 So I said a little while ago that I wanted to start reading some more really really terrible young adult franchises that that came out in the past like 15 years, especially during the Twilight craze because I read Elixir and that was hilarious and I talked about it and you guys seem to like it and The first one I decided to go for was beautiful creatures and you know right here. It's actually a really long book But the thing is I actually saw the movie for it a few months ago And I thought well It was actually pretty good and I thought well how bad could the book really be then but I was talking with my younger sister about it She said even when she was 14 she thought it was terrible So I was like okay, let's check it out and I checked it out and it's boring, but like that's it It's just kind of boring. It's not like fun bad And so I thought about dude I really want to read three more books of this and I really didn't but I also thought like Well, let's compare it to the movie because the movie is actually pretty good and in a lot of these cases It's just a cliche that well the book is better than the movie like the fans are upset about that and This is one of those instances not the only one But one of those instances where it's the opposite and so I decided well, let's do a comparison of the two that way and Who knows if this gets Bigger if this is a good video then I might just continue doing it for other book to movie adaptations So I don't know we'll see but yeah, this is beautiful creatures So this story follows a guy named Ethan weight who lives in this tiny little dinky small town called Gatlin in South Carolina and if you're not American South Carolina is here and He just really hates it there You know the people there are judgmental and small-minded his mom just died recently the whole town Has a weird obsession with the American Civil War and they also really don't like to acknowledge that it was fought for the Southern states to keep slaves and you know just that whole thing and he's about To turn 16 years old and he just really wants to leave as soon as he can and a new girl comes into a school named Lena Duquesne who he feels this weird connection to and he's actually been having like dreams about her for a while So that's kind of weird a few weird things happen around her He gets to know her a little bit better and long story short He finds out that she is a caster, which is basically just a witch, you know these It's the same thing. They just gave it a different name whatever not a big deal And not only that but in a few months when she turns 16 she is going to either be claimed by the light or the darkness and They never really explain what that means. I'll get into that in a little bit, but yeah, and from there it just Goes off, you know, it's them trying to find a way to prevent Lena from being claimed by the darkness and That's well that that's about it, you know, there's them falling in love But like I'm pretty sure you could extrapolate that just from the idea that this is a young adult fantasy that came out during the Twilight craze but Yeah, there's not a whole lot of Mystery or subplots other than that So the biggest thing with the book that I already kind of find out is just how long it is like look at this This is almost 600 pages and quite frankly It could have been about 200 pages shorter Like this is 563 pages this copy 363 would have been fine. You really wouldn't have lost much of anything And the movie is only two hours long now when you take a look this long and turn it into a movie You're obviously gonna lose a lot in this case. That's a good thing. The movie is forced to trim fat it's forced to trim away a lot of Ethan just sort of Following Lena around and trying to figure out what the mystery is about her being a caster whereas the movie Has a little bit of that, but it condenses it and makes it go by much faster The book has a lot of Lena and Ethan going on dates and kind of getting bullied by all the other small-minded girls in Town and the movie has a little bit of that at the beginning But then it just kind of moves past it and makes it clear that neither of them really care what those guys think so The movie just is a much more streamlined version of the story I think that's the best way I can think to put it and so in that regard. Yeah It's just a lot better and there's a lot of other things that the movie takes from the book and just sort of Does them a little bit better for example all of the characters are played by really really good actors in the movie The two leads are played by Alden Ehrenreich who's known for being in that Han Solo movie that nobody watched and Alice Englert who's known for being in Beautiful creatures But even beyond that they also have Emmy Rossum Emma Thompson Jeremy Irons like basically just a lot of people who really know what they're doing and They they my god a lot of them chew the scenery The accusations against my needs all spurious lie Because every character and I mean every character in this film talks with the most over-the-top molasses thick like borderline offensive southern accents that I've ever heard in any movie ever But again, they all have some charisma and they do a lot to pump some life into these characters because in the book While none of them were really bad or annoying None of them really stood out that much either except for Macon who's played by Jeremy Irons he's Lena's uncle and even then he only has like one real Cool moments in the book or you know, we'll say two two real cool moments in the book So even though they don't add all that much to their actual personalities just by having these people play them It gives them more charisma and helps them come off the screen the way they didn't really come off the page Especially this monologue that Ethan does partway through the film It encapsulates all the fears and all the misgivings He has about this town in about a minute of screen time whereas in the book It was told from his point of view So he had a lot of narration about him hating the town and not wanting to stay stuck here and all that stuff Which in the film they just condensed it down Not to mention that the book has a lot a lot a lot a lot of background characters that we learn the names of and we don't really learn that much about and they Don't have much personality, but we still have to remember who they are because it just brings their up their names all the time It's like this guy did this and I found myself forgetting a lot and having to think about it a little bit before I could Remember what was going on and that took me out Whereas in the film they're just you know people that you see in the background and they might have one or two lines But they aren't Important to the story and so it doesn't focus on them much I wouldn't say that the relationship between the two leads is bad in the book either. It's just that in the movie It's a little better, you know like I don't have a whole lot specific to say there, but like I said They just got two really good actors who had good chemistry there and yeah It works a little especially cuz like they actually do fight a little bit in the movie Which they didn't really do in the book like there's one part where they Break up for like two days and it lasts like four pages in book time and then they just decide Hey, let's get back together. It's it. It's just kind of dumb and felt very pointless however in both cases Both of the characters have their own issues and I can kind of see how they would be attracted to one another Ethan like I said just really hates this town really wants to leave and Doesn't like most of the people there and so when this new person comes in who doesn't have all that baggage he's obviously going to be drawn to her at first and she Just appreciates that he doesn't really care about her being a caster and doesn't really care about her Supposedly maybe going dark, which again, I I'll get to that I get I'll get to that I promise something weird that I found about the book was that most of the characters are just way too casual about everything Like when Ethan first finds out about there being magic out there and how this girl that he likes is Apparently some sort of witch wizard thing. He just really takes it in stride and it's kind of weird Whereas in the film we actually see him Experiencing magic in a couple of ways even though he doesn't really know what it is and it does fuck with his head a little bit And then once she tells him that she's a caster. He's like Yeah, okay, I believe that and he's still a little freaked out by it a little confused by it has a little bit of trouble adjusting But he does go He goes with it. It just works a lot better. You know, I can't Explain why totally, but it just does and then there's a subplot about Ethan's best friend link getting sort of hypnotized by Lena's evil cousin Ridley and In the book like he knows about it like because apparently she's a siren, which means her magic powers specifically revolve around like convincing people to do what she wants and particularly convincing men to do what she wants and So he knows about it and he tells link like man, she's just using you but he's under her spell So he doesn't really react to it like Ethan Reacts to his friend being under the command of an evil witch the same way that he would react to his friend Just having an annoying girlfriend. It's it's kind of weird Whereas in the film it happens completely unbeknownst to Ethan like it happens when they're off alone together She's hypnotizing him or seducing him whatever whatever terminology you want to use there So it makes sense how he wouldn't react to it because he he doesn't know and then there's other things like Ethan's relationship with his dad which in the book is kind of over the top and just Not that realistic and doesn't add all that much really whereas in the movie It's just kind of one or two lines about yeah, dad hasn't been the same since mom died But you know I'm working through it. So You know, it's just a lot of little things like that that just work better Because well the director and the scriptwriter and the actors just managed to come together and make it work a little bit better And plus there's a couple of bits where Ethan is not in the movie Whereas in the book everything is told from his first-person POV So everything that happens is something that he witnessed so in the movie We get more of a sense that yeah These characters have a life that doesn't relate to the main characters and my favorite example of this is the church scene Now this happens in both the book and the movie, but it happens much later in the book and Ethan and Lena are both there but basically what happens is People think that Lena's a troublemaker They think that she's like breaking windows and they think that she's Mentally disturbed and all that and they're looking for an excuse to throw her out of the public high school and Then her uncle Macon comes in and he's known as a recluse that no one ever actually sees in town So everyone's really surprised and he gives this whole badass argument badass speech That forces them to just say okay fine. We'll let her stay and it's actually pretty good in both cases But in the movie, it's a million times better because one again It's Jeremy Irons doing a ridiculous southern accent the whole time and that man as far as I'm concerned Even like he just cannot do anything wrong Like even when he's a bad actor. He's the greatest actor Any excuse to play that clip so he really works in that scene and then afterwards We get a proper introduction to the series villain Seraphine who's also Lena's mother and in the book We get a little bit with her and they mention her a little bit before she actually shows up But she we don't actually know what her motivation is or anything. She's just kind of there like the the main Conflict I guess I was trying to think of a better word But the really isn't one the main conflict is just will Lena turn dark and again I will get to that. Okay, because it doesn't make any sense in either of these things I'll get to it. But anyways, yes So Seraphine Lena's mother shows up at the end and she's actually possessed the body of a town woman played by Emma Thompson and God, she's just so over the top. It's hilarious Well, like just watching her and Jeremy Irons to the scenery the way they do. It's it's beautiful. I love it so much It's my favorite scene in the movie and we didn't get it at all in the book and even more importantly than that Seraphine actually has motivation here, which is explained like she wants Lena to turn dark because It'll help her take over the world, you know, she thinks that the casters should be able to rule over the mortals, which mortals is kind of a weird term for non-magic folk because casters are also mortal like they don't live forever, but whatever and granted that's about as basic and cliched a motivation for a villain to have in a sort of hidden magical world setting story like this is but at least it is a motivation and Seraphine also apparently has lost her body and became one with the darkness, which is I Honestly can't decide if that's cool or really stupid, but either way it's it's something You know the point is the villain has some personality and some character and some motivation in the movie She really didn't have in the book And then we get to the last like half hour of the movie Which is considerably different from the last 200 pages of the book But it ends in a fairly similar way and so after this there will be spoilers So if you really don't want any of that then I guess I'll see you later I don't really recommend the book, but I've read much worse if you're curious just watch the movie, but anyways, so Near the end of the story they find this book full of spells and they look through it and find out Okay, why Lena is cursed and why she's going to turn to the dark and in the book They don't really find a way to make sure that she won't turn which makes a lot of the Action at the climax seem Pointless honestly like it just feels like oh they're fighting for the sake of fighting and there really hasn't been any of that in this book so far, so It just doesn't work that well whereas in the movie it turns out okay so the one that she loves has to die in order for the curse to be broken and So the way they try and get around that is just by erasing Ethan's memory of her so Basically their love died and they think okay Yeah, that'll that'll work and we don't get confirmation if that would work or not But it is still a really sad couple of scenes there are really sad couple of minutes I should say when Ethan is reacting as though he doesn't know her and you can see that it's breaking her heart like like I said just that wouldn't have worked in the book because it's Ethan's POV and Well, it's just good acting You know I don't mean to keep going back to that same thing But that's really what makes this movie work the most at the end of the day and then at the end through some shenanigans One of the villains manages to kill Ethan except turns out it actually wasn't Ethan It was Uncle Macon pretending to be Ethan and then when he dies He was somebody that Lena loved so the curse is broken and she uses her powers to like fight off her mom and it's I don't know. It's it's a little confusing, but trust me the book just doesn't make any sense at all because it's like I Honestly give me a minute I'm gonna have to look at the Wikipedia summary because I only read it like three days ago I already forgot so Uncle Macon still dies, but it's because Ethan died and Lena like brought him back to life with a spell Okay, sure. I can buy that and then it turns out that When the moon came out and she was supposed to make her choice to be lighter dark she like just pushed it forward somehow and like I said not super well explained because I had to look it up outside of the book, but You know, it's just not that good and then in this case It's like okay Yeah, she broke it and then at the very end Ethan's memories appear to come back to him and then it sort of leaves it open for a sequel and then the book Also leaves itself open for a sequel, but it's much more blatant about it Although I will say in both cases they did mostly finish off the story So I didn't feel like I was being ripped off and that I had to read more to find out what was gonna happen next So yeah, overall the movie just takes a pretty bog standard story Which honestly is just filled with a lot of cliches that aren't done particularly well and it turns it into something Decent, you know not amazing, but I enjoyed watching it like I've seen it twice now I saw it once a couple months ago and once just the other day as I was preparing to make this and I still liked it But there are some issues from the book that still carry over into the movie and they are still pretty significant We never really learn what it means for a castor to quote go dark Because apparently Uncle Macon was also claimed by the dark, but he's choosing to not be dark. He's choosing to be a good guy But it's also different for women apparently like as soon as they go dark then that means they're just evil and We see in a flashback that Lena's cousin Ridley just decides to kill somebody with a train as soon as she goes dark Just for shits and giggles, but at the same time she's perfectly capable of like Walking around and acting normal and apparently Seraphine is too and I Think maybe being dark just robs you of your ability to love or something But it's just it's just never properly explained. It's like they just say going dark and we're supposed to automatically You know what that means so Yeah, that is a pretty significant problem because the characters are all trying to prevent this But we don't know what the consequences will be if they fail Which just makes it hard to It makes it harder to care, you know, not impossible to care because Again, the relationship is pretty cute in both cases But it's just it is a pretty significant issue and tying into that We never really get a sense of what it means to be a castor or what sort of society they have or for that matter Why they're hidden now? Let's take a look at a different hidden magical world setting that you'll all be familiar with Harry Potter Now at the beginning Harry obviously is a wizard But he doesn't know that he's a wizard and he isn't familiar with the world of wizards And so slowly over the course of the beginning of the first book The mystery is brought up and resolved and then he goes into the wizarding world And at first what it means to be a wizard is that you learn to use your powers at this cool hidden school And you will go on adventures and what that means changes as the series goes on But at the beginning we get that idea like yes, this is what it means to be a wizard or at least This is what it means to be a child wizard. What does it mean to be a castor in this world? Like I don't know you're just Your people that live and go to school But you also have powers that you never really use and you keep them hidden and Well, there's just no reason given for that and again like why are they hidden away from society like If casters have always existed, which I assume they have and they've always been as powerful as they are now Why didn't they just live alongside humans or why don't they just rule over them the way seraphine wanted to it's just it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense and there's never really an explanation given and Tying into all this as well is you know magic the magic system is not really gone into any detail on like the book in the movie both explain it a little bit but in different ways and Neither of them go into detail that works for me because you know me I'm just a pedant about that sort of thing So there are issues that are brought over from the book to the film still But like I've already talked about the film improves upon a lot of the good bits in the book And it also drops a lot of the dumb stuff like how there's a lot of focus on destiny and how Lena and Ethan are like meant to be together and how it goes back in their family generations how they were Destined to be together. It's just it doesn't work that well. It's kind of cliched and stupid So I'm just glad they got rid of it Other people might not be that upset your mileage may vary So in the end beautiful creatures is not an awful book. Okay, I'd like to make that clear. It's not something I'm really into and Even knowing that going in I was a little disappointed by how they didn't really take advantage of some of the good ideas in there But it's not awful. It's a cute little romance But then the book takes that or but then the movie takes that and turns it into something a lot better so I think it deserves Commendation for that and for that matter Considering all the really shitty young adult book movie adaptations that were made over the past ten years I think beautiful creatures really got a bad rap because it just sort of blend it in and fell out of No shut up phone and it fell out of the public's eye. So Yeah, I I like it. I think it's a good movie and I think that you should check it out and if you Want me to do more of these booked movie comparisons Like I'm gonna probably stick to ones where I think the movie is better but you know if you want more than just Share this one around Make it more popular. Tell me that you like it, you know, all that sort of thing and Obviously, thanks for watching. Thanks to my patrons. Thanks, especially to Christopher Hawkins, Joseph Pendergraft, Melanie Austin, and Appo Savillainan You guys are You guys are pretty cool and all those rest are pretty cool, too So I mean I already told you to like and share and comment and all that but I guess I'll just remind you and That's all for today. Bye