As promised, I saw 'The Mist' today. I have to say that my favorite time to go to a movie is an early matinee on Thanksgiving Day - my wife and I were the only ones in the theater. We didn't take full advantage of it, I mean we didn't pass a football around or anything. But it sure was nice not having any cell phones go off, any babies crying or having to put up with the annoying guy who usually sits behind me and keeps kicking the back of my seat. So all in all, it was the perfect time to get a good, clean review of a movie. Unfortunately for 'The Mist', it might have fared a little better if some of the "annoyances" had been present.
CAUTION: my comments may spoil the movie.
I'll present the good and the bad, along with how it relates to the novel:
The good:
1. Except for the ending and a few little diversions, the movie stayed true to the novel.
2. Marcia Gay Harden played the role of Mrs. Carmody to perfection. I swear if she ever decided to give up acting she could start immediately as an Evangelist. The way she worked the people up in the store was perfect. And the best part was that when opportunities popped up for her characterto strengthen her position - she seized them.
3. David and Amanda didn't sleep together in the movie. If you read my review of the novel then you know that I thought that it was completely out of character for either of them to want to sleep together.
4. The giant spider/crab/monster at the end. Great special effects and I think the artistic vision of what that creature looked like was right on! I especially liked the bird type creatures flying along side it.
5. The rope scene - when Brent Norton's group decides to leave, David convinces one of Norton's followers to tie a rope around his waist so that the rest of them can "see" how far he gets. I thought the tensest part of the movie was when the rope started to zip out of David's hands.
6. Speaking of Brent Norton, I thought that Andre Braugher (whom I've enjoyed in several television shows) did an excellent job with the character. The behavior of Brent might have been a tad unbelievable if it weren't for the fine talents of Mr. Braugher.
The bad:
1. Unfortunately, much like the novel, this movie was slow, lacked almost any tension (except for the rope scene) and really wasn't very scary at all. This was a great idea for a novella, but difficult to stretch into a novel or movie.
2. At the end when the military came, the mist started clearing. What's that about? Okay they fight off creatures, but if we're to believe that dimensions had merged (or whatever) why would the mist clear just by killing the monsters? Didn't buy it - didn't like it.
3. One of the additions to the movie (departure from the novel) was the inclusion of an MP spilling his guts (literally) about how the military's Arrowhead project was to blame for all that damn mist. Come on! Anyone over the age of two got that already. I could go on and on about this...but I won't.
4. The end of the movie. Now it was a big departure from the novel, but I was okay with the concept. What I didn't like was the suicide pack just minutes after they ran out of gas. No monsters had bothered them since they got in the car (explained in the book but not in the movie). Now I know it looked hopeless, but if it were me - blowing my brains out would probably fall somewhere near the bottom of my options. I mean come on! Maybe after spending a few days without any sign of rescue or escape, but for the out of gas light to come on and everyone say "What the hell...let's just end it all right here" right after parking (my paraphrase) was just a little silly.
5. The worst part of the movie though was the direction. You start with an acclaimed director like Frank Darabont who's put out such great King adaptations like 'The Green Mile' and 'The Shawshank Redemption', and somehow the movie falls flat on its face. It looked like it was made for TV (no disrespect intended for television directors).
6. No eeriness was established with the mist at the beginning. In the novel it's blowing against the wind - that tells you something right there. In the movie, the only mention of any strangeness to it was that it was coming across the lake.
7. The storm at the beginning. The novel uses the storm as a plausible reason for why something got knocked out-of-wack at the Arrowhead project. The movie does nothing with it - they might as well as not even had it in the movie.
8. The burn victim (clumsy goof with the torch). Wasn't in the novel, I believe the sole purpose of this departure was a contrived reason for the venture to the drug store. Why? The reasoning of just doing it for a test run and to see if there were any survivors (like in the novel) worked just fine. But if they'd done that then they wouldn't have had a role for the gut-busting MP.
Overall: If you've read the novel then the movie will most likely be a disappointment. If you haven't read the novel or are easily scared, then the movie is worth the price of a matinee ticket. On my scale of 1-5 (5 being a great movie), I'd have to give 'The Mist' a 2.5 because of the fine acting of Marcia Gay Harden and Andre Braugher - take them out and my rating would be a 1.5.
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Until next time, enjoy the holidays. J/W
