Originally aired as a television mini-series, this all-star filmization of Stephen King's gripping epic of good versus evil chronicles the episodic adventures of a disparate group of people who struggle to reestablish civilization after a man-made catastrophe wipes out most of the world's population. The world abruptly ends when a deadly virus accidentally escapes from a government sponsored biological warfare laboratory. Soon people are dropping like flies from the plague, but a few survive and find themselves strangely compelled to head into the West. Good-hearted people follow the voice of an ancient black woman and head for Boulder, Colorado. Bad people follow the enigmatic Walkin' Dude to Las Vegas. It is only a matter of time before the two sides are forced into a climactic battle over the final fate of humanity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
Like many TV miniseries based on
Stephen King's writing, The Stand gets increasingly ridiculous as it works into the later installments -- in part because the author's most unfilmable ideas usually appear near the end of his epic works (see the
It miniseries for a particularly egregious example). However, the first chunk of this one is both spooky and tense, as over 99 percent of the world's population vanishes from a fatal strain of the flu called Captain Trips. In his second of an eventual half-dozen King projects, director Mick Garris captures attention right away with a chilling opening sequence in which the camera weaves in and out of cafeterias, control rooms, and hallways of a disease center full of dead bodies, stopped in their tracks by the virus. Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is the perfect soundtrack accompaniment to this ominous display. As the dozen or so main characters negotiate the sudden disaster, it's an utterly portentous examination of the breakdown of modern society. However, as the story grows more mystical, it outstretches the resources available to a television movie, particularly in the special effects department, gradually worsening up to the ludicrous finish. For every
Rob Lowe,
Gary Sinise, and Bill Fagerbakke well cast in their roles, there's one too many of
Molly Ringwald or
Corin Nemec to undercut the seriousness of the project.
Jamey Sheridan does do a good job personifying the grinning evil of King's most terrifying villain, Randall Flagg, which his previous work wouldn't have predicted. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide