Good movies that are terrible adaptations

[Lanowar]

Got into a conversation about movies that are considered good but are nowhere near faithful to the source material. The one that springs to mind is Wanted in the way it's an alright movie but has so little in common with the comicyou might as well have made 2 different movies.

Anyone else know of movies that are really good but in terms of bringing someone's vision to the big screen is an utter failure?

[c. page]

Got into a conversation about movies that are considered good but are nowhere near faithful to the source material. The one that springs to mind is Wanted in the way it's an alright movie but has so little in common with the comicyou might as well have made 2 different movies.

Anyone else know of movies that are really good but in terms of bringing someone's vision to the big screen is an utter failure?

i would say the shining (as the movie was quite different from the book), but frankly, i wasn't that big a fan of the movie to begin with.

[aj110]

The Bourne series is the best example i can think of. Terrible adaptation of the books, but still fun and quality.

[Kurt Russell Crowe]

Wanted

[Wigner's Friend]

Dr Strangelove

[Armored Dildo]

F. w. Murnau, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1924) James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) and Terence Fisher's Dracula (1958 ) hardly keep the integrity of the original novels intact (although Nosferatu comes close) but in all cases, are exemplary of a certain horror film style (German Expressionism; Universal studio house style; Hammer Film Productions house style).

In fact, most of horror cinema is like this.

[Mark4myself]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen....oh wait, you said good movies didn't you. Nevermind.

[NathanDetroit]

Fight Club

[ItsDLEVY]

girl, interrupted.

(Hated the book, thought the movie was a fine movie. But they had very little in common.)

[bartleby]

girl, interrupted.

(Hated the book, thought the movie was a fine movie. But they had very little in common.)

It was a pretty faithful adaptation of the film version of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST though.

[Whip]

First Blood. I mean, come on. Rambo is killed.

[Kurt Russell Crowe]

Fight Club

it itsn't all that unfaithful to the book.

[Armored Dildo]

it itsn't all that unfaithful to the book.

True, insofar as the majority of the narrative is intact, but the impact of the climax is completely different because in the book they are actually trying to kill tens of thousands of people.

[Rick America]

Frankenstein

The original book and movie are completely different

[WillieLee]

First Blood. I mean, come on. Rambo is killed.

OMG Spoilers!

[c. page]

True, insofar as the majority of the narrative is intact, but the impact of the climax is completely different because in the book they are actually trying to kill tens of thousands of people.

actually, they weren't in the book, IIRC. they were trying to dump the building onto the museum of natural history. the building had been cleared of all non- project mayhem personnel. i don't believe there were any people in the museum, either.

[Armored Dildo]

Frankenstein

The original book and movie are completely different

...except the Branagh version.

[majorjoe23]

Blade Runner and Forrest Gump.

[Armored Dildo]

actually, they weren't in the book, IIRC. they were trying to dump the building onto the museum of natural history. the building had been cleared of all non- project mayhem personnel. i don't believe there were any people in the museum, either.

I distinctly remember that those two buildings were populated and that it was in the middle of the day and that the skyscraper was the biggest building in that book's fictional world. But I could be wrong. I tend to think it's actually one of Palahniuk's weakest books so I haven't kept a copy. Now, Survivor, on the other hand...

[NickT]

Starship Troopers.

[Patrick King]

Starship Troopers.
Oh yeah, I remember hearing somewhere that Paul Verhoeven never actually finished reading the book. What's interesting about the book is that the bugs are almost never in it, and that it's primarily about the training and culture of the military.

[Susan BANthony]

Fletch. Oh God, Fletch.

I just started reading the novels recently (I'm up to Fletch's Fortune) and cannot even imagine Chevy Chase anywhere near the part.

[Armored Dildo]

Oh yeah, I remember hearing somewhere that Paul Verhoeven never actually finished reading the book. What's interesting about the book is that the bugs are almost never in it, and that it's primarily about the training and culture of the military.

And also about Heinlein's belief that you cannot be a full member of civil society without serving in the military first. Verhoeven probably got a whiff of that, dropped the book as if it was the bubonic plague itself and instead made a profound satire about how military films are inherently fascistic (essentially throwing poison in the face of the likes of James Cameron): Brilliant.

[GrimmBen]

Fletch. Oh God, Fletch.

I just started reading the novels recently (I'm up to Fletch's Fortune) and cannot even imagine Chevy Chase anywhere near the part.

I have them all and enjoyed all of them (Carioca Fletch was the least enjoyable I thought). Be sure and read the Flynn spinoff books (there's 4 of them).

[Supreme Convoy]

Road to Perdition strayed away from many points from the book but it's a damn fine movie.

[Mike_Johnson]

The shining. Great book. Good movie. Very different.

[Susan BANthony]

I have them all and enjoyed all of them (Carioca Fletch was the least enjoyable I thought). Be sure and read the Flynn spinoff books (there's 4 of them).

The husband got me two of the Flynn books for Christmas -- looking forward to cracking into them. We've been finding them at the used book stores since they're out of print.

It's funny, I got him Fletch's Moxie, since it was the last one we needed. He started reading them well before I did, and I've just caught up with him.

[Mister Mets]

Frankenstein

The original book and movie are completely different
Yeah. I think it's time to see a high-budget faithful adaptation of the book (not a knock against the excellent work of Boris Karloff.)

[Maxwell]

Fight Club Spoilers:

The tall building they were blowing up had been cleared out and the real target was the museum (which I imagine had been cleared because of the bomb threat across the street). They wanted to destroy the museum to destroy history or something.

[Darthdaw37]

Yeah. I think it's time to see a high-budget faithful adaptation of the book (not a knock against the excellent work of Boris Karloff.)

I liked the 90's Frankenstein with De Niro

[Spidey616]

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

[Armored Dildo]

Yeah. I think it's time to see a high-budget faithful adaptation of the book (not a knock against the excellent work of Boris Karloff.)

Um, Kenneth Branagh did exactly what you ask back in 1993.

[Mister Mets]

Um, Kenneth Branagh did exactly what you ask back in 1993.I'll have to check that out.

Was the Frankenstein in that film superhumanly fast, with the ability to jump great distances?

[LenNWallace]

Children Of Men. Movie was waaaaaay better than the book for once.

[ZombieSpeedball]

Like, any of the Disney fairy tale movies.

[Brandon Reynolds]

Children of Men.

The book is actually fairly slow paced and involves very different ideas and characters.

[Akira]

from hell

[Shwicaz]

I thought "Yellow Submarine" was a horrible adaptation of the album.



WHAT?

[glk]

The Shining.

[Magnum V.I.]

Oh yeah, I remember hearing somewhere that Paul Verhoeven never actually finished reading the book. What's interesting about the book is that the bugs are almost never in it, and that it's primarily about the training and culture of the military.
I loved Starship Troopers the book. Really damn cool book. And I love the Movie too. So it's win win!

[glk]

Fight Club Spoilers:

The tall building they were blowing up had been cleared out and the real target was the museum (which I imagine had been cleared because of the bomb threat across the street). They wanted to destroy the museum to destroy history or something.

Other than some minor points, the movie is a really faithful adaptation of the book.

[BaconWhoreSqueeeaaal]

I would say "I am Legend", but the movie was alright, not great.

Best ending in a book ever. Fuck you Hollywood.

[Armored Dildo]

I'll have to check that out.

Was the Frankenstein in that film superhumanly fast, with the ability to jump great distances?

Yes to both, although they didn't exactly turn him into the Hulk :).

When it came out, the film was panned. People decided it was as bad as Coppola's Dracula from the year before. I tend to like both films for their ambition, the fact that many of the over-the-top moments were by design and that certainly Frankenstein had better acting and a more clear narrative.
Although I'm sure if you ask him Frank Darabont will tell you his original script was way better that the final product.

So do remember that not evreyone like the film when I say that I think watching Branagh's Frankenstein and his Henry V and maybe even his Hamlet would all be good preps for Thor.

[Armored Dildo]

I thought "Yellow Submarine" was a horrible adaptation of the album.



WHAT?

Do not mess with my childhood. :)

That is a mind-bending film.

[kylethoreau]

I have them all and enjoyed all of them (Carioca Fletch was the least enjoyable I thought). Be sure and read the Flynn spinoff books (there's 4 of them).

Fletch Too was just as bad in my opinion since it really was just an excuse for the writer to go on and on about the culture of said locale.

like Carioca.....btw the best book was Confess, Fletch in my humble opinion.



and my list:

What Dreams may come
Adaptation
Constantine (I liked it for what it was)

[Andy Kuhn]

Fletch. Oh God, Fletch.

I just started reading the novels recently (I'm up to Fletch's Fortune) and cannot even imagine Chevy Chase anywhere near the part.

this is the truest statement ever made on this board!
hyperbole forevah!!! :)

[Shwicaz]

Do not mess with my childhood. :)

That is a mind-bending film.


Yeah, I know. I own it on DVD and watch it regularly.

Tomorrow, I will showing it to my friend, Shannon, who has never seen it before.

[Armored Dildo]

Yeah, I know. I own it on DVD and watch it regularly.

Tomorrow, I will showing it to my friend, Shannon, who has never seen it before.

Secure all the sharp objects in your house. They may want to stab their eyes and ears out. :eek:

But seriously: I was exposed to that when I was, at most, eight years old. I like to think that it had a profound and lasting effect on my personality

[Shwicaz]

Secure all the sharp objects in your house. They may want to stab their eyes and ears out. :eek:




Actually, she is looking forward to it, and the 6 other people who will be there have all seen it, and can't believe I own it (apparently it is no longer available to buy on DVD).

Plus, we are all going to be tripping. :)

[Armored Dildo]

Actually, she is looking forward to it, and the 6 other people who will be there have all seen it, and can't believe I own it (apparently it is no longer available to buy on DVD).

Plus, we are all going to be tripping. :)

:rock:

Acid?

[WillieLee]

Armageddon.

[Armored Dildo]

Armageddon.

:) Just remember: J. J. Abrams co-wrote that turd.

[Taxman]

The Poseidon Adventure I guess is a decent enough film for this thread. In the book, the Gene Hackman character was essentially some sort of nut. He arguably did not save anyone's life either. The entire focus of the story is shifted by these changes. It is also interesting that both film remakes kept a number of changes made by the creators of the first film.

[Uther]

Romeo + Juliet

[Leicester Dan]

I know that a lot of people hate the movie Jumper but I enjoyed it.

The book is a lot better though.

[SgtPepper]

I thought "Yellow Submarine" was a horrible adaptation of the album.



WHAT?

If we're going to get technical, the soundtrack was a terrible adaptation of the film, as the film came out the summer of 1968 and the soundtrack wasn't released until January of 1969.

I'd argue that the film is a terrible adadptation of the song.

[Shwicaz]

If we're going to get technical, the soundtrack was a terrible adaptation of the film, as the film came out the summer of 1968 and the soundtrack wasn't released until January of 1969.

I'd argue that the film is a terrible adadptation of the song.


I did not know that. Thanks. (I was just being silly)

[SgtPepper]

I did not know that. Thanks. (I was just being silly)

Oh I knew that, but I jump at any chance to get on my Beatles soapbox.

I told a kid on my floor, who had just eaten shrooms on what he thought was a mushroom pizza, that he should watch Yellow Submarine as it'd really help him handle things.

I'm a bad man. :twisted:

[Shwicaz]

Ha Ha! you are!

[SgtPepper]

Ha Ha! you are!

Well, to be fair the kid's kind of a jerk.

Jaws.
I haven't read the novel, but from my understanding it changes quite a bit from the book and add things, such as the shark exploding.

[Shwicaz]

Well, to be fair the kid's kind of a jerk.

Jaws.
I haven't read the novel, but from my understanding it changes quite a bit from the book and add things, such as the shark exploding.


I was very surprised when I read 'Jaws' years later. One of the things they left out of the film (If I am remembering correctly) was the affair between Mrs. Brody and Richard Dreyfus' character.

[Cactusakic]

4 immediately spring to mind, 2 of which have already been mentioned and two that haven't:

Blade Runner
The Shining
The Godfather
Dune

[Cactusakic]

Also:

The Running Man
The Body/Stand By Me
Fever Pitch (British Version).

[costello]

Children of Men.

[that bastard]

A couple of the ones I can think of have been mentioned already:

BLADERUNNER - 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' is completely different. Not better or worse, per se, just different. The most faithful adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick story I can think of is MINORITY REPORT, actually.

ROAD TO PERDITION - The comic is more of a "Hong Kong" actioner. People diving around, pistols blazing. The comic is EXCELLENT but the movie took the heart of the comic-the father/son relationship-and moved it forward and toned the violence down which I think was an improvement in some ways but, in that sense, it's also nothing like the book.

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned:

V FOR VENDETTA - While I enjoyed the movie and I wouldn't say it's a "terrible" adaptation, there were many changes made that kind of pissed me off. Primarily the ending. That made me so upset.

See, in the comic, while V does sort of rally the people of London against their oppressive government, he doesn't send out thousands of Don Post V For Vendetta costumes. While, visually, it was nifty, it was actually kind of stupid. Good to know the mysterious V has an account at FedEx. And while, in the comic, V DOES destroy one last building via a train loaded with explosives (in the movie it was Parliament, in the comic it was 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's residence) - and while it IS, in fact, his funereal train, the movie skipped on a GREAT scene: Evey taking up the mantle of V. That was SUCH a great scene and a great way to end (basically, back where it begins) with Evey as V and the young police officer (Dominic?) being brought to the Shadow Gallery. "My name is V" etc. Awesome.

[Taxman]

4 immediately spring to mind, 2 of which have already been mentioned and two that haven't:

The Godfather
I'm not getting you here. Disagree completely.

[schizorabbit]

A couple of the ones I can think of have been mentioned already:

BLADERUNNER - 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' is completely different. Not better or worse, per se, just different. The most faithful adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick story I can think of is MINORITY REPORT, actually.


What about A Scanner Darkly?

[Scott Chantler]

THE PRESTIGE turns the book's (which is a favourite of mine) plot virtually inside-out, as well as abandoning entire time periods and characters. I don't think I've ever seen a book-to-film adaptation that is SUCH an adaptation. But it works great on film and preserves the book's themes wonderfully. Love those Nolan brothers.

[Ron Salas]

Man in the Iron Mask

[that bastard]

What about A Scanner Darkly?

AH! Yes, there was that also.

I have to watch that again. The one time I did I thought it looked really cool but it bored the hell out of me.

[bartleby]

Has anybody mentioned Spike Jonze's ADAPTATION. yet?

[RickLM]

I suppose the Nancy Drew movie would be one that took a whole different take on the source material.

[Taxman]

Has anybody mentioned Spike Jonze's ADAPTATION. yet?Do you really think that anyone here has read The Orchid Thief?

[glk]

I was very surprised when I read 'Jaws' years later. One of the things they left out of the film (If I am remembering correctly) was the affair between Mrs. Brody and Richard Dreyfus' character.

Thankfully. That just sounds like an awful, pointless subplot.

[RickLM]

Also:

The Body/Stand By Me



Don't necessarily agree with that one. The movie puts a little more emphasis on the four boys' relationship but otherwise seemed faithful (its been a long while for story and film, however).

[glk]

BLADERUNNER - 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' is completely different. Not better or worse, per se, just different. The most faithful adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick story I can think of is MINORITY REPORT, actually.

MINORITY REPORT is a terrible adaptation - it's nothing like the story.

[bartleby]

Do you really think that anyone here has read The Orchid Thief?

I read the article that lead to the book.

[Taxman]

MINORITY REPORT is a terrible adaptation - it's nothing like the story.I can't even remember anything about the story.

[that bastard]

MINORITY REPORT is a terrible adaptation - it's nothing like the story.

I didn't say it was dead on, mind you. I just thought it was the closest I could think of.

MOST movies based on P.K.D. stories are way off...Like 'Second Variety' (SCREAMERS) or 'We Can Remember it For You Wholesale' (TOTAL RECALL, which people love but I hated from the first time I saw it in the theater. And I was the target audience, too: a 17 year-old male) but I thought MINORITY REPORT was the closest.

Okay, then. Add MINORITY REPORT to my list. I really dig that movie.

[Magnum V.I.]

MINORITY REPORT is a terrible adaptation - it's nothing like the story.

I think it's a better story. i was not a fan of Minority Report the Short Story at all.

[Taxman]

I didn't say it was dead on, mind you. I just thought it was the closest I could think of.

MOST movies based on P.K.D. stories are way off...Like 'Second Variety' (SCREAMERS) or 'We Can Remember it For You Wholesale' (TOTAL RECALL, which people love but I hated from the first time I saw it in the theater. And I was the target audience, too: a 17 year-old male) but I thought MINORITY REPORT was the closest.

Okay, then. Add MINORITY REPORT to my list. I really dig that movie.I certainly was not impressed with Paycheck.

[Marcdachamp]

No one mentioned Jurassic Park?

[Dreg]

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" bears little resemblance to the original novel, "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" I think the murderer was a genie in the novel. He was hired by Roger himself. Who was actually the ghost of Roger, as he was murdered earlier in the novel. Yeah...the movie was quite an upgrade.

[Armored Dildo]

No one mentioned Jurassic Park?

Good point.

[Marcdachamp]

Good point.

Good movie, better book, very different.

[SgtPepper]

Good movie, better book, very different.

I can't watch The Lost World since it deviates so much from the book.

[Taxman]

I can't watch The Lost World since it deviates so much from the book.That's such a sell out. :lol:

[SgtPepper]

That's such a sell out. :lol:

Just to be clear, I meant the Michael Crichton book, not the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle one.

[Taxman]

Just to be clear, I meant the Michael Crichton book, not the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle one.Just to be clear, I am talking about Ian Malcolm dying in one book and being undead in its sequel.

[GelfXIII]

Number 1 answer: BLADERUNNER

Also rans:
From Hell
V for vendetta
The Shining
A Clockwork Orange

[SgtPepper]

Just to be clear, I am talking about Ian Malcom dying in one book and being undead in its sequel.

Yeah, that was kind of cheap. I did enjoy John Hammond getting killed by the Compsognathi

[Joe Kalicki]

Do you really think that anyone here has read The Orchid Thief?

I read it a couple months ago.

[Marcdachamp]

Just to be clear, I am talking about Ian Malcolm dying in one book and being undead in its sequel.

I still don't understand how that happened. Care to explain? Was it because of the movie?

[Shepherd]

Soylent Green. I mean, in the book, Soylent is made of soybeans and lentils, thus the name.

R

[Taxman]

I still don't understand how that happened. Care to explain? Was it because of the movie?Yes, that is the only reason. There is not explanation of what happened to him in the book, he just drops some line like "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" at a lecture.

In the novel The Poseidon Adventure, the boat sinks at the end. But that did not stop the author from writing the sequel Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.

[Arion]

Yes, that is the only reason. There is not explanation of what happened to him in the book, he just drops some line like "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" at a lecture.

].

John Byrne uses that line all the time. I guess he is a Mark Twain fan.

[BURKE]

Wanted
A thousand times over. My wife read the book the day before we watched the movie. She loved the book, and liked the movie. I agree fully.

[Marcdachamp]

Yes, that is the only reason. There is not explanation of what happened to him in the book, he just drops some line like "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" at a lecture.

In the novel The Poseidon Adventure, the boat sinks at the end. But that did not stop the author from writing the sequel Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.

Wow. That's so lame.

[Dan-C]

I always use War of the Words as a reference as far as unfaithful adaptations go. There's part one of the book, where the aliens invade. Which we've seen now. But there's a whole other part to the book where people are captives and living in captivity which wasn't shown in either adaptation.

By leaving this part out though, both movies are pretty fun to watch. But they are both just not faithful at all.



V for vendetta


Whether you like the movie or not, V is actually a pretty faithful adaptation, with perhaps some of the end not being exact.

[majorjoe23]

I didn't say it was dead on, mind you. I just thought it was the closest I could think of.

MOST movies based on P.K.D. stories are way off...Like 'Second Variety' (SCREAMERS) or 'We Can Remember it For You Wholesale' (TOTAL RECALL, which people love but I hated from the first time I saw it in the theater. And I was the target audience, too: a 17 year-old male) but I thought MINORITY REPORT was the closest.

Okay, then. Add MINORITY REPORT to my list. I really dig that movie.

I'll admit not having read the book, but I've heard A Scanner Darkly is the most faithful. Watching the movie, it certainly felt more like something Dick would write, more than any of the other adaptations I'd seen.

[Gordon Chumway]

Fight Club

I found Fight Club to be pretty true to the book.

[Flonk]

Die Hard

[Flonk]

Fight Club

No, Fight Club is a pretty good adaptation.

[yeamon]

Naked Lunch.

Cronenberg took source material with no real linear narrative, mined Burroughs biography for the slightest vein of a plot, and created a piece that is 100% his own.

As much as I appreciated the Burroughs book, I think I have more respect for what Cronenberg accomplished. Casting Weller was a stroke of genius also.

[Flonk]

Adaptation

[GrimmBen]

Die Hard

As well as Die Hard 2 (based on the book 58 Minutes).

[Flonk]

Mean Girls

[Taxman]

Wow. That's so lame.The Lost World and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure are both written as sequels to the movies rather than the books.

[Flonk]

Not a movie, but the live action Tick TV show is wonderful

[skeematic]

Neverending Story.

[Flonk]

Planet of the Apes

[GelfXIII]

Whether you like the movie or not, V is actually a pretty faithful adaptation, with perhaps some of the end not being exact.

I actually love both the movie and the book, but I'm aware that a lot of people consider them to be radically different. I'll agree that the politics are fairly divergent, especially as regards the endorsement of anarchism as a legitimate political alternative.

[Marc Lombardi]

Someone already mentioned The Running Man.

I'd also add JACKIE BROWN (based on "Rum Punch") and The Pelican Brief (Denzel should NOT have been cast in that role. The character was an out of shape middle aged average looking white guy)

[Ben]

Naked Lunch.

Cronenberg took source material with no real linear narrative, mined Burroughs biography for the slightest vein of a plot, and created a piece that is 100% his own.

As much as I appreciated the Burroughs book, I think I have more respect for what Cronenberg accomplished. Casting Weller was a stroke of genius also.Sounds like an adaptation to me...

[yeamon]

Sounds like an adaptation to me...

I thought the question was what movies we thought were good but were not faithful adaptations of the source material.

I don't think the film Naked Lunch is faithful in the least to the source material.

[Ben]

I thought the question was what movies we thought were good but were not faithful adaptations of the source material.

I don't think the film Naked Lunch is faithful in the least to the source material.I don't think a faithful adaptation has to be a cliffnotes version of the plot of the book.

[BenH]

Surprised no one mentioned this (unless they did and I missed it) but I'm going to go with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. The events in both the book and movie are more or less the same, but the tone could not be more different. Both are excellent though.

[yeamon]

I don't think a faithful adaptation has to be a cliffnotes version of the plot of the book.

Okay, I'm going to ask, have you read Naked Lunch?

Because the word "plot" can only be applied to that novel in the loosest sense. And while I'm sure cliff notes probably exist for Naked Lunch, I can't imagine it's a checklist of plot developments (since there are none). Note to reader: Burroughs intended the chapters to be read "in any order". Yes, certainly a recipe for a great screenplay.

[Flonk]

Galaxy Quest.

Great movie, has almost nothing to do with Star Trek.

[schizorabbit]

Surprised no one mentioned this (unless they did and I missed it) but I'm going to go with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. The events in both the book and movie are more or less the same, but the tone could not be more different. Both are excellent though.

Did you happen to read my post about a friend of mine who got high with Ken Kesey and the Grateful Dead, and then Ken Kesey helped her finish a poem for a college class that was due the next day?

EDIT:


Galaxy Quest.

Great movie, has almost nothing to do with Star Trek.

I consider Galaxy Quest my favorite Star Trek movie

:)

[Flonk]

Men in Black

[Mornmist]

I was rereading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy at the time the movies came out. Overall I thought they were good adaptions except the second film. I still feel like they horribly mangled the character of Faramir.

[c. page]

I was rereading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy at the time the movies came out. Overall I thought they were good adaptions except the second film. I still feel like they horribly mangled the character of Faramir.

that used to bug the hell out of me as well, although listening to the commentaries on the two towers extended edition has made me appreciate why they made the changes that they did.