3.82 avg rating — 935,137 ratings

"This is the biggest disparity between the book and the movie I've ever seen in terms of quality. The Rotten Tomatoes synopsis of the movie literally says it's an improvement on the book.

The book is genuinely terrible, absolutely one of the worst pieces of literature I've ever had the misfortune to waste time upon. The movie is delightful in every way. I almost can't believe they're the same story.

I've never seen such proof that a good story is largely reliant on the storyteller."

4.41 avg rating — 3,144,319 ratings

"It's a great story but I just cannot wade through Tolkien's writing style, especially the obsessive detail. The movie is all the good stuff and none of the distractions."

4.36 avg rating — 221,053 ratings

"The original is a short story, part of an anthology. The movie fleshes things out and reinforces the strengths of the original."

4.13 avg rating — 1,060,040 ratings

"The story was really polished and the characterizations improved for the movie. The book almost seems like a rough draft of the movie script.

The opposite is true of the second book and movie, The Lost World. The book was awesome, the movie little more than a reboot of the first."

4.02 avg rating — 649,368 ratings

"Rice has a tendency to spell out every word, sort of holding the reader's hand... with purple prose. Unusually, the movie seems to leave more to the imagination of the watcher, except the magnificent visuals."

4.26 avg rating — 587,762 ratings

"Two words: Anthony Hopkins."

4.28 avg rating — 446,638 ratings

"The book is sweet but doesn't always pop. The movie is virtually made of pop - beauty and color and emotion."

4.32 avg rating — 1,021,657 ratings

"I just found the book too dense and archaic as a modern reader. The melodrama, florid writing, encyclopedic detail and length, and even the formatting of the unabridged original translation is just off-putting even to an avid reader. The 2002 film is an excellent adaptation that doesn't lose any of the beauty but makes the story more accessible."

4.15 avg rating — 152,361 ratings

"The book was distractingly heavy on side plots and unimportant and uninteresting characters. The movie more firmly focuses on the protagonist and the central story."