The first response in the thread and I'm not sure anything else said will strike me funnier.
In my experience, many critics fall into the unfortunate habit of being way too hrash on a lot of pictures. On the other hand, I've also read reviews which seem way too lenient in some respects. That's why I generally don't trust a lot of critics: their reviews are often shaped more by personal opinion than professional expertise, and that can be more of a detriment at times, depending on the reviewer.JClive2007 said:
While it's certainly true that most departures from the source material have yielded disastrous results, there's also been cases where it worked for the better. "The Mask" bore little resemblance to the comics in its final form, yet it's widely considered one of the best films from Jim Carrey's early career. It's also notable for being the very first on-screen role for Cameron Diaz, who was a professional model before playing Tina Carlyle.3dman27 said:
My biggest beef with this situation is when a filmmaker completely ignores the elements which made the original book such a success. It's one thing to make a film based o the "spirit" or "essence" of a character, but to ignore those attributes completely insults the fans. I haven't seen the "Hitman" movie, but from what I've heard it's nothing like the games, instead being filled with tons of blood and sex that the games avoided.Mistress Kizuna said:
In recent years, I think both "X3" and "Spider-Man 3" fell victim to this, the former likely more so. Films which explore many characters at once need the appropriate amount of time to do it, "Lord of the Rings" being a prime example.SalaciousVC said:
If the source material is more serious than funny, then the film can greatly suffer if it's taken the opposite way...and vice versa. As for casting, there's very few instances where I've been against a superhero casting choice. Jessica Alba was watchable as Sue in the original "Fantastic Four", but her performance in the sequel was not for the better. She came off as manipulative and rather condescending, with way too fierce a feminist streak. Her passive-agressive crap made me very uncomfortable. Similarly, I don't think Ray Stevenson is a particularly good choice for the Punisher; he seems too dark from the trailer, even for a character of that nature.Dr.Detroit75 said:
I thought the "Elektra" spinoff suffered that kind of fate. I don't know whether it was the writing, acting, or directing, but Jennifer's role came off as way too melodramatic, especially when compared to her role in the director's cut of "Daredevil".Artistsean said:
That's not only true for actors, either. One of the big reasons why studios started doing comic films in the first place was because the stories have already ben told over decades, so it relieves much of the pressure for them to create something entirely new. Thus, filmmakers often find themselves with a certain peace, knowing that whatever comes of the film, some diehard fan out there will likely embrace it. But in more recent times, the studios and crews have become increasingly aware of their duty to honor the fanbase through these pictures, rather than exploiting them...and as a result, we now have many more good films based on comics than bad ones.
What about literary heroes like Robin Hood, or swordsmen like the Jedi? It's often been said that dancing and weaponry were connected, where anyone who could do one could easily adapt to the other. Also, some might see flight as a sort of "dance" where superheroes are concerned.Wesley Dodds said:
While I admit that scene from "Spider-Man 3" was rather overdone, I think Sam Raimi had the right inention for it. The dancing was meant to reflect how far Peter would actually go to hurt MJ, under the symbiote's influence. The "street dancing" was definitely overkill, though.
This one can easily go either way, because characters are always adapted from different stories in the books, and those arcs span anywhere from 40-70 years of publication history. For example, I doubt we'll ever see a live-action Wolverine who's under 6 feet, with Schwarzenegger's muscles and a blue/yellow spandex outfit. It works fine on the illustrated page, but would almost certainly be a disaster on film. Studios, directors, writers, actors, and film crews can do their best to retain certain aspects, but no character (comic or otherwise) is ever translated from the source material completely.WeaponXProject said:
