"John Carter"
A comparison, for fun, between the movie version I just saw and the original novel:
Book: "Here's my amazing story:"
Movie: "Here's a prologue, followed by a pointless framing device..."
Book: "I encountered some hostile Indians."
Movie: "I encountered some American soldiers who wanted me to fight Indians." (At least it didn't outright have him side with them, but apparently portraying Indians as anything but victims is verboten now.)
Book: "I'm basically an upright and heroic guy who will ride into danger to save a friend."
Movie: "I'm basically a loser who can get beaten up four times in five minutes, who's willing to rob people for a can of beans and who runs from danger. I'm only an action hero in low gravity."
Book: "I woke up naked."
Movie: "I woke up fully dressed, because you know, Hollywood is squeamish about nudity."
Book: "I got involved in a longstanding and complex cultural feud."
Movie: "Zodango Bad, Helium Good! Also, secret alien spy ring bad!"
Book: "I spent time among the Tharks learning their language and culture."
Movie: "I drank a magic potion that has no reason to exist, that let me learn the language instantly."
Book: "Zodango was dangerous because of its military might."
Movie: "Zodango was dangerous because the evil boss had an evil raygun."
Book: "I convinced the Tharks to attack Zodango so they could loot the place. They did."
Movie: "I convinced the Tharks to attack Zodango because they suddenly cared about saving the world."
In short, this is the Saturday morning cartoon version.
Also, about the portrayal of Dejah Thoris: it's part of the trend of turning female characters into Xena, Warrior Princess. Which is silly and actually kind of insulting, since it implies that a female character can't be strong or interesting unless they act like a stereotypical male hero.
Book: "Here's my amazing story:"
Movie: "Here's a prologue, followed by a pointless framing device..."
Book: "I encountered some hostile Indians."
Movie: "I encountered some American soldiers who wanted me to fight Indians." (At least it didn't outright have him side with them, but apparently portraying Indians as anything but victims is verboten now.)
Book: "I'm basically an upright and heroic guy who will ride into danger to save a friend."
Movie: "I'm basically a loser who can get beaten up four times in five minutes, who's willing to rob people for a can of beans and who runs from danger. I'm only an action hero in low gravity."
Book: "I woke up naked."
Movie: "I woke up fully dressed, because you know, Hollywood is squeamish about nudity."
Book: "I got involved in a longstanding and complex cultural feud."
Movie: "Zodango Bad, Helium Good! Also, secret alien spy ring bad!"
Book: "I spent time among the Tharks learning their language and culture."
Movie: "I drank a magic potion that has no reason to exist, that let me learn the language instantly."
Book: "Zodango was dangerous because of its military might."
Movie: "Zodango was dangerous because the evil boss had an evil raygun."
Book: "I convinced the Tharks to attack Zodango so they could loot the place. They did."
Movie: "I convinced the Tharks to attack Zodango because they suddenly cared about saving the world."
In short, this is the Saturday morning cartoon version.
Also, about the portrayal of Dejah Thoris: it's part of the trend of turning female characters into Xena, Warrior Princess. Which is silly and actually kind of insulting, since it implies that a female character can't be strong or interesting unless they act like a stereotypical male hero.