Rent The Dead Zone on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Stephen King (based on the novel by), Jeffrey Boam (screenplay by)
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Sheen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Five years after a traffic accident that left him in a coma, a man awakens to discover that he has the ability to foresee future events and even prevent tragedies from happening.
Verdict
It's an amazing premise that doesn't manage to develop the plot anywhere near enough. I wonder if someone was forced to make this movie. That's the effort put into the story. This includes a bare minimum of scenes to establish Johnny without delving into how traumatizing and life altering this ability could be. The finale is a great ending, but this doesn't do anything to earn it. This could build the characters better so that we're emotionally invested, but for some reason this movie doesn't seem to care.
Skip it.
Review
Based on the 1979 novel, it was also developed as television series in 2002.
Johnny (Christopher Walken) is a schoolteacher that's soon to be married when he suffers a devastating car accident, leaving him in a coma. He wakes up to find he's been comatose for five years. The world has moved on and his former fiance is married. For him it's only been days, everyone else moved on. This doesn't delve into Johnny's emotional state at all. He would have to readjust to a world that left him behind. Instead the movie focuses on his premonitions about people and the future. By touching them he can see what they've done or will do. He immediately admits he has the ability. The press are curious but skeptical.
 |
| Christopher Walken plays Johnny Smith |
Not only does this fail to develop the character and his circumstances, the pacing is way too slow. Nearly half way into the movie there's no plot, just a premise. That's when the cops ask him to help with a serial killer case. Initially he refuses before relenting. He has to touch the person to gain insight. At the latest crime scene he discovers not only the victim knew her attacker, he sees the person's face. Distraught that he couldn't stop Johnny moves away to hid from his abilities as he leaves rumors and speculation about him behind.
I'm surprised this was a theater release. It seems low budget, and the entire movie is a missed opportunity. While Johnny is tortured by the vision of the victim he couldn't save, his power grants him so much opportunity to help people yet he'll never have enough time to help them all. This never depicts him wrestling with those feelings.
 |
| Martin Sheen plays Greg Stillson |
Johnny becomes tutor, and that's where he encounters Stillson (Martin Sheen). He's an upstart senate candidate that has a decent following and designs for higher office. Johnny shakes Stillson's hand and has a vision of Stillson starting a nuclear war as president. Johnny knows no one will believe him, and thus he feels obligated to protect the world. This concept by itself could be a movie, but this condenses it to mere minutes.
The best part of this movie is the conclusion. Johnny's attempt to intervene and stop Stillson goes awry, but ironically Stillon kills his own campaign. Stillson was never a good person, but he needed a situation that would push him past the edge and cause him to drop the facade. That's what Johnny unknowingly creates. That's when the public sees who Stillson really is.
While Johnny is underdeveloped, this could also explore Stillson. Maybe he's someone with good intentions that politics corrupted. Maybe he's corrupt and just wants a platform to bully people. We only know he's bad because of Johnny's vision. Johnny never wrestles with the opportunity his abilities present. He never once wonders if they're accurate, instead immediately accepting them. This could be a pretty good movie, but it never sets emotional stakes nor does it dive into how this power could affect a person.
No comments :
Post a Comment