I loved the book and love Ewan Mcgregor and Rebecca Ferguson, but I have to say this film was a disappointment. The filmmakers tried to serve two masters: fans of the original "The Shining" and fans of Stephen King's works, and I have to say they failed on both parts. I know they were treading a thin line, so I give them credit for trying. But the massive, wholesale changes from the book will alienate the novel's fans, and folks who loved the movie might be confused about many of the things that are happening on-screen due to skipped explanations and attempts to "fix" the first movie, which didn't really need fixing. It was just a different take on the book, which I loved. And I loved the movie. Things can exist in different worlds and still be good. Loving the book, I understood most of what was happening, but found the lack of backstories and character development frustrating. Interesting characters were introduced and then never seen again, important characters from the book that you kept expecting to pop up again. The production values were excellent, to be sure, and it was a dream to revisit The Overlook, even if last year's "Ready Player One" stole their thunder by replicated the old hotel first. Rebecca Ferguson is a powerhouse in this--how is it that she doesn't have her own franchise of films yet? McGregor is great, as usual, but both of their characters felt watered down in comparison to the book. I liked the recreations of scenes from the first film, especially getting a kick out of certain office. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but yes, you are not crazy. It's a item-for-item recreation, down to the plant shelves and the open briefcase and the American flag. Well done. 6 out of 10.
Review by Greg EnslenVIP 6BlockedParent2020-01-10T17:34:23Z— updated 2023-02-04T00:36:17Z
I loved the book and love Ewan Mcgregor and Rebecca Ferguson, but I have to say this film was a disappointment. The filmmakers tried to serve two masters: fans of the original "The Shining" and fans of Stephen King's works, and I have to say they failed on both parts. I know they were treading a thin line, so I give them credit for trying. But the massive, wholesale changes from the book will alienate the novel's fans, and folks who loved the movie might be confused about many of the things that are happening on-screen due to skipped explanations and attempts to "fix" the first movie, which didn't really need fixing. It was just a different take on the book, which I loved. And I loved the movie. Things can exist in different worlds and still be good. Loving the book, I understood most of what was happening, but found the lack of backstories and character development frustrating. Interesting characters were introduced and then never seen again, important characters from the book that you kept expecting to pop up again. The production values were excellent, to be sure, and it was a dream to revisit The Overlook, even if last year's "Ready Player One" stole their thunder by replicated the old hotel first. Rebecca Ferguson is a powerhouse in this--how is it that she doesn't have her own franchise of films yet? McGregor is great, as usual, but both of their characters felt watered down in comparison to the book. I liked the recreations of scenes from the first film, especially getting a kick out of certain office. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but yes, you are not crazy. It's a item-for-item recreation, down to the plant shelves and the open briefcase and the American flag. Well done. 6 out of 10.