The Stand (1994)

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Having read the book, I can say that The Stand is a fairly decent adaptation for what it is and the time in which it came out. A good many of the cast portray their characters well including Gary Sinise as Stu Redman, Rob Lowe as Nick Andros, and the standout performance of Mother Abigail by Ruby Dee who was everything I wanted out of her. She WAS Mother Abigail. In fact, most of the actors portrayals of these characters are good enough that when I picture the characters from the book in my head, these actors are the faces of them. The story is much more dark, sexual, and brutal than what you get from a TV show produced in the mid 90's, but the key details and basic storyline of Stephen King's greatest work are still there and it is much more accessible than the 1100 page monster of a novel. While the novel would take a multitude of hours to reconquer, I can revisit the world whenever I would like in the much easier 6 hour time frame of the series. In the nearly 40 years since its release, Hollywood has tried to put together a big budget adaptation of this great American epic, but have yet to get passed the initial planning stages. So, for now, The Stand mini-series is all we have and I must say that I am fine with that.

This was very entertaining and easy to binge watch.

ill keep it short. the first episode is great. good pacing, suspense, and good backstory to give you information. however, after the first episode, the rest of the 3 episodes are slow, terribly paced, and the things people do just don't make any damn sense.i want you to know the ending, i really do. if anything, just to prevent you from wasting your time. a maniac, who seems out of place the entire series, tries to set off an explosion but some weird spirit of an old prophet stops him. it doesn't make sense as you read it here, and it makes even less sense in the context of the film. also, consider the prophet told 4 of the characters to go to the town to stop the bomb going off...but it was worthless, they didn't do anything. a whole episode about some epic journey, where many of them even died, just for some stupid spirit voice to stop a maniac who just randomly decided to bomb the city. its terrible, absolutely terrible.

"The Stand" is my favorite book from the author and favorite books in general. I remember when I heard about a mini series for The Stand was coming out, you can imagine my excitement. Seeing it then didn't disappoint me, and I still think it hold pretty well today; granted it's not perfect but I feel for what they were able to do, it does well.The story just like in the book is great, what I really liked about it is that in a strange way it's kinda a modern day fantasy epic, which I thought was cool since that's territory the fantasy genre doesn't tackle much for some reason. But most importantly that this is a Christian story, but in a good way where it's not preachy or heavy handed buy rather suttle.I really like some of the business with the virus in the first and second part of the series. The way it plays out is terrifying and plausible if an outbreak ever occurred making everything go straight to hell; it's sort of reminiscent of the book/TV miniseries "Day of the Triffids" as well as the film "28 Days Latter".However to me what was more interesting were the supernatural and Christian elements. I even like how in some places there are some parallels to the biblical stories. Most of the business with the virus and the survivors is pretty much part of Revelations. Las Vegas is pretty much Sodom and Gomorah and Bolder, Colorado is Bethlaham. You name it's there.The themes are also there without slapping you over the head like love, faith, redemption, transcendence, standing up against evil and sacrifice.The characters are great and I really like the cast which consists of experienced actors that work. And part of what made the story stand out is in the amount of depth and story arc around them which made me actually care even sad when one or few of them die.Gary Sinise is solid as Stu Redmen, I sort of imagined this actor in that role. I like that he's a blue collar man of the country whom is smart and has quiet charisma. Even like that he doesn't like being pushed around or takes crap from anyone it shows he is more than capable of standing up for himself. Molly Ringwold (one of my favorite actresses) was solid as Frannie Goldsmith, I'll admit it was real surreal but at the same time great seeing her in something like this; it's a shame she didn't have a bit more afterward. Her character is sweet, has a certain vibrancy to her, but there is also a sense of maturity. The chemistry between both Stu and her I think is solid and you know are right for one another.Larry Underwood (Adam Stoke) is great, he's my favorite protagonist in the book. What I love about his character arc is that it's a story about redemption. His character at first seems like the least likely person to survive the apopocalise because of the amount of trouble he's gotten himself into like doing drugs, fame and money getting to his head, but what I like is deep down he's really unhappy and want's another chance. You can say in one hell of a way he got it and you see him slow go thought a transcendence as that person he was from the past slowly fade and we see he becomes a better person, from being more responsible for himself and everyone else, a family man. I always like stories like that which to me are the most fascinating, where the characters are broken in some way and they gain the most enlightenment and faith than ones that already believe and act like they have all the answers. All the other characters also go though their own transcendence as well which are also fascinating in their own way.Randall Flagg he's one of my favorite fictional villains. Yeah, I'll admit this version in the mini series is slightly different but I feel some of the persona and menace that is Randall is still intact. And for the record Randall is a recurring character in most of King's stories "Eyes of the Dragon" and the "Gunslinger" series, both which still need a visual medium adaptation.He's not the devil more like an emissary to him, but from his persona he comes pretty close. I really like how charismatic he is which makes sense since most cult leaders usually do, so it's easy to see how the disciples of evil would fall under his spell. He makes a lot of references which is part of his trademark showing how knowledgeable and smart he truly is.However what makes Randall really scary and menacing is that he is never what he presents himself. Despite that smile he puts on, you know there is something wrong with it because it's not a happy smile but looks more like a sinister sneer. And he can really turn a 180 once he drops the nice guy act, which to me is disarming and can make a villain all the more scary. Overall, I think this is a very good adaptation and one of the only mini series of Steven King I like, if you a fan or non fan I think it's worth checking out. I would love to see a revival of this, may'be as a TV series but for premium channels like "Showtime", with the great amount of depth the book has let alone the fact that two other Steven King stories have TV shows of their own "The Dead Zone" and "Under the Dome" I see no reason why not."The Stand" will keep you on your feet.Rating: 4 stars