THE STAND..is 'eh'

I'm already on Disc 2 of The Stand and so far I'm a little disappointed, actually I think I'm way more than a little but less than totally bored. Does that make sense?

Anyway, as I mentioned before The Stand is one of my all-time favorite books. Not just because it deals with a form of post-apocalyptic America, but also because I think that the characters are incredibly real feeling. Stephen King may not be the most high-brow or literary writer, but I think he writes characters who seem like people you know, or people you might like to meet. I knew going in that watching the mini-series was most likely going to be a let-down, but sometimes SEEING your favorite characters come to life is worth the inevitable plot botching etc.

Sadly, the film version of The Stand is seriously lacking..something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's almost like this is a watered down, watching from far away version of a story that I love. The book follows a handful of characters closely, but also interweaves TONS of other people and details into the larger plotlines. Somehow the film loses the magic of all of these interactions. It dutifully follows several of the main people (Stu, Frannie, Trashcan man, Lloyd, Nick etc), but it doesn't spend enough time with any one person or story. I know that there was a lot of material to work with, but since they knew it was going to be a mini-series why didn't they just go all out and really work with each character? Instead it feels rushed, which is pretty crazy when you consider I've already watched about 3+ hours!

In addition to the rushed pace, I HATE some of the casting choices. I'm sure he's a nice guy and a great actor, but the guy playing Larry Underwood is awful. He's not believable, he doesn't have any of the rock & roll meets sleazy edge, and he isn't likable even as he's trying to redeem himself and grow up post-flu. I also really dislike the woman playing Nadine, mostly because she's not at all how I imagined the character. That's not really the fault of the actor, just a bad casting choice in my opinion.

I could go on and on about what I don't like.. but I will at least finish the mini-series before ranting too much!