Saturday, June 12, 2021

Quick Reaction: The Dead Zone


It's interesting how often Stephen King's stories are turned into movies, given how much of the details in the books are apparently left out. I've never read one of King's books, but every time I learn something about them versus the movie, I discover either how much was left out or how much was changed. The Shining is virtually unrecognizable from the book, apparently. IT has so much more going on as well. The Dead Zone feels that way too. It barely even touches on the idea for the title. And, the movie definitely feels better suited for a TV show. Instead, the movie has to race through the discovery of Christopher Walken's powers, the use of them to solve a couple crimes or save people, and ultimately his climactic political assassination attempt. It's a lot of story for a pretty brief movie. Walken is really good as the main character, and it occurred to me how rarely he's ever the lead in a movie. I like Brooke Adams and Tom Skerritt too. Martin Sheen is a great slimy politician. It's funny to think about how he then went on to play one of the most beloved TV presidents about 15 years later.

 

Perhaps the movie had a little too much going on, but it was reasonably effective.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend

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