'Not as he is written' being a criticism linked to parroting of the novel.
That's not to say "as written" isn't better.
One of my most admired film adaptations is
Juraissic Park. Don't get me wrong; I loathe that movie.
But, except for the T-Rex attack and some of the basic set-up, Spielberg almost stubbornly refused to import any scenes from the book. The book was WAY better, and the main character far more compelling than as eventually played by Sam Neill. But I admire the choice to refuse to simply film the book ... even if it meant a movie that was nowhere near as good as the book.
(And, teehee, lots of scenes from the original book ended up in the JP movie sequels.)
With Harry Potter, I not only don't mind the films that have been most cinematically adapted (P
ofA and O
oftheP), but find them equally as enjoyable as the novels they are so loosely based on.