Shallow Adaptation Of An Excellent Novel

Rating: 3/10 (26 June 2001)

Alex Garland's novel, "The Beach", was one of those rare books I absolutely could not put down until I'd finished it. I walked across busy streets reading it. It had me hooked.
Now, I didn't expect that the movie adaptation could live up to that standard, but I really did expect something better than this. Leonardo DiCaprio didn't strike me as an appropriate choice for Richard, but the prospect of Robert Carlyle as Daffy gave me hope--how could he not be perfect in that role?
This movie showed me how.
I suppose there's no point in further unfavourable comparisons to the book. Considered on their own, the movie's characters are ciphers, as opposed to travesties; considered on its own, the movie's plot is thin and bland, as opposed to laughably distorted; and considered on their own, the movie's themes and subtexts don't exist.
Scenery's pretty enough, I guess.