Having an original idea isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be, especially in the movie business. Making a major blockbuster by using a previously told story is a fairly common practice, whether the original version was a book, TV series, or another film. However sometimes, these movies actually managed to be better than their source material.
Making movies better than the source material they were made from isn’t as simple as it might sound. Depending on the original medium, the challenges involved vary, but typically they involve both appeasing existing fans while also offering a new or exciting perspective on the story. It’s something of a balancing act, and pulling it off can be difficult.
However, the following movies all managed to do just that. Some made tweaks to the original story, while others offered something unique in their translation from page to screen. Not that we’ve got anything against the original books/films/TV shows, but these movies were simply better than their source material.
8. Forrest Gump (1994)
We may consider Forrest Gump one of the most overrated movies of all time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t better than its source material. Though the 1994 movie may be a modern classic, it’s not an original story: it’s based on a novel of the same name by Winston Groom. However, though the film is based on the book, it made a number of major changes.
Ultimately, these changes make the film a far superior story. Not only does it make its eponymous character a little less rough around the edges, but it also dropped a number of plot points, including one or two that may have been a little more controversial. The resulting film is much more streamlined and palatable than the novel, making it far superior.
In fact, Forrest Gump is so much better than the original novel that most of its audience forget it was based on a book at all. With the film being such an iconic piece of cinema, it’s hard to imagine the character without Tom Hanks’ vacant expression, which is exactly why it’s so much better than its source material. Like Forrest’s Mama used to say, “movie adaptations are like a box of chocolates…”, or something like that.