THE STAND Review: Despite A Stellar Cast, CBS' Stephen King Adaptation Disappoints - SPOILERS

THE STAND Review: Despite A Stellar Cast, CBS' Stephen King Adaptation Disappoints - SPOILERS

The final episode of CBS All Access' re-adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand aired this week, and despite strong performances from a fine cast, the miniseries was a major disappointment...

Review Opinion
By MarkCassidy - Feb 11, 2021 12:02 PM EST
Filed Under: CBS

This review will contain some spoilers.

CBS All Access' nine-episode adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand has now concluded, and despite some bright spots here and there, it will likely be seen as a crushing disappointment to fans of the seminal 1978 novel.

The Stand was (presumably) a bit of a passion project for writer/director Josh Boone, who was the driving force behind all previous attempts to adapt the book. But watching his take on the material play out, one might wonder if he ever actually read the damn thing.

For the most part, this new miniseries is pretty faithful to the original story (the ill-advised flashback structure aside), but makes some genuinely baffling decisions when it comes to which characters and events to focus on. As a result, it soon becomes difficult to fully engage with what we're seeing unfold, as so many key moments are either glossed over or dropped completely.

This may not seem like it would be as big an issue for someone who hasn't read the book, but the uninitiated are likely to be just as frustrated by how rushed the whole thing is. The '90s miniseries may not have aged very well in a lot of respects, but it still managed to do a better job of adapting the story in 4 hours than this version does in 9.

We're not given enough time to get to know certain characters enough to care what happens to them, and even the main players - who we really should be fully invested in - seem to be hamstrung by the script at every turn.

Image result for the stand

It really is a shame, because the show did manage to assemble an excellent cast, and most of them (not you Ezra Miller) do their best with what they have to work with. Standouts are Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith, Owen Teague as Harold Lauder, and Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen. James Marsden is also on form as Stu Redman, but he's not really stretching any acting muscles playing the "East Texas" everyman.

Henry Zaga is fine as Nick Andros (we'll table the hearing actor playing a deaf character discussion for now), but the character really is given the shaft. Nick is basically the heart and soul of the story, but Boone and co. greatly reduce his role, and his tragic, heroic death - such a powerful moment in the book - is almost treated as an afterthought. Larry (Jovan Adepo) wondering if there's "enough of Nick left to bury" is actually the only time his friends even acknowledge his sacrifice.

Oh, and remember that touching moment towards the end of the novel when Nick's spirit appears to Tom to offer comfort and guidance to his pal? Yeah... you won't be seeing that. Boone evidently felt that showing us Randall Flag dancing like a tool in Vegas was more important.

Speaking of The Walkin' Dude, Alexander Skarsgård's take on the mysterious villain is equal parts menacing and laughable - which, to be fair, is a pretty accurate representation of the character. The finale hints that we may not have seen the last of Mr. Flagg, but, honestly, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting a second season of this.

The cast ensures that The Stand is not a complete disaster, and there are a couple of decent, even pretty good episodes. But overall, this adaptation of what many consider to be King's masterwork is a let-down. Stripping this story of pretty much every shred of dramatic weight and emotional engagement is no easy task, but CBS has accomplished it.

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GhostDog
GhostDog - 2/11/2021, 12:04 PM
Was gonna give this a watch at some point. A co-worker in almost finished and said Skarsgård is really CORNY as Flagg. Its somewhat of a corny character but he said he laughed at times when he shouldn't have been.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 2/11/2021, 12:10 PM
I was excited but I watched the first episode and quickly lost interest. Love the book and I really enjoyed the original mini series. While the new version has a great cast, the way it was handled was bad.
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 2/11/2021, 12:10 PM
For every good Stephen King adaptation, there is a bad one. I recommend The Outsider if anyone wants their fill of Stephen King television.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 2/11/2021, 12:16 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - too bad no second season for it. I really enjoyed it.
BreakTheCode
BreakTheCode - 2/11/2021, 12:41 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - The Outsider was ok. The first half was really engaging and interesting. The latter half however really went downhill.
RolandD
RolandD - 2/11/2021, 5:31 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - I'm about to pick that book up. I read more than I watch the adaptations. I just read 11/22/63 right after Christmas (gift). OMG, it was so good.
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/11/2021, 12:14 PM
It looked good from the trailer.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 2/11/2021, 12:16 PM
we'll table the hearing actor playing a deaf character discussion for now
Newsflash: Charlie Cox isn't really blind, are you gonna clutch your pearls at that?
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 2/11/2021, 12:19 PM
@soberchimera - Nothing to do with my personal feelings on the matter.. it was a point of contention for a lot of people, which is what I was referring to.
lordSTALE
lordSTALE - 2/11/2021, 1:03 PM
@soberchimera - To be fair, Matt Murdock/Daredevil can "see" better than any other character on the show, just not with his eyes. A blind actor can't really play that character
soberchimera
soberchimera - 2/11/2021, 1:13 PM
@lordSTALE - Ok, Patrick Stewart isn't really paralyzed from the waist down then.
madhombre
madhombre - 2/11/2021, 1:36 PM
@soberchimera - Time to cancel Patrick Stewart !!..;)
DalekCraigWasson
DalekCraigWasson - 2/11/2021, 2:04 PM
@soberchimera - *sigh* I don't know why I am wading into these waters, no one wants to cancel Patrick Stewart, but look at it this way: you are an actor in a wheelchair, you are folliclly challenged, you have a distinguished voice. What roles are there for you? You can't play Jean-Luc Picard. You can't play Gurney Hallick. Your avaliable roles to play are almost nonexistent and then when there IS a character in a wheelchair... the able bodied actor who could play those roles gets this role too.

Okay, now maybe you will say that there are no actors in wheelchairs on the same level of fame or acting talent as Sir Patrick Stewart, and that is a whole 'bother discussion, but none of that applies to The Stand where Nick Andros is one character in an ensemble and a very young one at that, practically begging for an unknown up and coming deaf actor to show what he can do, but no, Boone cast one of his buddies from New Mutants.
RolandD
RolandD - 2/11/2021, 2:23 PM
@RorMachine - While it was brief, Rob Lowe had a speaking part in the '94 mini-series since Nick can speak in Tom's dreams, but I guess Boone didn't go that route here or if he did, it wound up on the cutting room floor. Of course in the book, Nick came to Tom in his dreams quite a bit more than the '94 version. I was hoping for better, especially since Boone is such a fan of King's. Then again, I'm a huge fan and it wouldn't do for me to direct any film or show.
Floke
Floke - 2/12/2021, 12:41 AM
@soberchimera - And, it turns out, Jim Carrey is neither dumb or dumber.

I'm in shock. Hollywood has been lying all these years?
Lucky for them they got Keanu Reeves on their side since he is a great defense attorney.
tmp3
tmp3 - 2/11/2021, 12:28 PM
Heard Ezra Miller is next-level bad in this 😬
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 2/11/2021, 12:46 PM
@tmp3 - Brutal. I was going to go into detail but it's not even worth it.
MotherFuckerJon
MotherFuckerJon - 2/11/2021, 12:28 PM
12 more hours!!!!!
MotherFuckerJon
MotherFuckerJon - 2/11/2021, 12:29 PM
I believe this is the episode we get Ultron. I think it will be a kid dressed up as Ultron for halloween or something and we hear Spaders voice.
BreakTheCode
BreakTheCode - 2/11/2021, 12:39 PM
@HydraB0b - That’s funny I thought this was a review of The Stand and nothing to do with WandaVision.
MotherFuckerJon
MotherFuckerJon - 2/11/2021, 12:42 PM
@BreakTheCode - someone must be having a bad day.
inkniron
inkniron - 2/11/2021, 1:06 PM
It definitely was a Cliff's notes version. Some of the finer points tweaked to be modern weren't even as big of a hitch as they could have been, but other changes were flat awful. It really should have been a 20 episode HBOmax epic. It's a shame.
BassMan
BassMan - 2/11/2021, 8:16 PM
@inkniron - Yeah, or make it 3 seasons. It seemed so brief, I feel like a whole season could have been them just getting to Boulder.
RolandD
RolandD - 2/11/2021, 5:36 PM
@MUTO123 - I don't know about this. It was a ridiculous concept that was successful because of the two lead actors and the director. Travolta and Cage and the Woo made that movie what it was. I don't think we need a new one, but they didn't ask me. 😉
SwampThing
SwampThing - 2/11/2021, 1:45 PM
"Stellar Cast" lol
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/11/2021, 1:56 PM
One look at it and I knew it wasn’t gonna be for me. Besides, no Patrick Star, no deal. Or dude from Blank Check. Or Lieutenant Dan. Or Kareem. Or Pretty in Pink. Or whoever played Nick, M-O-O-N, that spells Parks and Rec.
BruceParker
BruceParker - 2/11/2021, 7:59 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - Yeah, I know he says that miniseries hasn't aged well,and maybe it hasn't(haven't seen it in years)but I remember really enjoying it.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/11/2021, 8:38 PM
@BruceParker - It’s so dumb and yet I like it so much. Watched it again last year I think in the spring, oh yeah when coronavirus started in the states.
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