The Stand well ends not on a bad note. Years ago I missed the ending of the Stand. After three days of watching the Stand mini series mom calls me up and I missed The Stand's climax. You will see it again on re runs which never happed. It only took over 30 year, but I picked up a copy at Wallmart recently. The Stand starts out strong Abby goes out into the wilderness and comes back with a message. Of the spies only one makes it back. Well Flags plan un folds Flag needs a kid and Howards get played. Watching the characters un fold was interesting. The dismembered/trash can man nuke going of ending was a bit much. But Tom going home slowly winds down the ending which I would say was okay for a movie, but probably better for a book. Written, directed, acted well. Not bad six stars.
3 Reviews
Out with a damp squib
nephihaha26 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The first episode of the Stand ranks as easily some of the best television ever made in the USA. However, from that early promise, I think the series went downhill, reaching the bottom at some point in the finale.
The reason for this was partly because it gave into various clichés and bad effects. Flagg has all of the menace of a rubber mask in this, and when Mother Abagail drops in at the end, it is like a kind of tacky joke. There are also bizarre and inappropriate cameos from Stephen King himself and John Landis, which detract from the action.
On the plus side, Miguel Ferrer's Lloyd Henreid remains engaging as ever, and Glen Bateman (played by Walston) manages to play a likable character without descending into schmaltz. Trashcan Man, unfortunately, puts in all too brief appearances, particularly as he is pivotal to action in the novel.
I think that the best part for me was the incineration of Las Vegas...
The reason for this was partly because it gave into various clichés and bad effects. Flagg has all of the menace of a rubber mask in this, and when Mother Abagail drops in at the end, it is like a kind of tacky joke. There are also bizarre and inappropriate cameos from Stephen King himself and John Landis, which detract from the action.
On the plus side, Miguel Ferrer's Lloyd Henreid remains engaging as ever, and Glen Bateman (played by Walston) manages to play a likable character without descending into schmaltz. Trashcan Man, unfortunately, puts in all too brief appearances, particularly as he is pivotal to action in the novel.
I think that the best part for me was the incineration of Las Vegas...
The devil wears a mullet.
mark.waltz19 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The demonic character of Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan) is a definite cardboard character: silly, cliched and cartoonish, manipulated by the script to make evil appear as sexy, but there's nothing remotely attractive about him. His demonic look had me laughing hysterically at him, and as he sucks the life out of his succubus new wife (Laura San Giacomo), I found it ironic that one of his foes was played by Ray walston, the devil of "Damn Yankees", who comically did the same thing to Lola (Gwen Verdon) in the iconic stage and screen musical. Most of the acting has gone from believable to somewhat forced, and the mood has turned "The Stand" from something potentially great overall into something frequently eye-rolling and pathetic.
As the mini-series rolls to its conclusion, it's obvious that it was stretched out to an incomprehensible length where new characters keep popping up that just stretch this out to a metaphorical pointless ambition. Of course there are certain elements as all of the plots wrap up that are long overdue, and yet most of those part is a letdown, particularly the wasted involvement of Ossie Davis as the judge whose only casting reasoning seemed to be the publicity of Davis and wife Ruby Dee being in the same project. A lot of desperation in its attempt to intertwine science fiction and horror and apocalyptic drama, and after a great beginning, the film ends with a bit of a wimper.
As the mini-series rolls to its conclusion, it's obvious that it was stretched out to an incomprehensible length where new characters keep popping up that just stretch this out to a metaphorical pointless ambition. Of course there are certain elements as all of the plots wrap up that are long overdue, and yet most of those part is a letdown, particularly the wasted involvement of Ossie Davis as the judge whose only casting reasoning seemed to be the publicity of Davis and wife Ruby Dee being in the same project. A lot of desperation in its attempt to intertwine science fiction and horror and apocalyptic drama, and after a great beginning, the film ends with a bit of a wimper.
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