The Stand

Inexplicably starts in the middle and then tells the first half of the story in flashbacks....for no real reason. The only thing this achieves is completely robbing all of the flashback scenes of any sense of danger or urgency. Kudos to the casting director who made some fine choices here, but the writers cut themselves off at the knees in the first episode and never recovered. At least the 1994 version told the story in the only order that makes sense.

A few of the characters in The Stand (2020) are dislikeable, notably the antagonist Randall Flagg, whose evil motives are too evident. Also, the plot seems disjointed, with several sequences only appearing to advance the narrative. A lot of the plot twists in the show are predictable, and it also reveals its hand too fast. Furthermore, the dialogue is frequently clumsy and uncomfortable, which makes it challenging for viewers to connect with the characters.

The good: the overall quality of the cast, the first couple of episodes, Harold Lauder. The bad: lack of creepiness, the compression of the Boulder road trip sections for the various characters, Vegas in general, the last episode. The what the fuck were they thinking: Ezra Miller's Trashcan Man. The 2020 series is a minor step up from '94, but similar to either version of "It", doesn't come close to the impact of the novel - which would probably take doubling the length of the show at a minimum.

A nice cast (for the most part) is so far wallowing in questionable writing decisions. The nonlinear approach adds nothing but a detraction in my opinion. It feels kinda soulless so it's a big hill to climb to be deserving of a full watch.

too slow, poorly acted

Gutted out husk, very disappointing.

A lot of cussing even for a Steven King adaptation. Our heroes had a savvy golden retriever to thank for their triumph.

Marsden is a likable every man lead actor who has enough charm and charisma to carry the show. It doesn't elevate to where it could be by rushing through the survival aspects to get to the supernatural struggle. A good ensemble cast is not wasted and it's a lot of the smaller characters that make a bigger impact.