Many battles are lost
I really wanted to love the new version of the The Stand that just finished airing tonight but sadly it just didn't hit the mark. It's disappointing, because The Stand is one of my top five favourite novels of all time, and the 1990's miniseries starring (among others) Rob Lowe, Gary Sinise, and Molly Ringwald was a pretty darn good adaption, so with the current COVID19 pandemic still going on, it seemed like a no brainer that this version would hit nicely. But it didn't.
I've spent the series trying to work out exactly why it hasn't gelled for me and the best I can narrow it down to is:
I have a lot more I could say but it's late, I'm tired, and I still have a dozen or so chapters to read in my nth rereading of the book, so. Yeah. Am I disappointed I didn't enjoy this version more? Definitely. Am I also grateful that another version was made so that I could once more dive into this apocalyptic nightmare and see these old friends fleshed out anew? 100% yes, yes and yes.
And I will always love James Marsden in leading man/hero roles, so. #yep MIRROR!VERSE: https://anr.dreamwidth.org/1576972.html (
)
I've spent the series trying to work out exactly why it hasn't gelled for me and the best I can narrow it down to is:
- Too much swearing, especially in the first few episodes. I'm not averse to swearing in real life or silver screen, but when every second word someone speaks is "fuck", it loses its fucking impact.
- In what I'm assuming was an attempt to distance itself from the 1990's miniseries, this version focuses a lot on what was trimmed out of the first one, and skips along what overlap there is at a fast speed. The trouble with this is -- the overlap is the MAIN STORY.
- Starting the story in Boulder, post-pandemic, and then flashing back to everyone's origins at the beginning of the pandemic. Which I can only assume they did this because "flashbacks are coooooool" and it's another way to distinguish this from the 1990's version, because it certainly did nothing for coherency.
- Changing things, either just to change them, or to make it grittier or darker or whatever -- which, were they not paying attention to the source material? this is a story about 99% of the world's population dying in 4 weeks, and then there being a survivor's battle between good and evil, it's already pretty fucking dark! But like, now Flagg's Vegas a place of drugs, sex and gore, where everyone is taking drugs, and cheering on slaves having sex or slicing each other up with chainsaws, instead of working hard to get things going again (in the book, if Flagg caught you doing drugs, or slacking off from your work roster, you were crucified, do not pass Go!, do not collect $200).
- Some of the acting was great, and I had no issues with the gender or racial changes (a female Ray was a great decision!) but some of the acting was also very much not great. And it was mostly not great when we were in scenes that had been changed from the original source material. Sorry, not sorry.
I have a lot more I could say but it's late, I'm tired, and I still have a dozen or so chapters to read in my nth rereading of the book, so. Yeah. Am I disappointed I didn't enjoy this version more? Definitely. Am I also grateful that another version was made so that I could once more dive into this apocalyptic nightmare and see these old friends fleshed out anew? 100% yes, yes and yes.
And I will always love James Marsden in leading man/hero roles, so. #yep MIRROR!VERSE: https://anr.dreamwidth.org/1576972.html (
)