Book vs. Movie: Dark Matter
I read DARK MATTER back in December 2016 for my IRL book club. Even though I read it in three sittings, the story consumed me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it in between reads and I wanted to get back to it as soon as I could. It was a such a mind-blowing, intense ride. I loved every minute of it. And, even though a lot of the physics went over my head, I did understand quite a bit. When I finished the book, I just keep thinking what if? The possibilities are both exciting and scary.
I decided to watch the AppleTV+ series with Corey because I knew he’d like the multiverse and string theory aspects of the story. I didn’t tell him anything about the book when we started the first episode. We both found it hard to wait a week for the next episode. If we had to do it all over again, we’d probably wait until all 9 episodes had dropped and then binged it in one sitting.
The tv show had a fantastic cast. Joel Edgerton was the perfect Jason Dessen and did a fantastic job playing each version of Jason. I really felt the original Jason’s fear, loss, anger, and determination as he realized what happened to him and wanted to get back to his wife and son. Jennifer Connelly was amazing as Daniela, the original Jason’s wife. I really felt for her as her world fell apart. When she started distrusting who she thought was her husband, I could feel her confusion, anger, and fear. Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Oakes Fegley, Amanda Brugel, and Dayo Okeniyi were also fantastic in their roles.
I’m really glad I decided to watch the series. Seeing it on screen and hearing / seeing the actors portray the characters’ emotions really added to the story and experience for me. I’m curious if they’ll continue the series because this first season covered the entire book. The ending was left open just like the book was so they could definitely continue the story if they want to.
Verdict
The AppleTV+ production was fantastic. From what I remember about the book, the show follows the plot very closely. There might have been some liberties taken with each of the worlds Jason and Amanda encountered, but the spirit of the story’s still the same. Most of the time books are way better than their adaptations, but in this instance, I think both the book and tv show are equally as good.
Have you read DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch? Have you seen the AppleTV+ series? Do you like the book or the series better?
This sounds like a movie that John and I watched about a dinner party where there were alternate dinner parties and versions of the people who snuck into other realities. This one is probably better done than that one and seems intriguing/mind bending. Like “Dark.”
The dinner party movie you mentioned sounds really interesting. I’ll have to look it up and see if I can figure out what it is. Corey and I really love watching those types of stories together.
DARK MATTER is very intriguing and mind-bending. It is a bit dark, but not too bad actually.
I enjoyed this book, so need to watch the show. I currently don’t have Apple + so will have to wait though. Good to hear they did a good job with it though!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2024/07/20/e-galley-review-asking-for-a-friend-by-kara-h-l-chen/
I understand. My husband and I are huge Apple fans so we love their devices. I hope you get a chance to watch the show at some point 😀