When the movie is better than the book

Not to say you're wrong because your its your opinion and you're entitled to it but ... Wtf? What makes you say Grisham is an 'atrocious writer'? Books like The Rainmaker, The Firm, Pelican Brief, The Chamber are some of the best novels I've ever read. And this is coming from someone who strongly favors the classics like Tolstoy, Dickens and Dumas.


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Panem et Circenses.

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Grisham's writing is plot driven. So, he tells an interesting story, but he does it without making the writing itself or characters enjoyable. They are good beach reads. And, they are very quick reads. So, if you just spent a month slogging through Anna Karenina, you might want to give your brain a break and read a Grisham novel.

I've read most of his books favouring the earlier ones over quite a bit of his later work. Somewhat ironically I never got around to reading "The Pelican Brief". I haven't seen it since back in VHS days when I remember thinking that it was just OK. Caught up with it again recently and was surprised to find I really liked it. Unbelievably good cast (loved Stanley Tucci's silent assassin), good direction from Alan Pakula and a complex but coherent plot, made the film really worthwhile seeing again.

I generally avoid reading to reviews. Many times I'll read a book that everyone loved that I hated and vice-versa. I tried for years to read the book, but it never grabbed me. I broke down and listened to the audio book. I enjoyed it, but I thought the movie was better.

Now, there are a handful of others where I preferred the movie to the book:

Forrest Gump (taking out the Orangutan was, easily, one of the better choices)
Jaws
Shoeless Joe (while I enjoyed the book, I grew up watching the movie so I admit I'm biased)
58 Minutes (I found John McCLane much more believable and likable than the novel's protagontist)
First Blood (another I grew up watching, plus Morrell ruined the ending for me because of the introduction)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (I read the book first and wanted to strangle Charlie. I broke down and checked out the DVD from my local library and actually felt for him because he wasn't crying every few minutes like the book).

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Once upon a time, we had a love affair with fire.
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I wouldn't call him an atrocious writer but he's not an overly interesting one. After you've read 5 or 6 of his books, they seem to be so similar and so repetitive.

In my opinion I found this movie better than the book. I liked how the movie didn't have the silly love angle between Darby and Grantham that the book did and the movie was more suspenseful. In the book they just go to the bank and don't have the chase scene in the garage or the second car bomb.

Another film I like better than the book is The Hunt for Red October.


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Great topic! How about when you think a book and a movie were equally top notch..happens so rarely..But, I would submit Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove books and movie adaptations into that select circle..Thanks..