History InNameOnly / LiveActionFilms

* The only things ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'''s version of Gillian Loeb has in common in the character of the same name from ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' is that he's against Batman and preceding [[TheCommissionerGordon Jim Gordon]] as Police Commissioner[[note]]Even then, in the comics, there was a man named Grogan who held the job between Loeb leaving and Gordon taking over[[/note]], as the movie character has more to do with Michael Akins, an officer who temporarily replaced Gordon as Commissioner: namely being a young, honest, African-American cop rather than the old Caucasian CorruptCop from the comics.

* Given that only five of the ''Film/JamesBond'' films don't take at least the title from Creator/IanFleming's [[Literature/JamesBond novels/short stories]], it happened often.

* Creator/DavidCronenberg's ''Film/NakedLunch'' uses very little material from Creator/WilliamSBurroughs' [[Literature/NakedLunch novel]] apart from some quotes and character names used out of context. Instead, it's a surreal, highly fictionalized and sanitized account of how Burroughs came to write the novel.

* Both film versions of ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' share nothing in common with [[Literature/PlanetOfTheApes the novel that inspired them]] except the existence of a planet ruled by intelligent apes with humans as savage animals. Both movies, well, ''[[IncrediblyLamePun ape]]'' the TwistEnding of the novel [[spoiler: (the narrator returns to Earth after his voyage only to find that it too has been dominated by intelligent apes)]] though in significantly different ways. Oddly, the third movie in the series, ''Film/EscapeFromThePlanetOfTheApes'', is similar to that of the original novel (loosely), but with the roles of humans and apes reversed.

* The Creator/RogerCorman production ''Film/{{Carnosaur}}'' has absolutely nothing in common with the [[Literature/{{Carnosaur}} novel it's supposedly based on]], aside from the fact there are dinosaurs in both of them, one of which is a ''Deinonychus''. The novel is set in England and revolves around a reporter investigating the private zoo of an eccentric lord to find out he has recreated dinosaurs from fossils, which his crazed wife sets loose out of spite. The movie is set in the United States, and revolves around a security guard who discovers a MadScientist has created a virus that ''fatally impregnates human women with dinosaur fetuses and plans to release it so that the human race will be driven to extinction and dinosaurs will rule the Earth once more''. The film was very obviously made just to be a [[TheMockbuster cheap cash-in]] of ''Film/JurassicPark'', which arguably has more similarities to the novel than the novel's own adaptation does.

** To whit: The actual plot of the film has nothing to do with the original 50s film it's supposedly a remake of other than the broad strokes of "monster attacks city," it's tonally gone from a fairly dark allegory for nuclear annihilation to an action-comedy where most of the damage winds up being done by the military, and Zilla himself went from an ancient killer beast with an atomic BreathWeapon who routinely shrugged off the entire JSDF's arsenal, to a mutant iguana with a bunch of babies who rip off ''Film/JurassicPark'' before he gets taken down by a few airplanes.

* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''Film/JurassicPark'' by Ian Malcolm: "At some point, we will see some dinosaurs on this dinosaur tour, right?" ''Film/JurassicPark'' itself counts more as a PragmaticAdaptation (and a fine one at that). It condenses a few characters, cuts down on the chaos-theory technobabble, and is all in all a well-liked film. The sequel, ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'', on the other hand, bears very little resemblance to [[Literature/TheLostWorld1995 the book]], the only real similarities having the story focus on Malcolm and the two opposing teams venturing to Isla Sorna. Which is odd, since Creator/MichaelCrichton specifically wrote the second book to more closely resemble the first movie (revealing that [[RetCon Malcolm actually survived]] for instance).

* ''Film/ToHaveAndHaveNot'', the film, has very little to do with ''Literature/ToHaveAndHaveNot'', the Creator/ErnestHemingway novel. This may have something to do with the fact that director Creator/HowardHawks, though a Hemingway admirer in general, hated the book.

* ''Film/JonahHex'' bears very little resemblance to [[ComicBook/JonahHex the comic book]], save for the scarred protagonist. The filmmakers added an inexplicable super power to temporarily resurrect the dead, which served no purpose, as he just uses this ability to pump the dead for information, something the hardcore western Hex of the comic would have accomplished simply by shooting the living in the kneecap.

* The [=MacCallisters=] in ''Film/HomeAlone4'' have little to nothing to do with the [=MacCallisters=] from the first two movies. Similarly, the Wet Bandits are back (though they're never called that), but Harry has been replaced with Marv's wife. Also, instead of building his own traps, Kevin just relies on a technologically advanced smart home to thwart them.

** Of the first three movies, ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}} is only in ''Film/X2XMenUnited'', and they mess up his apperance horribly. Whereas in the comic books he has blue fur (which at one issue of ''ComicBook/ExcaliburMarvelComics'' is described as "like blue velvet'') in the movie he seems to be covered in lumpy blue paint.

* Hype Williams, a hip hop video director, took a shot at directing a movie in 1998. The result was ''Film/{{Belly}}''. Now it may not have won any Oscars due to a mediocre plot, but the film became a cult classic with its distinctive narrative and visual style that Williams videos were known for. Eight years later, ''Millionaire Boyz Club'' was finished and ready to be released straight to DVD. Other than being hood movies staring then-big name rappers (Music/{{DMX}} and Music/{{Nas}} in the original and The Game in the sequel), the movie has no connection to the original Belly whatsoever. For reasons unknown to even the actors, the film was released as ''Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club''. The original film featured heavy MusicVideoSyndrome (specifically videos Hype Williams directed), narration from the main character, themes of self destruction, knowledge of self, redemption, salvation, albeit done very sloppy in terms of writing, and dropped many anvils towards the end. This "sequel" had a completely different cast and director, none of the themes of the first film, and lacked the visual style and narrative that the first film was known for.

** Of the first three movies, ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}} is only in ''Film/X2XMenUnited'', and they mess up his apperance horribly. Whereas in the comic books he has blue fur (which at one issue of ''ComicBook/ExcaliburMarvelComics''is described as "like blue velvet'') in the movie he seems to be covered in lumpy blue paint.

** Of the first three movies, ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}} is only in ''Film/X2XMenUnited'', and they mess up his apperance horribly. Whereas in the comic books he has blue fur (which at one issue of Excalibur is described as "like blue velvet'' in the movie he seems to be covered in lumpy blue paint.