The Stand (2020)

Terrible adaptation, misses the point in all areas. Apart from a few characters, there is no character development at all, which is quite special for a series that lasts about 9 hours. Major characters such as Nick Andros, Tom Cullen and mother Abigail are not explored at all while they are so important to the story. In addition, important plot elements are completely skipped, especially in the beginning of the story. I myself have read the book and seen the original mini-series a number of times, but I can imagine that you have no idea what happens if you don't know the story yet. And then it certainly does not help that the chronology is also completely mixed up. This serves no purpose and only creates confusion. This really makes the story go from one subject to another. The acting is also not really worth mentioning, with a few exceptions this is usually mediocre to bad. And the actress who plays Frannie Goldsmith is completely awful. Strange choices have been made in the making of this series and what surprises me most is that Stephen King and his son Owen have been deeply involved in this. Stephen King apparently even wrote the totally unnecessary final episode, as if he's always regretted not putting that ending in the book. It was a painfully slow end to a lousy series. In total it takes almost 3 hours longer than the original, but the series does not manage to tell a fascinating story at that time while it did with the original. Sin.

Unfortunately, this is disappointing in many areas. Such as the non-linear storytelling style that has been chosen. Bad idea. It takes all the momentum out of the story and is killing for continuity. And the casting of Goldberg and Skasgaard hasn't been a brilliant choice either. They don't come across as the two pivots (angel and demon) why this story has to revolve. No, please read the book and then go and watch the old mini-series. Then you do more justice to this fantastic story than following this botched mess.