The Stand

Actors; Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwold, Ray Walston, Jamey Sheridan, Ruby Dee, Miguel Ferrer, Adam Storke, Rob Lowe, Bill Fagerbakke, Laura San Giacomo, Stephen King
Rating: 8 out of 10, probably the best movie of a Stephen King's book to be made into a movie, in this case a TV miniseries. Sinise is one of my favorite actors and that dates from seeing him in this as one of the central characters, Stu Redmond. The story revolves around a plague, the super flu, which escapes from a government lab and kills 99% of the population. The survivors are split between two camps, good and evil. The evil ones are led by Sheridan as Randall Flagg, a demon masquerading as a human and sometimes a raven. What I really liked about this was the perfect way the movie makers captured the spirituality of King's work. The good are summoned to gather by Mother Abigail, a 106 year old black woman, played superbly by Ruby Dee. The central theme is that the good must "stand" against evil. I thought that simple premise says so much. The approach is almost lyrical and although the movie is showing some signs of aging it is still a great watch. I absolutely loved the book which, as with all of King's work, had some great characters. When each of these beloved characters were introduced in the movie I looked at them with a biased eye and surprisingly they got it right, which is hard to do. The last part of the story when four men set out to walk hundreds of miles to "stand" against the evil, appropriately centered in the remains of Las Vegas is just prefect in both its message and its execution in the movie. Walston’s scene where they finally meet Flagg shows what a great actor Walston was.  Evil will flourish if good men/women do not stand up against it. King, himself is in the movie in a bit part and shows as an actor that he is a great writer. The music accompanying the final quest was also pitch perfect. An aging, but magnificent piece of cinema.
MVP: Sinise as Stu Redmond, the East Texas everyman who leads