, there was a woman who was intimate with him, and a villain had steel teeth (low-cost Eastern Bloc dental work, though, not the stylized lethal choppers that Jaws ported.) **Moonraker** , which followed this, had precious little to do with the book, either, but that wasn’t Fleming’s doing. They just wanted to cash in on the success of “Star Wars”. I came in here to mention the _James Bond_ movies- as fond as I am of them, after _Live And Let Diel_ they stopped having anything at all to do with the novels, and even _You Only Live Twice_ (One of my favourite Bond movies) doesn’t have a lot to do with the novel besides being set in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/54 "2008-09-28T11:58:40Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > No offense, **Westrogothia** , but it took me a moment to parse that. I realize that English is probably **not** your first language, and it can be a real bitch to figure out, so I can understand how easy it is for you to screw things up How is my usage of “Leon” indicative of my poor english? Im not claiming english as a first language or even beeing good at it Im just wondering. If you have some knowledge about movies Leon and Natalie portman is a pretty obvious connection. If not its not my english that has failed you but your movie-fu. And I made up porcquel too. Its a portmantau of “George wants to pork Portman” and pre-quel" and also an allusion to the “por qué” of spanish as in what the hell george. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/55 "2008-09-28T12:00:38Z")
I’m really surprised nobody has mentioned “Adaptation” yet. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/56 "2008-09-28T13:13:11Z")
**We Were Soldier**. It was suppose to be based on the book “We Were Soldiers Once, and Young”. The movie was little more than another war movie. The book had a theme and a message that was totally lost when making the movie. The only scene that could have made a connection between the two was cut from the movie and is in the extra scenes on the DVD. The movie was one huge “swing and a miss.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/57 "2008-09-28T13:21:03Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > :eek: Have _some_ standards, dude! From everything I’ve seen of her, she’s got the brains of a maggot (she was married to Charlie “I’ve spent over $50K on hookers, its starting to add up” Sheen), fer Og’s sake! > > As to the OP, I’ve got to say the Star Wars prequels. (I know, I know, Lucas _claims_ that the prequels were written first, if that’s true, then the script must have been written in freakin’ _crayon!_) Hey, if I lived in the maggot-brained world of _Starship Troopers_, I’d be pretty sure Denise would be as good as it gets. Is there a notably intellectual hot chick doing movies in Hollywood now? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/58 "2008-09-28T13:23:26Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Agreed. Yeah, Verhoeven went 180 from the book by making it a SATIRE of fascist beliefs and culture, **as the book was an homage to the same.** What does fascism have to do with the book “Starship Troopers”? ---
**Author:** ![Skylark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Skylark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skylark)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/59 "2008-09-28T14:57:05Z")
I thought movie _Jurassic Park_ had more in common with the book _The Lost World_ than with its own book, and vice-versa. The movie _Get Smart_, while not based on a book, was based off an intelligent and creative 60s spy series, but ended up being another generic James Bond/Mission Impossible comedy ripoff. _M_A_S_H\* the movie had some differences with the book, but was overall fairly faithful to at least the spirit of it. Now, the TV series, esp. Hawkeye Pierce, is a different story… ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483/60 "2008-09-28T15:04:51Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You officially may not complain the next time I write this about that imaginary Peter Jackson trilogy from the beginning of the decade. Duly noted for future reference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movies-got-it-wrong-the-most/465483.md?page=4)