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daniela_g's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
wyrmbergmalcolm's review
3.0
As stated on the book's cover this is based off of one of the screenplays and not the final film. The film was originally intended to have Mel Gibson lead and be a more serious film. Instead it became what I consider to be one of Eddie Murphy's most underrated films. It's not his best, but it's far better than people give it credit for.
Anyway, I'm reviewing this book, not the movie, but I can't help but compare the two. As it was a movie first, I'm not going to review the quality of the story but focus more on the extra content, the writing and relevance to the movie it's based from.
Although the plot and the sequence of events remain largely unchanged, albeit much darker and visceral, none of the quotable lines or scenes from the film feature in the book. Despite Eddie Murphy being on the front cover, Chandler is no way Eddie Murphy in this book (nor Mel Gibson actually but more Charlie Sheen).
There is further discussion about the Songs of Reality and Existence and good and evil, as well as the motivations behind much of went on. I can see why all that wasn't included in the film, but it does flesh out the world a bit more.
I did feel that on a couple of occasions the screenplay to novel transition was a bit rushed. Sometimes it would read as if it were a screenplay without all the prose that makes a novel a novel and a few of the scene transitions happened without any explanation.
Certainly this is a book that benefits if you've seen the movie first. Unfortunately, due to the character differences between the two, the book doesn't really add much of anything to the film as all the internal thoughts and feelings are for a completely different version of Chandler which, in turn, altered the character of Kee Nang, though by not as much.
Anyway, I'm reviewing this book, not the movie, but I can't help but compare the two. As it was a movie first, I'm not going to review the quality of the story but focus more on the extra content, the writing and relevance to the movie it's based from.
Although the plot and the sequence of events remain largely unchanged, albeit much darker and visceral, none of the quotable lines or scenes from the film feature in the book. Despite Eddie Murphy being on the front cover, Chandler is no way Eddie Murphy in this book (nor Mel Gibson actually but more Charlie Sheen).
There is further discussion about the Songs of Reality and Existence and good and evil, as well as the motivations behind much of went on. I can see why all that wasn't included in the film, but it does flesh out the world a bit more.
I did feel that on a couple of occasions the screenplay to novel transition was a bit rushed. Sometimes it would read as if it were a screenplay without all the prose that makes a novel a novel and a few of the scene transitions happened without any explanation.
Certainly this is a book that benefits if you've seen the movie first. Unfortunately, due to the character differences between the two, the book doesn't really add much of anything to the film as all the internal thoughts and feelings are for a completely different version of Chandler which, in turn, altered the character of Kee Nang, though by not as much.
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