Langoliers: pesadillas del otro mundo

I don't look to this movie (or the Tommyknockers, which gets the same mixed reviews) for the special effects or the best acting in the world. I look to them because they offer insight into our imaginations, something that we tend to lose the older we get. These movies are made to get your imagination pumping, and make you think about other situations rather than our own current situations.

Immerse yourself in the film's story, not in the acting, or the music, or the plot holes that may or may not exist. In the case of this movie, it almost has to be watched in whole to get the effect.

Just my own opinion.

By sheer coincidence, I had JUST finished reading "The

Langoliers" when I saw that it would be on USA the next two

nights. So I said to myself, "Self...why don't you watch it and see

how it compares?" As an adaptation, this movie is just about as faithful as you can

get. Some minor changes were made for time (for example, an

entire character was dropped from the plane...he didn't do much or

contribute ANYTHING to the plot, he just slept the whole time), but

all in all, it was pretty much like an abridged audiobook with visual

images. Virtually nothing was changed in the transfer from page

to screen. As a result, the weaknesses in the movie mostly stem from

weaknesses in the book. I really like Stephen King's style, though

I haven't read very much by him. The most interesting thing about

the story is the horror of the unknown, and each character's

different reactions to it...hysteria, anger, disbelief, etc. My problem

with the story (and the movie as well) is that the Langoliers are a

bit of a letdown. Visually, they looked like computer-generated

images, not like real monsters. But even in the story, their

presence seems unnecessary. The most frightening parts of the

story are when the passengers of Flight 29 have no clue what's

going on. Wouldn't the Langoliers have been more interesting if

we never saw them, but knew they were there...i.e., seeing the

disappearance of the world, hearing the sound of the Langoliers,

but never seeing them...possibly a brief glimpse as the plane

takes off or as one of the characters gets eaten. Acting wise, the movie was a mixed bag. Some people really got

into their roles. I though Bronson Pinchot was great as Craig

Toomey, and I also think he's pretty underrated as an actor since

he was Balki in Perfect Strangers. Other people, I thought were a

little flat. I've never been too fond of David Morse (the pilot), and as

much as I like Dean Stockwell (Al from Quantum Leap, whoo-hoo),

he didn't seem to fit the role of the mystery writer Bob Jenkins. The special effects were pretty miserable. It all looked like pretty

low-tech computer effects - the plane, the Langoliers, the time rip.

Not too impressive. But hey - TV movie, what do you expect? Overall, this is an excellent adaptation of a pretty good story. Some

changes should have been made in the transfer, but that's my

opinion.

There is no doubt that in this version of "The Langoliers", despite being a very serious Stephen King novella, the material is quite cheeseball and (at times) very over-dramatic. Yet, at the same time, the brilliance of King's story still manages to shine through thanks to some great acting and the direction of Tom Holland.

For a basic plot summary (no spoilers), a small group of airplane passengers wake up and find the rest of the plane deserted. As they struggle to land the plane and figure out what is going on, they discover that the answer is beyond anything that has ever been seen or experienced before.

First off, it would take a great sight more than a bit of 90s cheesy-ness to detract from King's wonderful tale. This is a wide-ranging story (from drama to sci-fi to characters to fantasy) that has something for everyone. Most of King's writing shines through in this adaptation.

The acting, however, is what really drives this three-hour film. Great actors such as Patricia Wettig, Dean Stockwell, David Morse, Mark Lindsay Chapman, and Bronson Pinochet (among others) all provide new wrinkles to the overall storyline by portraying such a diverse cast. Is the acting over-the-top? You bet. But due to the diversity of the characters and their development, the craziness actually didn't bother me all that much. Perhaps this is because I "knew what was coming" having already read the story, though.

Overall, having prior knowledge of the story, I enjoyed this take on "The Langoliers". While I would still recommend King's written work to get the full extent of the tale, this one will suffice for those who won't pick up a book.

THE LANGOLIERS

As soon as I read the novella "The Langoliers" by Stephen King, I knew it would make an amazing movie. It was by far the scariest piece of writing I have ever read and I was delighted to see that it had already been made into a TV movie. It took me over a year to find a copy, but it was worth it.

People complain about the crappy computer FX and the bad acting, but if you pay attention to the amazing storyline and the logic and thinking that went into this story, you'll find that it is an enjoyable movie that will keep you glued to the screen.

I saw this on Sci-fi channel a few days before. I haven't read the book but overall the movie was great. Kate Maberly does an excellent part playing the blind girl, Dinah. I'ts a movie for people to either love or hate it, I don't know, I guess I'm one of those people that like it.