This is inane. I've seen some movies first, but realized the books were better. I've read some books first, but realized the movies were better. Better is better, no matter the format or which one you experienced first.
The book, however, is USUALLY better.
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A novel idea: is the book always better than the film?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/07/a-novel-idea-is-the-book-always-better-than-the-film
@SlowRain No, imo the book is not always better than the film. Usually is, though, I agree. For example... The Lord of the Rings? Halfway the 2nd book I fell asleep, heh. But the movies? Niiiice! On the other hand, The Hobbit.. the book was good. The movies (seriously, plural?) were kinda shit and lots of made up rubbish.
But in many cases, I find the movies lacking some of the nuances you could read in the books. Some tidbits, thoughts, and such. And sometimes, both mediums are equally as good. That's a bit rare though.
@SlowRain I should rewatch LotR someday, it's been a while. But the movies were just nice to watch for me. Nice landscapes, nice pace in many cases, etc.
Just when they got around to the horse folks, I found it a bit tiring to watch. But then, that's where I stopped in the books too... I just didn't find that area and those people very interesting. So after halfway book 2, I wouldn't know what was omitted and what was made up in the movies.
And I did like reading about Tom Bombadil and such because it's some background lore that I also encounter in the game The Lord of the Rings Online, but I am glad it's not in the movies because that'd become one long drawn out movie nobody would enjoy.
So, where they skipped a fair amount in LotR... they added way too much stuff in The Hobbit. The first movie was.. oh.. well, doable I suppose. I did have to laugh a little about the ridiculous stuff they added, but I found everything a bit... taking too long before they finally got somewhere. I'd say they had the exact opposite effect of the LotR movies, and it didn't turn out good.
I still haven't watched the second Hobbit movie, because I didn't bother for it anymore in the cinemas after the first one. And I've only recently watched the third one on TV when it aired.. and did NOT enjoy it. So, yeah, don't bother with The Hobbit movies I'd say, you're not missing out on anything at all if you've read the books. It's become a ridiculous action movie.
I don't really know many movies that's better than the books though. But one where I thought both mediums were on par was The Maid. Slightly different perspectives, but when having read and watched both versions it gave a nice total picture in my mind.
I'll see if I can check out Mystic River someday. Though if it's not on Netflix, it'll have to wait, heh. ;)
@trinsec
I thought the 1st movie was much better than the book (no Tom Bombadil), but the 2 subsequent movies got progressively worse. The 3rd movie wasn't great, but at least it got rid of the Scouring of the Shire. I didn't even watch the Hobbit movies for the reasons you mentioned.
Mystic River is another one where the movie was better than the book.