Short version: Read the book, but don't see the movie. OR, go see the movie, but don't read the book. Just DON'T do both.
Long version: There really are no words to describe how far away this movie was from the book. It was like going into a theater expecting to see The Terminator, and seeing Braveheart instead. Both great movies, but NOTHING similar about them. Besides the character names, lightening, and some sand, NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING about this movie resembled ANY part of the book. Nothing. I read the book in one day, two days before I saw this movie. I was so excited to see this fantastic book come to life, and I left sorely disappointed.
I'm not sure if the author of the book was involved at all in the decisions that went into the writing of this movie, but they completely bastardized, completely changed EVERYTHING about his story. Even the core motivation behind the 'who and the why' was different.
It simply was not the same story at all. I've seen many books made into movies and I'm familiar with the huge and often disappointing changes they inevitably make, but this was off the charts. I've never seen anything like it.
If you haven't read the books, then go see it. It was fun enough. But please don't bother if you enjoyed the original story; because it's a completely different one.
Long version: There really are no words to describe how far away this movie was from the book. It was like going into a theater expecting to see The Terminator, and seeing Braveheart instead. Both great movies, but NOTHING similar about them. Besides the character names, lightening, and some sand, NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING about this movie resembled ANY part of the book. Nothing. I read the book in one day, two days before I saw this movie. I was so excited to see this fantastic book come to life, and I left sorely disappointed.
I'm not sure if the author of the book was involved at all in the decisions that went into the writing of this movie, but they completely bastardized, completely changed EVERYTHING about his story. Even the core motivation behind the 'who and the why' was different.
It simply was not the same story at all. I've seen many books made into movies and I'm familiar with the huge and often disappointing changes they inevitably make, but this was off the charts. I've never seen anything like it.
If you haven't read the books, then go see it. It was fun enough. But please don't bother if you enjoyed the original story; because it's a completely different one.