Not as good as the book, but still very entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2018)

The film version of The Beach is not as gripping as the book, which is an absolute page turner. If you haven't read the book yet, I highly suggest you give it a read. The film is still very entertaining though, as it keeps you interested throughout, and is filled with beautiful cinematography and landscapes. Leonardo absolutely steals the show, as he does in just about all of his movies, and does a great job of portraying the young, starry eyed traveler Richard, who is seeking the ultimate journey and eventually is pushed to the brink of insanity by the utopia he was so eagerly seeking.
One way that the film bested the book, IMO, is by having Richard travel to the mainland with Sal for supplies instead of Jed. I think this was a much better way to depict the interactions and relationship between Richard and Sal, while also building more of an urgency for Richard to keep the others from reaching the island. It absolutely made more sense for Richard to fear being blackmailed by Sal over what transpired during their trip to the mainland than what transpired in the book.