5 movies that were better than their books

Unpopular opinion time: sometimes the movie is every bit as good as the book it's based on. And sometimes it's even better.

Hopefully no book lovers' panties are getting bunched reading this, but I have to admit that sometimes movies bring something special to the table that even a great book just can't deliver. Or sometimes, a movie turns a truly lackluster book into an awesome experience.

Of course, there are tons of movies that absolutely butcher the book on which they were based, but today's post is in honor of the movies that rocked it, and might even be better than the book they're based on. Just one girl's opinion here, of course, and you are more than welcome to disagree with me, as long as no one shows up at my house with torches and pitchforks :-)

The Martian (by Andy Weir) This novel about an astronaut stranded on Mars got tons of buzz and tons of love. I'm sorry to say, this book was totally not for me. I did manage to finish it (I'm a serial book abandoner), but I didn't care for it at all. To me, the writing style was slow, gimmicky, and obnoxious, and I just didn't care whether he made it home or not. But the movie gave me everything I didn't get from the book: action, excitement, drama, all the feels, and hunky Matt Damon. Win.

The Princess Bride (by William Goldman) One of the few times I've watched the movie before reading the book! I grew up watching The Princess Bride. I'm sure I've seen it over a hundred times. So when I finally read the book in my late teens, it just felt all wrong to me. The story was very much the same as I knew it from the movie (the author helped adapt it into film format), but I had fallen in love with the movie years ago, and couldn't fall quite as hard for the book. It just never felt quite right to me.

The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) When the world was going crazy over The Hunger Games book series, I dipped my toes in and gave it a try. Nope. Did not like it one bit. I thought the idea was cool, but after finishing the first book, I had no desire whatsoever to continue the series. The movies, on the other hand, I really enjoyed. The world came alive for me in a way that I didn't experience while reading the book, and I looked forward to each new movie, whereas I couldn't even be bothered to finish reading the books.

The Help (by Kathryn Stockett) Now, don't get me wrong; I enjoyed reading The Help, and even read it twice! But there were certain aspects of the writing that felt clunky to me, and some points of the story or characters' personalities that I didn't think were handled well. The movie, however, streamlined the story and brought the characters to life. I thought this movie was every bit as good as the book, and even better.

Forrest Gump (by Winston Groom) For years and years, I didn't even realize that there was a book before the movie. And I have to say, I wish I had never found out. The story is so different, Forrest himself is practically unrecognizable, and it's safe to say that there is no comparison. The movie wins by a landslide.