I saw the 1994 miniseries and liked it well enough. I wasn't enthusiastic about this remake or reboot, whatever they consider it, but I've got Paramount+ and thought I'd watch it. I had to force myself to watch it all and I have no idea why I did that except it provided background noise for a day of work. I should rate this on its own merit without comparing it to the original, but I refuse to do that when the 1994 version exists and is far superior to an extent where this really should not exist. I like many of the actors in this cast, but they're nowhere near as good as the 1994 casting. The way the story was told in the 1994 version was so much better than the non-linear choice for this. This version is nearly 2 and a half hours longer than the 1994 version yet it adds nothing of value and the characters were better developed in the shorter version. I connected to none of them in this version because it was all about being slick and superficial. The characters that annoyed me in 1994 are only more annoying in this version. Lloyd Henreid and Trashcan Man were ruined in this version and I liked them both in the previous. A lot of that is down to casting because Nat Wolff and Ezra Miller are nowhere near the quality of actors that Miguel Ferrer and Matt Frewer were. I might have given this another star or two if had ended in eight episodes but the ninth was the nail in the coffin that buries this for me. Episode 9 is one of the single worst and most pointless things I have ever watched and it just puts the whole series in that category. The 1994 version was not perfect and absolutely could have been improved upon but this does absolutely nothing to make a better adaptation. This version does not need to exist and you are missing NOTHING if you never watch it.
Review of The Stand
