Some Books Just Shouldn’t Be Made Into Movies

As many of you may know, the last book that I read was The Book Thief, and I have recently watched the movie. I tried my best not to let my feelings about the book sway my feelings about the movie, but it was hard considering how terrible the book was. If you want by take on the book, click here. But now on to the movie (and there will be some spoilers).

The entire time watching the movie, there was the thought of “why should I care.” Why should I care about this little girl? Why should I care about Max and Rudy? Why should I care about this person whose name escapes me but keeps showing up? I know that it was a movie and there are time constraints but at least take the time to develop the characters and develop the characters more. There were certain elements placed in the movie that you would have only understood if you had read the books. And I will even admit that what they did for Rudy at the end was terrible. The ending was just terrible overall, and can someone say that if there was an inappropriate time for product placement, that was it.

And because I can’t help but to compare everything to the book, the narrator was just…terrible. I don’t remember a time that they said explicitly who he was. He could have just been a very old vampire with how little he had to add to the story. And how amazing was the book thief only taking like three books. That was expert thievery. This was just another case of the book being way better than the movie. I know that is the way it always is going to be, but I wish I could have felt some effort done. Could they get some people who face had some movement other than in their mouths? Even though the subject was serious, the time could have been taken to make the characters human and relatable.

Another major problem that I had was the book burning in general. Why is the one part that helps develop the conflict and plot completely in German and in a way that no one can understand what is going on? All there was to explain anything was Liesel’s blank face and that random bully that has to make as appearance as a Dues ex Machina when there is a major plot hole. And please children, can you scream that you hate Hitler louder. I’m not sure the plot heard you.