Nerve, starring Dave Franco and Emma Roberts, is a movie adaptation of a YA novel. Let’s breakdown some of the difference between the book and movie.
Book vs. Movie Differences in Nerve
For the most part, the movie made changes that raised the stakes for all of the characters involved. I think the actors did a great job portraying the different characters and were able to stay true to them at their core. I also really liked the visual effects with the phones/computers and thought that they were a fun addition to the movie. Overall, I enjoyed the movie more than the book and I would watch it again.
1. Character backstories were cut.
Most of the backstories for the characters were cut or made shorter for the film. For example, in the book, Vee loves fashion and works on costumes behind the stage for her school’s theater productions. Several months before the story begins, Vee accidentally fell asleep in the garage while her car was still running. Her parents freaked thinking this was an attempted suicide and lost their trust in her.
All of this was cut in the movie. Instead, Vee is a talented photographer who has been accepted into her dream school but is having trouble telling her mom. It’s just Vee and her mom as her older brother died two year prior sometime shortly after his high school graduation. Even though the theater part was taken out, Sydney is still a drama queen who obsessively wants to play NERVE.
2. New dares raised the stakes of the NERVE game.
As for the actual game, NERVE was changed a little bit. There were still Watchers and Players, but the Watchers chose the dares for the Players and these dares were way more action-filled, raising the stakes. I was a fan of these new dares, even though some of them were INTENSE.
3. The location changed.
As for the setting, the movie takes place in New York City instead of Seattle and all of the players are playing in this one city.
4. The game prizes were simplified.
Throughout the night, the players are trying to gather as many watchers as they can and the two players with the highest amount of watchers are chosen for the final round. The prizes for each round changed to be different amounts of money, simplifying due to some of the cut storylines.