Improved Second Attempt / Live-Action Films

• Batman:
  • Happened within the original Batman Film Series: The dark and gritty first two movies by Tim Burton didn't land too well with studio bosses who wanted to milk on Batman's popularity with kids, as well as some moviegoers who knew Batman best from the 1966 TV series. So the third movie of the series, Batman Forever, did bring way more camp and fun into the franchise. While reviews were mixed it proved to be the most financially successful movie of this series by far. However, its sequel, Batman & Robin served as a Franchise Killer for live-action adaptations of the Caped Crusader, and since then, Batman Forever has been considered to be a Contested Sequel while the Burton-movies, especially Batman Returns, have been Vindicated by History.
  • However, when Christopher Nolan rebooted Batman with his The Dark Knight Trilogy, this time around the audience seemed far more willing for a Darker and Edgier-approach of the Dark Knight in a grounded and gritty setting than they were at the time of Burton's attempt.
• While Dungeons & Dragons (2000) was intended as a live-action adaptation of the tabletop-game of the same name, it was poorly reviewed by critics and fans and seen as an In Name Only-adaptation at best. Two Direct-To-DVD sequels did follow, but another cinematic movie didn't follow until 23 years later. This Continuity Reboot, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, is in the eyes of many fans a way more faithful adaptation of the gameplay and a generally better movie.
• Ghostbusters: Afterlife: For years there were plans for a sequel to Ghostbusters II, but it landed in Development Hell. Than, in 2016 a Ghostbusters reboot was released and was panned by fans. When Sony did a second attempt to re-animate the franchise in 2021 with Afterlife, it got far better reception. Instead of being a full-on Continuity Reboot like the 2016 movie, this one is a Distant Sequel that while also has a completely new cast still has the original team mentioned and appearing, which was more accepted by the fans thanks to nostalgia. It also helped that Jason Reitman, son of the original two movie's director Ivan Reitman, was directing this movie.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
  • Hedwig's final moments are changed from the book, where some felt her death seemed like an underwhelming case of Dropped a Bridge on Him. The character still dies, but instead of being hit by a stray curse in a crossfire, it's a Heroic Sacrifice in an attempt to protect Harry; this also inadvertently results in the Death Eaters recognizing him as the real Harry, so overall her death has more significance to the plot.
  • In the book, Hermione beats up Ron after he returns. Many felt it was a huge case of Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male and that Ron wasn't entirely at fault for the situation that led to him leaving, and it wasn't helped that Ron felt he deserved to get beat up too. In the movie, the beating was toned down to a few not-so-painful hits, and Ron has a Dude, Where's My Respect? response.
  • Bellatrix's torture of Hermione is seen as even more horrifying (and therefore more effective) than in the book. There we assume Bellatrix used the Cruciatus curse, but here she's seen going a step further and carving 'Mudblood' into Hermione's arm.
  • Griphook's fate is left ambiguous in the book, where he simply disappears from the story after betraying the Trio. In the film, we see his comeuppance as he is slaughtered by Voldemort.
  • When Harry gets to Hogwarts, the film gives him a scene where he calls out Snape for his actions in Half-Blood Prince ("How dare you stand where he stood!") — which is quite cathartic, given that there was never a reunion between them in the book until Snape's death.
  • Some fans really didn't like that Harry went to his death in the Forbidden Forest without telling anyone, finding it unnecessarily cruel and callous towards his friends. The film adds in a scene where he does tell them, and it more than delivers in the Tear Jerker department.
  • The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort in the book was frequently mocked for being an extended Info Dump and leading to an Anti-Climax. The film makes this sequence much more action-packed, having it take place at the same time as Molly killing Bellatrix and Neville killing Nagini — which certainly paces it better.
  • Harry's plan in the book to deal with the Elder Wand—to die a natural death after never losing, therefore cutting off its power—got some criticism. After all, that's what Dumbledore tried, and it failed. In the film, Harry snaps the Elder Wand and tosses the pieces away once he's done with it.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • The main source of conflict in Captain America: Civil War has been changed from opposing political views as per the Civil War (2006) comic (which would require a big Conflict Ball to make them take up action against one another, and which infamously turned Iron Man into a Strawman Political with a Jerkass Ball), and more about what to do with Bucky (who is a wanted man due to the crimes committed by the Winter Soldier), and Cap willing to go against the law to protect him. This gives both sides much more grounds to stand on instead of both sides being needlessly horrible for their own selfish reasons.^note On the one hand, he's crossing a line by actively attacking legitimate law enforcement agents to protect a fugitive, on the other hand, Bucky doesn't deserve the punishment he's facing and protecting his friend is a completely understandable thing to do.
    • It's also made clear in the film that Tony is only following the orders he has been given, and is conflicted about fighting his friends. He is also not responsible for sending his old buddies to the RAFT. This makes him significantly more sympathetic than in the comic, where he takes a more active role in hunting anti-reg heroes and helped build the extra-dimensional prison where unregistered heroes are held.
  • The introduction of Xu Wenwu as the Mandarin in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was intended to fix a long-standing race-relations problem with the Shang-Chi character. In his original incarnation in the Master of Kung Fu comic series, Shang-Chi was the son of Public Domain Character Fu Manchu, a Yellow Peril villain that Chinese people consider an extremely racist stereotype. This adaptation discards all connection with Fu, presenting Wenwu instead as an ancient, immortal Chinese warlord-turned-Triad boss who proves a very complex and ultimately sympathetic antagonist.
    • This movie also marks Marvel Studios' second attempt to introduce the Mandarin into the MCU, as the character, despite the Yellow Peril problem mentioned above, is a very popular character as he's considered the Arch-Enemy of Iron Man. Iron Man 3 introduced the Mandarin played by Ben Kingsley, who turns out to be a fake invented by the movie's real Big Bad in the movie's third act. This decision was... controversial, to say the least and led to Marvel confirming there was a real Mandarin out there in their one shot All Hail the King. Shang-Chi now introduces Wenwu who is meant to be said real Mandarin who gets a lot more praise from fans than the version introduced in Iron Man 3.
• Roberto Benigni had a rather unique relationship with film adaptations of The Adventures of Pinocchio, infamously directing and starring in his own adaptation in 2002, which was widely panned, in no small part due to Benigni casting himself (at the age of 50) as the titular child puppet. Benigni ended up finding a second wind years later when he was cast as part of Matteo Garrone's adaptation in 2019, this time as the kindly old Geppetto, and both the adaptation and Benigni's performance saw significantly more acclaim.
• Saw: Writers Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger's proposed film to revive the franchise after the original finale Saw 3D, Jigsaw, had a rather negative critical reception for having a poorly-structured plot featuring many Plot Holes and timeline issues in regards to the seven previous films, as well as a number of drastic differences in the aesthetic to the one that most viewers were used to for Saw. Their next effort with Chris Rock, Spiral, was better-received for not trying to tamper with what was established in past installments and being more visually polished (while at the same time not being the same as before), even if the plot still had plenty of criticism alongside the acting (particularly that of Rock).

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