captionDoctor Sleep rehashes a lot of what weve seen in The Shining, while ignoring some of the major plot points that made the 2013 sequel novel memorable.sourceWarner Bros.<\/p>\n
Danny Torrences return to the Overlook Hotel is a bit of a mess and not one thats worth revisiting in movie form. <\/p>\n
Forty years after The Shining, Jack Torrences son (Ewan McGregor) is all grown up and is still haunted by his time at the hotel. After meeting a young girl, Abra (Kyliegh Curran), the two team up to defeat a group of demons seeking immortality who prey upon people with special powers similar to their own. Their adventure forces Danny to reconcile his past with the Overlook once and for all and embrace his power. <\/p>\n
Unlike The Shining, this isnt a classic in the making. <\/p>\n
Doctor Sleep relies on Kubricks masterpiece to sell the film too much rather than the already interesting material presented in Kings 2013 best-seller.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Unless youre a big fan of Stephen King, you may not have known there was a sequel to The Shining. King released Doctor Sleep in 2013. Now that so many of Kings works are being adapted (theres been Castle Rock, It Chapter Two, and Pet Sematary this year), it shouldnt be a big surprise to see another one on the big screen from Warner Bros. after its successful It franchise. Doctor Sleep is directed by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
If it werent for Fergusons engaging villanness, Rose the Hat, the films antagonists wouldve been the least terrifying part of the film. Anyone whos a fan of McGregor will enjoy seeing the actor back on the big screen as hes plagued by his turbulent past. Moulin Rouge! fans will even get to hear him sing unexpectedly for a brief moment. <\/p>\n
One of the films best, and most disturbing, scenes includes Tremblay. First, its surprising to see the star of Room and this summers raunchy comedy Good Boys in such a minor role. Tremblay doesnt even have that many lines, but hes one of the characters youll probably empathize most with in the film. Its one of the few moments which equally delivers the same chills as the King novel. <\/p>\n
Despite many of the films changes and omissions which may upset fans, there are a few that stand out. The manipulation of gravity and perspective to show how Rose the Hat, Abra, and Danny use their powers shows off some fun camera work. The adaptation of several scenes are slightly flipped in their execution to change readers expectations who may think they know exactly what will occurring next. <\/p>\n
The movie also completely disregards a silly measles subplot.<\/p>\n
For those hoping for some grisly moments, Doctor Sleep offers a darker more shocking ending than the original book.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One of the things that makes a Stephen King novel so enjoyable to devour is his descriptiveness and meticulous attention to detail. King makes it easy to envision his worlds while reading. Doctor Sleep unfolds over a sprawling 540-page book so when the film zips from the 80s to 2011 in three different locations and then skips ahead again eight years for no apparent reason to a typical viewer, it feels incredibly rushed. <\/p>\n
Characters are introduced quickly, but are never fleshed out much except for McGregors Torrence. Other than three of the major villains, the film never takes a moment to introduce every member of the True Knot. Instead, you have to discover a few of their names in the credits. Others are said only in passing. (Theres not a big surprise there. Some of the book characters were called Token Charlie and Barry the Chink, a Caucasian character. The latter is referred to as Barry the Chunk in the film.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
If you are familiar with the book, youll be upset by a lot of changes, including a few big character omissions from the novel. One character change becomes nothing more than a nod and youll later wonder why he even appears in the final product other than to show that Danny has special powers. <\/p>\n
In trying to stay faithful to the book for about half the movie, Doctor Sleep stumbles. Some adapted moments dont feel earned because theyre hurried. Its like youre watching a collection of the most important scenes from the book without the actual heart of it. You never truly connect with Torrences struggle as a recovering alcoholic as its not much more than a footnote in a few scenes. Theres not much to Abra other than the fact that she has similar powers to Danny.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That said, the film tosses out some of the books essence. Most noticeably, it ditches a massive reveal that made sense of the connection between Danny and Abra. Instead, it comes off as a bit weird that a man Torrences age is helping a 13-year-old. It even looks like he kidnaps her at one point (even though Abra willingly goes off with a man she only recently met). Perhaps the film wouldve been better as an eight episode mini-series.<\/p>\n
The final 45 minutes or so take a hard right turn and deviate from the text almost completely. From there, Doctor Sleep relies too heavily on The Shining, so much so that the sequel feels like a pure nostalgic play to capitalize on the success of recent King adaptations. Seeing some material from Kings original novel left out of Kubricks film is cool, but it lingers for far too long down memory lane. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For what its worth, the reactions of people in my theater a special fan screening hosted by Fandango had mixed reactions. The couple to my left said it was a surprisingly good movie. The man to my direct right laughed at moments during the film, including a line from Torrence thats supposed to be endearing. He wasnt the only one to laugh at inappropriate moments during the film.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Is Doctor Sleep as good as or better than The Shining? Definitely not. The scariest moments (which arent that scary) have all been seen before. I think WB just wanted an excuse to use the Shining soundtrack again. Fans of the book will have a tough time embracing this if theyre hoping for a faithful adaptation all the way through. Stick to the novel.<\/p>\n
Doctor Sleep is in theaters Friday, November 8. Watch a trailer below. <\/p>\n
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More here: captionDoctor Sleep rehashes a lot of what weve seen in The Shining, while ignoring some of the major plot points that made the 2013 sequel novel memorable.sourceWarner Bros. Danny Torrences return to the Overlook Hotel is a bit of a mess and not one thats worth revisiting in movie form. Continue reading
\nDoctor Sleep is a messy adaptation that doesnt live up to the thrill of Stephen Kings best-selling sequel to The Shining - Business Insider<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"