Stephen King adaptions are hit or miss with the fandom, so I normally don’t bother catching them in a theatrical envoronment. I’d intended to treat this film no differently.

Then, I read an interview stating Mark Hamill had inititally passed on this film. He’s a huge gun control advocate, so I don’t blame him. Then, the director insisted he read the script. It was good enough to convince Hamill to portray The Major.

He’s brilliant, but by no means the best part.

Let’s see what the fine folks at Wikipedia have to say about this film:

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The Rev-iew:

I could smell this film. Some of you will understand what I mean. I know absolutely zero details about the actors (other than it starred Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s son, the Synthetic from Alien: Romulous, and Mark freaking Hamill. Also, it was written by our lord and savior Stephen King under his Bachman pen name.

With a bit of research, I discovered this story was some kind of coveted prize in Hollywood, almost going into production several times since the nineties. Personally, I’m glad it released NOW; in this day and age. Some of us need to see this film. Badly.

There’s a chance our society could be headed in this direction before the end of my lifetime. This is 1984 on a road; The Hunger Games on a highway, only leaps and bounds better. America went to Hell, the second civil war occurred nineteen years prior, and it drained us of everything. It’s a darker Stand By Me multiplied by six plus one, and I personally loved every second of it. King’s best work revolves around groups of friends, especially young friends.

Your butt will begin eating the theater seat ten minutes in and won’t stop until the credits. It normalizes itself within the conversations of the main characters, making you forget there’s guns pointed at them for the next ninety. Then, there’s a conflict, followed by a minimal amount of time to correct the fault. If not? There’s zero hesitation with the trigger pulls. This film dug deep into my old military psyche and kicked me in the feels several times. My feet formed blisters without taking a step.

I’ve seen several in the horror community do what they do any time “Horror Jesus” releases a new bit of magic into our universe; they polarize and start squawking until one half is crowned the loudest. That’s why I ignored their chatter for a week to see this with a clean slate. My only fault with this film was that I found it around ten minutes too long. Not that it overstayed its welcome upon my pallate, it just didn’t make me gush like Sinners. I’ll only allow one five-star review per year.

This is a solid four I plan to purchase and share with others whenever I can.

****

Also, kudos to Alamo Drafthouse Cedars! They’ve really pulled it together since the Sony merger. A summon button for the waiter, online ordering, and a new menu. It’s the perfect theatrical experience in Dallas now, in my opinion. Also, it’s very close to my place. Convenient.

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