Unfortunately, there are so many great books that fall foul to poor casting choices and unnecessary changes to both characters and storyline. Again, here are certainly two that did not meet up to expectations.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
I think we can all agree that making this novel into a film was a mistake. And a big one at that. One of the first mistakes was the aging of the characters. In the novels, Percy is a boy of twelve, and there is an ancient prophecy that must come true by the time he is sixteen. They completely dismiss this in film, probably so they could make it more appealing to young adults, just like The Hunger Games, Divergent or even The Maze Runner. No one really wants to see young children battling, slaying monsters and in violent situations. In changing this one thing, we really miss watching Percy mature into this new world where he is a Demigod, half God, half human and we miss seeing him become a leader and we miss the incredible relationships he builds with Annabeth, Grover, Luke and even his father, Poseidon. Another error was casting a brunette actress to play Annabeth which she is in fact blonde in the novels. Alexandra Daddario dyed her hair blonde in the second film, but it was a little too late. These errors, amongst others, failed to capture the greatness of the novel, its characters, and their fantastic, magical journey. It could have been something brilliant.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
As much as it pains me to even feature this film in this post, I fear I must, as I believe it is not a true reflection of the novel. Romance is at the heart of this novel and everyone is now at age where feelings of love and jealousy really manifest. Famously, we see Hermione struggle with Ron's bubbling romance with Lavender Brown but there is one other romance that is quite neglected: Harry and Ginny.
Ginny is one of my favourite characters and while she is portrayed as quite a minor and mute character in the films, she is such a fierce and dynamic character in the books. Since her encounter with Tom Riddle in The Chamber of Secrets, she has been waiting quietly in the background but she really comes into her own from The Order of the Phoenix on wards. She speaks her mind, and she stands up for herself and her friends. So much of that, and her relationship with Harry is missed in the films. So when Half Blood Prince came to our screens, the romance is forced. Oh, Harry fancies Ginny now? How did that happen? Well, if you read the books you would know Harry comes to the slow revelation just how incredible, strong and smart Ginny really is. Other than this small detail, the rest of the film is great. But they could have done more.
I could certainly list more if I really thought about it, but any problems thought of would be of my own nit-picking. These are, after all, my own opinions.
In Wednesday's posting.... where I find inspiration for stories and characters.